PHOTO: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1276/868518932_b245596a7c.jpg?v=0
The story out of New York City this week about new clothing purposely ruined and dumped into the trash behind major retailers H&M and WalMart would be disturbing at any time, but coming so close to Christmas, the season of giving, and in the middle of a frigid winter makes it all the more upsetting. Graduate student,Cynthia Magnus, found bags of new clothes purposely slashed and made unwearable behind both H&M and WalMart earlier this week.
I am not the only blogger or journalist to express outrage, but the deeper reality is even more upsetting: These are not isolated events; they are not new; they are not limited to clothing stores.
Venting my distress to a friend elicited this story: "Oh, I used to work at a discount store in Kentucky, one of those that sold lots of things for just a dollar. I was told to destroy all kinds of things. If dishes didn't sell, I had to break them. I shredded curtains, and cut up clothes. We were watched, and if we didn't do it, we would have been fired. On days when we knew no one from the company would be watching, we just threw things out without destroying them. But we had to be careful. One day, a man came in. He was freezing. He had no coat or anything. I used my discount and bought him a coat and gloves and a hat. I wasn't supposed to do that, but I couldn't let him go out with nothing." Read More
The story out of New York City this week about new clothing purposely ruined and dumped into the trash behind major retailers H&M and WalMart would be disturbing at any time, but coming so close to Christmas, the season of giving, and in the middle of a frigid winter makes it all the more upsetting. Graduate student,Cynthia Magnus, found bags of new clothes purposely slashed and made unwearable behind both H&M and WalMart earlier this week. I am not the only blogger or journalist to express outrage, but the deeper reality is even more upsetting: These are not isolated events; they are not new; they are not limited to clothing stores.
Venting my distress to a friend elicited this story: "Oh, I used to work at a discount store in Kentucky, one of those that sold lots of things for just a dollar. I was told to destroy all kinds of things. If dishes didn't sell, I had to break them. I shredded curtains, and cut up clothes. We were watched, and if we didn't do it, we would have been fired. On days when we knew no one from the company would be watching, we just threw things out without destroying them. But we had to be careful. One day, a man came in. He was freezing. He had no coat or anything. I used my discount and bought him a coat and gloves and a hat. I wasn't supposed to do that, but I couldn't let him go out with nothing." Read More