According to an article by Joanna Douglas, H&M and Walmart have been destroying perfectly good clothing, shoes, and coats instead of donating to charity.
This really hurts my heart and really makes absolutely no sense. However, it is indicative of just how far capitalism will go to ensure the financial power remains in the top levels.
I was utterly disgusted when I heard that Cynthia Magnus discovered bags of slashed and torn, clothing, shoes and, believe or not in this cold season, coats! There are just too many people in need. This is disheartening. This is why people from other cultures think all Americans are pigs – because this behavior is insane. Can you imagine how it must feel to the people who live in undeveloped and famined countries to know that just off the shore, someone is dumping enough unwanted food that could feed hundreds of starving people?
That’s what this gesture is like to me – I’ve had my share of struggles and my share of shopping at second-hand stores just to be able to afford the amount of clothing my family requires. And to think, there are companies that would rather slash and rip up their clothing than to donate it to families that really need them. Destroying a coat in these frigid temperatures is like pouring gasoline on the pavement – how dare anyone be that wasteful?
H&M and Wal-mart should be ashamed of themselves. In Douglas’s article, she states that they’ve taken measures to discontinue the practice, that of course, “it won’t happen again,” but I really think we need to demand more from companies like these. After all it’s our dollars that are making them rich. While we and everyone else scrape and scrounge our measley earnings just enoughh to pay a few of our bills, they are out eating thousands of dollars worth of caviar and enjoying hours of spa time. That’s just not right – in fact, it’s downright appalling.
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Trash Bin Image: Matt Banks / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Cruise Ship Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Kiesha holds a Master of Arts in English, is a writing instructor and blog consultant.
