Robert, the writer did another follow-up story yesterday. It was interesting. I’m tempted to email him and ask for a list of the retail establishments that participate in this horrible practice of destroying clothes (he says he received emails from people who work at other retailers that do this as well). I’d love to see that list get published and see what their executive teams have to say for themselves.

It also mentioned branding; that brands pay billions of dollars for models and celebrities to endorse their brands, and if the homeless are wearing the pieces that don’t sell, what does that say about the brand (in a negative connotation)?

In response, I will just say that that is exactly what is wrong. In order to be a successful brand, you have to produce more clothes than you can sell. To promote them, you spend a pile of cash so they will sell for more. Leftovers have to be shipped out of the general buying area or they can diminish the efforts to make the brand more trendy and expensive. In tight economic times, no store can really afford to ship its clothes overseas when they are “last season.” Thus they end up slashed and go to the landfill. I get the reasons, I just do not agree. Besides, if that guy begging for change on the corner is wearing a Christian LaCroix shirt and Hugo Boss slacks, they are likely to find less sympathy and those folks who buys these designers are less likely to find them upscale enough to continue spending the huge piles of cash that it takes to purchase them. Perhaps we need a new store that takes in these rejects, holds them for a year or so, then resells them at a cheap price and uses the money to support charities like shelters and hires underprivileged people to operate the stores….