H&M’s Disposal Policies Don’t Make the Cut

If Zac Posen has unsold inventory at the end of the season, you can likely find it for a discount on Gilt. A successful trip to Century 21 or TJ Maxx (for the non-New Yorkers) can mean steep discounts on last season’s clothes.

H&M or Wal-Mart’s unsold inventory? Check the trash. In a very eco-unfriendly move, the New York Times reports that both retailers make a habit of simply throwing out unworn clothes that don’t move. Rather than donating the garments to the homeless or charities – New York Cares, around the corner from H&M’s 34th Street store would willingly accept the clothes, the clothes are ripped or slashed and thrown away.

While H&M and Wal-Mart are the subject of the Times’ look at clothing at the end of its life cycle, it raises the question of how mass retailers handle unsold inventory. Officially, most companies have donation programs or policies in place; but with larger tax savings for losses than donations, it raises the question of how closely fast fashion adheres to those guidelines.

Read more {New York Times}