Waste Always Makes Me Angry

That title my friends is a direct quote from 'Gone with the Wind' courtesy of Rhett Butler. While he was talking about the Civil War and the South, I am talking about clothes.

I give away a lot of stuff. I belong to Freecycle. I donate to Goodwill, Purple Heart, my church and to the Vietnam Veterans Association. If I have something to give, I will give it. I buy second-hand items too. If we no longer need it but someone else might then I am happy to offer it up. I don't like waste. It is not good for us or the planet.  Therefore, I just cannot understand this type of behavior from H&M or any other company, even the evil W. When I first saw the article (tweeted by @jodifur and @amalah), I was aghast. Surely, there had to be some good, plausible reason that bags upon bags of perfectly good clothing for all ages and both sexes was being slashed and discarded. Right? It's not just stupidity, right? Immediately I wanted to head to my local H&M and ask them what they were doing with their "unwanted" clothes. What does any store do with their unwanted items?

I understand the need for new merchandise and moving inventory. However, when there are so many people in this record cold that need clothing, especially warm clothing, how can employees just blindly follow orders and do this? Doesn't someone on the inside know someone who could use this stuff? There are numerous shelters that would be willing to take the items off their hands and put them to good, practical use. Ending up in a landfill isn't practical. Perfectly good clothing being trashed is never eco-friendly. It is just plain old waste and waste makes me angry. Just like when I see computers and other electronics left on the curb for the trash man. There is a proper place for that stuff and a landfill is not it.

Unused, brand-new clothing should be donated. Clearly, H&M does not care about money if it is trashing the stuff. They just do not want anyone else benefiting from it either. In a world like ours that is just inexcusable and it makes me reconsider them as a brand and retailer. Next time I'm at my local mega-plex shopping center I am going to ask the manager what they do with their unused items. If they say they trash them, we will be having a little talk. Waste is just laziness. It is not bothering to find out a better solution and that is inexcusable.



Update:  You know I just love a good ending.  As long as there is follow through.