H&M, Walmart Seen Throwing Clothes Away

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - In this down economy, why are some stores throwing away their merchandise instead of donating it to charity?

It's the question being asked by several people who were shocked to find trash bags of clothing sitting outside the H&M store in Manhattan's Herald Square. Discarded clothing with Walmart tags were also found in trash bags on 35th Street outside a space where a Walmart contractor purportedly works. The New York Times reports that people have seen employees slashing and cutting clothing before throwing them away so they would be unwearable.

In New York City, where a third of its residents are poor, many are upset to have discovered stores are throwing clothing away.

"The H&M thing was just ridiculous, not only clothing, but bags and bags of sturdy plastic hangers," Cynthia Magnus, a graduate student, told the Times. "I took a dozen of them. A girl can never have enough hangers."

Magnus has written a letter to H&M offering to help them find local charities where they could donate their merchandise. But so far, she hasn't gotten a response.

The Times also failed to get a response from H&M, but a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, said that the company normally donates all its unwanted goods to charities and that the store on 35th Street would be investigated.

According to one message board, stores throwing clothing away isn't an isolated practice. Nomenklatura wrote on TeenSpot.com , "I work at Kmart, and most Kmarts are supposed to lock their dumpsters. What's really sad is when we throw away finished goods just because they aren't selling." ManPac added, "They don't want poor people wearing their name-brand clothing. It creates a bad image for their apparel. I think they avoid donating food so they don't create a dependence on it for the shelters."