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Is Urban Outfitters Trash Really For Charity?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 23, 2010
Modified Jan 23, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 23, 2010
Modified Jan 23, 2010
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In light of H&M and the city recently trashing perfectly good items that could have gone to charity, one blogger at Tree Hugger digs deeper to find out how Urban Outfitters handles their unwanted goods. She happened to stumble upon a bunch of boxes outside of their 14th Street and 6th Avenue store, all taped up with the words "broken" adorning them.
Opening one box up, she found "gag notepads, a disco ball, mugs, hipster tchotchkies, even an iPod speaker system. The stuff wasn't brand new — some of it, like the mugs, was damaged; most of it was just worn or rough around the edges, and totally usable." She also found hats, home decor items, sneakers, and boots.
Eventually someone addressed the small scavenging group that had formed, and told them the cops were coming, and that this wasn't trash at all... but goods going to Salvation Army. Or was it? The scavenger questions, "why were they leaving all of this out on the street for the Salvation Army? Why not deliver it, or keep in storage? A bunch of heavy boxes taped up next to the trash are an easy target for New Yorkers of all stripes." Moreover, it's not illegal to rummage and take items from these discarded piles — the Department of Sanitation acknowledges one may go through trash left on the curb.
So, where was Urban Outfitters really putting their damaged goods — cause we're pretty sure we've never seen a Hamburger Phone at the Salvation Army.
Tagged
charity
department of sanitation
garbage
retail
trash
urban outfitters
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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