H&M: Slashing More Than Prices

January 7, 2010 12:00 pm     Posted in Fashion, Reality, Style  Brittany - University of Saint Thomas g+ page

The first time I walked into H&M, I blacked out for an hour and lost myself in their full, cheap, and cute racks of clothing.  You mean I can buy this dress, shoes, and a scarf for only that much? Thank you H&M, now I can go buy that strawberry crepe I was willing to sacrifice for a pair of shoes. It seems I had gone to heaven in the form of a clearance rack.


By Brittany

H&M became my go-to for all things trendy. And when I say “go-to” I mean “go-t0-on-a-weekly-basis.” That is, until I heard some interesting and rather disturbing news that has me second guessing my love affair.

Recently, it has been discovered H&M has been slashing unsold clothing items and throwing them in the trash. And not just a few imperfect items; bags upon bags of this stuff were found in a dumpster behind their flagship Manhattan store. Items in the H&M trash bin included gloves with the fingers cut off,  shoes with the instep cut-out, and warm jackets with fiber fill pouring out its slashed sides.

All of these items were in perfect condition (prior to someone taking scissors to them, of course).

The fact that H&M is not donating these valuable items to charity is wasteful and just plain disgusting. Especially for a company that boasts to be “committed to taking responsibility for how our operations affect people and the environment. We donate garments that do not meet our quality requirements to organizations such as UNHCR, Caritas, the Red Cross and Helping Hands. When possible, we also donate faulty garments that have been returned to our stores.” Sounds respectable, H&M, but the last time I checked dumpsters weren’t Red Cross donation bins. And I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter how many sustainable materials you’re incorporating into your designs when you’re just tossing it all into garbage dumps.

H&M may claim these actions will “preserve brand integrity” and prevent people from selling their clothing on eBay, but,really, is slashing clothing the humane thing to do right now? Not only are we in a very serious recession which has left many people with nothing, but it also happens to be freezing outside. I’m sure there are plenty of needy people would could have benefited from that coat you hacked. And, let’s be real for a second, it’s not like any of us are waltzing into H&M looking for a one-of-a-kind ensemble. The store mass produces their clothing at a cheap price; who really cares about brand integrity?

Excuses are running thin for H&M, considering all of the options they have to rid of the clothing (rotating stock, improving marketing for special events to clear the shelves, and , duh, actually donating their clothes!).

Don’t get me wrong – I love marching into H&M and snagging uber cute clothes on the cheap. But knowing this makes me think twice about prancing out of the store with a bag full of purchases. I’m just not sure I can support a company that doesn’t support those who need help the most.

What about you? Is a good sale too much to pass up? Or are you going to think twice about shopping at H&M?

14 Comments on "H&M: Slashing More Than Prices"

  1. Casey says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 20107:29 am 

    Most retail stores do this. When I worked at Urban Outfitters I was made to cut up/ destroy thousands of items that were "damaged" (some merely had a tiny hole, or unnoticeable stain)They were certainly things that could have been donated.

    Companies take MAJOR hits because of reselling of old, damaged, or faulty merchandise. And when they loose that much money PEOPLE loose JOBS. Like my loss prevention manager at A&F, he lost his job right before Christmas (and he has a little girl) because the company couldn't afford to keep his position because of this very issue.

    So when people are loosing their jobs over not properly disposing of merchandise that either can't be sold, or isn't selling, is it really all that inhumane? It's a trade off, either help the people who need the help NOW, or help the people who will need the help LATER if you try to help those who need it now.

    It sucks that it's such a waste of material that will end up in a landfill polluting the earth, but that's the price we pay for people who want to break the rules. So blame the ones who ruin it for everyone, not the companies who are just trying to protect themselves and their employees jobs. Cause if they didn't dispose of their stuff this way, they may not be around much longer for you to shop there anyway.

  2. Katherine says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 20109:53 am 

    There are certainly other mechanisms for preventing loss other than DESTROYING the clothing. They could just as easily sell their excess stocks to Marshall's/T.J. Maxx. American Eagle does. And if they want to donate them without the fear of resale, cut the tags off?

    And, if they have SO much excess stock, maybe they should produce less! SHOCK. Sure, maybe they cannot predict which items will be hot and which items not, but 20 garbage bags of clothing is ridiculous.

    Furthermore, @Casey if the guy lost his job because the company suffered losses from resale, then obviously his job is pointless. Assuming he did his job correctly, the act of ripping up clothes didn't prevent company losses, so why have it exist in the first place?

    The whole idea is just a mess.

  3. Carmen says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 201010:24 am 

    **stores lose money, not loose.

  4. Alisha says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 201010:28 am 

    Cutting the tags off before donation would almost definitely eliminate the threat of resale, also I'm sure that many other simple ideas could be implemented to prevent that. This is disgusting.

  5. Jess says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 201011:52 am 

    I know my local Target donates to Goodwill all the time. More stores should do that or sell or give them to Marshall's. Even if they recycled them that'd be better than slashing and throwing in a dumpster.

  6. Allison says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 20101:29 pm 

    Also, there is already news from the PR person for H&M stating that it is not in their policy to destroy clothes, that they are suppose to go to charity. I'm not sure what the practice is that entails it, but the woman did say that the company did not know that this was a practice and that it was not to be done at any of their stores.

  7. Casey says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 20106:48 pm 

    Wow, not sure how I made the same typo twice in one sentence haha.

    But how does merely cutting the tags stop resale? Especially when people are re-selling them illegally to begin with? On A&F and Hollister clothing the pocket stitching is indicative of the brand as well as every little button, brad, zipper pull, and emblem, no one sees the inner tag so what does it matter if it's cut?

    Of course that wouldn't really be a concern for H&M and other stores that don't have the brand displayed, but for companies like A&F, it is.

  8. Malena says:
    Thu, 7th Jan 20109:18 pm 

    I think it's ridiculous that a store as popular as H&M would condone tearing up their clothes so that no one else could wear them. During the winter time, it can go below 20 degrees on any given night in New York. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are less fortunate who would benefit having a nice warm hoodie to snuggle up to and a pair of sneakers to battle the slush of snow on roads. If they were sooooo worried about people reselling stuff, then they should (like someone else said something about TJ Maxx) SELL their stuff at discounted stores. It is inexcusable to slash good clothes and act like its okay while there are people in this world who cannot afford to replace the holey things they have anyway. No excuse is acceptable in H&M, Walmart, or in the case of any store. Whatever happened to recycle, reduce, reuse? There are plenty of places nowadays where people can recycle their clothing instead of just plain throwing them in the garbage.

    I am never shopping at Walmart or H&M again.

  9. melissa says:
    Fri, 8th Jan 20104:21 pm 

    Don't care. Still love H&M.

  10. Nikki says:
    Sat, 9th Jan 20103:10 pm 

    Brit you said "uber"!!!!!! hahahaha LOVE ALL THE ARTICLES :)

  11. michelle says:
    Fri, 15th Jan 20102:40 pm 

    im sure if H&M gave those coats to the countless numbers of homeless people in NYC those people wouldnt go to their laptops and post it on Ebay. oh and they also threw out plastic hangers. why they did that i dont know. they were usable too. i think the obvious thing for them to do now is just donate the clothing to New York Clothing Bank, an organization that protects retailers from what you guys mentioned above.

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