Stores Caught Dumping Items That Could Be Given To Charity.

[deb1]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/h-m-and-wal-mart-destroy-and-trash-unsold-goods-562909/?pg=5#comments

This goes on all the time. I know several people who work in retail and they say that their stores make them destroy older merchandise rather then give it to charity. My husband works at a store-won't mention the name- and has been told to destroy perfectly good items.


This isn't the first time that I have heard of Walmart destroying items. Someone that I trust told me that their local Walmart destroys clothing and then tells their employees that if they try to dig in the dumpster afterwards, that they will be persecuted for trespassing and stealing.


I am including this quote because people always say that America is a Christian country. And I think that probably the largest percentage of people are Christian. So, it seems it is appropriate to quote a bible verse. I don't really consider myself any religion any more but I like that some of the Old Testament laws were geared toward making certain that farmers(the main businessmen of the time period) left something behind for the poor.


One of the interesting stories in the Bible is that of Ruth. The reason that she was gleaning grain in Boaz's field was because the Old Testament rules had mandated that the farmer had to leave some grain for the poor. Leviticus Chapter 19: 9-10 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain. Likewise you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen These things you shall leave for the poor and alien.

It would be interesting to know how otherbelief systems view helping the poor and what their writings say on the subject also.

 

[Equus5O]

I know that Target sends (or used to, anyway) their returned merchandise and merchandise in damaged packaging to Good Will. When my son was an infant, my mother got me most of his diapers from Good Will; the packages were torn and then taped ... otherwise perfect.

 

[AHappychick]

how discusting. I live in NY right outside NYC and if they threw a rock from their doorstep in any direction they could hit a person who needed those items. I am sure it happens a lot more than you think. Makes you wonder why we pay for such items that they see as garbage.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
It happens in the particular chain that my hubby works for and I have been told by several people who work in retail that it happens in their stores. So, I think that it is very, very, very common.

I had a friend who was told that people from their store could be arrested if they went dumpster diving after the store closed. Some of the workers had threatened to take the items out of the trash and give it to Good Will. Nope they were told. We have cameras on the dumpsters and you will go to jail. That might have been an empty threat but the fact that the manager felt so strongly about the items remaining in the trash is shocking.

 

[ChickBond 007]

The moral compass can only point one in the right direction; it cannot make one go there -- Gil Grissom, and the wisdom of CSI

You cannot make people do the ethical thing, you can simply hope/pray that they will. It's not for us to judge, it will be His to judge someday.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
You can not make a person or a business ethical but enough public pressure can be brought to bear that they feel it is in their best interest to at least pretend to be ethical.

Stores that dump clothing should be brought to light and we as consumers should use that as a guide in whether to shop there or not.

As far as judging, do you mean that you don't believe that you can decide if another's actions are right or wrong? How can you ever be on a jury then?

 

[mom'sfolly]

I thought that once items went into the trash the items were no longer considered owned by the person throwing them out. You might get hit with trespassing, if the trash cans were on store property, but they couldn't arrest anyone for theft.

I have a friend who administers Coats for Kids, and she has to buy an awful lot. Even if they were willing to sell items to someplace like that for a few cents on the dollar, everyone would be better off.

 

[1stepcloser]

Home Depot does it all the time. They had a HUGE trash bin of houseplants that could have totally been saved. They refused to give them to me. They said they got reimbursed by the manufacturer (or supplier as the case may be) if they destroyed them. STOOPID practice IMO.

 

[Wifezilla]

It happens at bakeries too. Not local, but national chains that supply stores. Fortunately I have a connection and we make sure a local food pantry gets stocked. Shhhhhh!

 

[deb1]

Quote:
When I was younger, I worked for a fast food company. The manager said that it always upset him to throw items out but that the risk of bacteria made it unhealthy for him to give the food away.

I would think that bakery goods would be different though as breads can sit out a few days. Plus, the only person who touches the bread is the buyer.