Sickening??

[shyguy]

Where I work we have a storage area for a well known clothing label, who supply shoes as well as other clothing. Today I was watching as a lot of old stock was thrown in the skip. This included boxes of boots and shoes. All of which were cut up to make them unusable. Some very nice boots and shoes in all sizes were destroyed and thrown away, nothing to do but walk away. I found it quite sad that this brand name company could not or would not even give these clothes and shoes away to maybe somewhere else they could do some good for people. Not to say I wouldn't have had some if offered

[Rockpup]

Very very very odd behavour.. I've seen stores where they have one shoe in my size.. "but I think we threw away the other one" Shit, give them to charity and take the tax write off on either retail, or wholesale value of the clothing/shoes. Or, as I've seen.. mark them down to the point its pennies on the dollar to keep customers happy and returning. jim

[J-Nation]

I think a lot of supposedly upscale brands don't like their products to be marked down or to be sold as seconds etc, as they feel it will de-value their image, so would rather destroy them. Emma

[Firefox]

You can actually do quite a lot with the bits that are left.

[Shafted]

You can actually do quite a lot with the bits that are left.

Firefox is right. Key items to grab are heel blocks amd shanks. All other parts are easily obtainable if you want to make your own shoes. See my DIY: make your own shoes thread.

[kiltsrgr8]

I have seen this before also , I was in retail management some time ago (Thank God I am not anymore) and saw this happen all the time. Book vendors are famous for this , when they issue a credit for books that do not sell , they simply tear the covers off and throw the rest away. millions of coverless books thrown in the trash. In other instances we would have clothing that for whatever reason was deemed no longer sellable, It might have a defect , maybe it was stained , or it was marked down to nothing , missing 2'nd part in two piece set , I pushed to have these donated and was told that people would try and return them or exchange them , that it was more of a pain. In the end we still threw out most clothing , however I was able to give away things like socks and underwear that had no package. I saw an entire snowblower get thrown away and many other bizzare situations. This brings in a deeper thought about our world , I have had disscusions with my father in law about how it is a shame our world is a throw away socity , things are just not made to last , throw it away , make more , it didn't sell? no problem , throw it away , we'll make more. In a perfect world every pair of those shoes would have gone to needy folks. Sitting here thinking about it , I remember one of my first jobs , making dounuts at a supermarket , we threw away tons of food everyday , this was our "shrink" , we could never even give it away to homeless shelters becuase of liability reasons etc .... anyway ... my thoughts on it ...

[Laurieheels]

So we all sit here, trying to pay bills, wondering about the future, and greedy companies throw away things to keep image and profit margins while we all suffer. Bastards! All of them. Create a freaking stamp to indicate the item as charity or non returnable and donate the items! They judge the poor for dressing poorly, but keep those people poor and poorly dressed because of their greed! There are many ways to ensure items can be donated and used, so why the heck not do that and make the world a better place, and create a good image? Heck, a community friendly image gets you just as many sales as it does being elitist and greedy. Maybe the customer lines shift a bit, but you still get the business! I'd be happy to call any company that does this and grind their bones to paste with a verbal assault on how evil they are.

[Bubba136]

Ahhh! Such are the pitfalls of capitalism. Work making things to buy things. If manufacturers gave away all the stuff they didn't sell, we all would be engaged in growing our own food because there wouldn't be any reason for us to work.

[chris100575]

Noooo! So many pairs of shoes and boots unloved and thrown away! Chris

[shyguy]

Yeah criminal, all the wastage which could help someone somewhere. I think Emma J Nation hit it on the head, who would want to pay £100's for something which someone living in a cardboard box could be wearing in 6 months for free. Although instead of cutting them up, cut out the label so it isn't immediately the designer item (we all know it's the label people pay for not the material) then donate to charity. Also thinking about FF's comment about useful parts, but my handicraft skills are severely limited in the areas where form takes precedence over function

[sendra45]

It does not really matter if you are poor or rich. A waste is a waste. I remember having a tour around a aeroplane company close to where I live, on the 'waste' skip there was an on-going price tag that was near half a million pounds and rising, just in parts for aircraft that didn't make the grade, it would have come to £100 when melted back down. I live about 10 mins drive from a aircraft scrap company and quite often see the planes flying for the last time before they are broken up into their component parts and getting back on topic, I drive past the Jane Shilton skips twice a week! Yet I recycle every coke can I use and enjoy working for one of the most environmentally friendly companies in the world. as I said, A waste is a waste.

[Dr. Shoe]

If a company were in the habit of giving stuff to charity, then you'd have two situations. Firstly, people wouldn't buy from the shop, they'd just wait until they could get it from the charity shop or they'd buy from the charity shop and try to return it to the store for a refund. Some firms have factory shops or stores in "outlet villages" where they may sell last season's merchandise but you will only save 20-30%.

[azraelle]

If a company were in the habit of giving stuff to charity, then you'd have two situations. Firstly, people wouldn't buy from the shop, they'd just wait until they could get it from the charity shop or they'd buy from the charity shop and try to return it to the store for a refund.

Some firms have factory shops or stores in "outlet villages" where they may sell last season's merchandise but you will only save 20-30%.

So we all sit here, trying to pay bills, wondering about the future, and greedy companies throw away things to keep image and profit margins while we all suffer.

Bastards! All of them.

Create a freaking stamp to indicate the item as charity or non returnable and donate the items!

Seems to me that Laurie's suggestion would solve the problem handily if the stamp were fairly prominent. Alternatively, reprogram the electronic inventory microchip now put into many upscale items of clothing (or woven in) so as to read "donated to charity". And thanks Laurie. My sentiments exactly!!

[Laurieheels]

From working and living in a downtown environment in a big city, I know that people who are less fortunate do not care as much about the look. Everyone is saying "if we can get it from cahrity we won't buy it" but come on, if the organization was screening who would get items, it would not be an issue. A mark, a stamp, a tag, anything to indicate it was not an original purchase, do you think someone suffering and trying to stay warm would care? They rummage through the trash, collect bottles, sleep in strange places, and are grateful for a clean bed and a hot meal when they can find them at the shelters. There comes a time when image doesn't matter because survival is more important. There is a way. And please, stop making excuses for the big companies, they could manage it and still have high end interest in first run products. It all takes a willingness they can't care enough to find.