Daily Agitator
There are always stories in the news about the shenanigans that corporations pull……some arte disgusting, more so than some of the others, but then there is one that makes me really hate these self-absord dicks…..
Poverty in the US is reaching fantastic percentages, especially with the recession and all the jobs loses……..close to 20 million people live below the poverty line in the US….there is NOT enough money for them to have food or clothing or shelter…….this story is all the more reason to be disgusted, especially because of the severe weather that is gripping the nation…..
This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.
This unsettling discovery was made by graduate student Cynthia Magnus outside the back entrance of H&M on 35th street in New York City. Just a few doors down, she also found hundreds of Wal-Mart tagged items with holes made in them that were dumped by a contractor. On December 7, she spotted 20 bags of clothing outside of H&M including, “gloves with the fingers cut off, warm socks, cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor, men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.”
I am sorry but this is disgusting…..you mean to tell me that with all the tax advantages these companies get that they could not have donated the clothing? Every day there is a news story of people dying because of the weather and yet these people, who could have helped, did not assist and yet they still get advantages of their position in society. Sorry but this is criminal and there should be some apparatus in place to deal with this situation…..heavy fines or loss of a status or something that would penalize them for turning their backs on the American people.
The next time Wal-Mart makes a commercial that talks of their record in helping society…I want this story to follow it….the people need to stop throwing money at these types of businesses….I know that is a lot to ask during a recession when we have to get all we can for our dollar….but keep in mind….YOU may need something and these companies will turn their back on you…….hold these people responsible for their actions….if you do not….then WHO?
Yes… I understand the sentiments and, on the face of it, I agree with you. Two things come to mind though…
Firstly and most importantly although you attribute this story to the NYT, none of the news media seem to me to be as careful as they once were about the reliability of souces and this has a great deal of similarity with a number of “hate that company” emails that have been doing the rounds (probably started by their competitors). Many of those have turned out to be false (see Snopes.com).
Secondly, why is anyone so surprised when corporations do what corporations have always done – do what it takes to make the best profit – it’s even what they are legally obligated to do!
If corporations were taken out of the political loop by removing the need for campaign money and we elected only politicians with great political integrity (who cares who they’re screwing as long as it’s not the people – priorities and private lives – America AND the UK get real!), then the corporations would have hardly any greater voice than a single individual. THAT would make a difference.
Maybe it’s even time to do away with the political party system and only elect individuals who would ALL share equal importance and power?
I feel a new post coming on 😈
See posts come from some of the damnedest places…..lol……..I know but I see the ads where Wally World is doing this and that for the community but yet they cannot donate clothing?……I am sure the government would have let them deduct the full value from their taxes…..then it would be win-win………sorry…I get disgusted when crap like this happens…
I think what is disgusting is the fact that perfectly good clothing has gone to waste. The same could be said of the food that restaurants waste but with the lawyers we have today, I cannot blame them.
The job of these corporations is to make money. With clothing they are not just selling a pair of shoes or a shirt, they are selling an image. Giving the clothes to the homeless that reduces the value of them. Still, couldn’t they have just destroyed what gave the product its identity and then donate.
You are quite right about the value of “brand image”. Generally, in the UK at least, they do simply remove their identity from the garment, but pehaps that was not anough for some reason – I would be interested to hear their explanation.
However, the question is still worth considering as to whether this is even true – did it actually happen at all? Or has the NYT fallen for a scam by competitors, or other mean-minded people? There have been several instances of that over the last year or two – often previously involving untrue bias against our armed forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.
A good question, Quin….I have not seen too many reports on it…but then corporations own most news outlets so that would not surprise me at all…..
I agree with you Terrant……anything that could be used to help the less fortuante should be…by law……it all comes back to bottom feeding lawyers, huh?
It might not be Wally world’s call on that. Clothing manufacturers do have some say on how the clothes are marketed in-store and what happens to the unsold merchandise. Heck, it is possible that WW got most of their money back on the condition that they do it.
This is assuming, as Quin pointed out, that it is for real. Only time would tell.
I have been trying to find a follow up…with no luck….so this could be a non-story…..as you say…we will see…..
When people tell me that, yes, it has horrible poverty problems, but America is still a very ‘free’ country, I am reminded of Anatole France’s famous invective…that the poor are quite free, they are free to live under bridges, and to beg for bread in the street, and to die without shelter.
As you suggest, lobotero, America will be taken seriously again when it gets serious.
TOG
Thanx for the comment….many people hate the poor because it is a reminder that the system is not working properly and that scares them…..
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Thanx MrBarns….always appreciate new viewers…..why not go to my home page and subscribe thru email?
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