I have been told by a neighbor that works for Wal-Mart that this is what they do - they destroy perfectly good merchandise - clothes, toys, lawnmowers - it all goes into one of those huge super-shredders that shreds everything. Don't know why. Wal-Mart does some good things for the communities in which they have their stores. I'm not sure why they just don't donate the stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it. Would love to see what you've written on the subject as well.
On a side note, I'm thrilled to see the article being well received. I've been meaning to write it for a couple of years now, and this is the first time I've gotten all my notes in one place to crank it out. Guess everyone eats a few of these a week, so why not get the discussion rolling?
This post is so relevant to me right now. I have a new blog post about saving money on groceries and I talk about packing lunches a little bit. Great ideas here!
In my experience, a company can give things for free without having to worry that they are falling into the wrong hands (either people selling them, or people who could afford to purchase). They have to give them to legit non-profits.
Most, if not all, of the groups we partner with have screening programs to ensure that the recipients of donations actually are in need.
I don't often get to see the recipients in person, but they do write to us and when we do see them, I can attest that these people are THANKFUL that there are groups out there to help them. Nobody LIKES taking handouts, no matter what people think.
I volunteer with a small local charity in Ocean County, NJ. We provide quality of life essentials to those in need.
A local Wal-Mart has been wonderful to us, we get bags and bags of clothes, housewares, baby gear, whatever. They've donated photo processing services and their employees have helped at our events. I think it's because the store manager and a key employee or two is willing to put in a little effort. They bag everything and set it aside.
While one of the employees chooses to deliver it to us, we would gladly pick up this merchandise.
Any charity would bend over backwards to get brand-new Wal-Mart gear!
Not exactly healthy, but I used to like to put a bit of French Onion Dip on turkey sandwiches (in lieu of mayo, which I detest). It's best to take the dip seperately in a little container rather than spread it on the sandwich if you're taking it to work or school.
Yes, I work for a book vendor, and weekly, I rip the covers off MANY books, just so we can send them back for less shipping cost. (they are all paperbacks only.) The rest of the book gets recycled, which is good, but still...what a WASTE!! They should (they have to have some sort of record of which books didn't sell, so they need the cover and price info) really donate the stripped books, so other people who did NOT have $7.99 to read a book, CAN read a book!
I feel so wasteful when I stand there and rip the cover off book after perfectly new book!
There's gotta be a better way!
(oh, and lots of times, the coverless books are NOT recycled. Plenty of times, they've gone straight into the trash compactor at the store.
I cringe everytime!!!
My boyfriend worked for a national book retailer and was not surprised to find out that H&M and Walmart are doing this. He said they would destroy loads of magazines and rip the covers off of books. Companies do get a tax refund on these "damanged" goods and do this to prevent people from dumpster diving.
Another option - an H & M Outlet where they sell unwanted merchandise at a slashed price...That's what Saks 5th Ave. & Nordstrom's do -
Goodwills around me have a lot of new Target merchandise (presumably donated)- which certainly raises my opinion of Target - I am sure H & M could donate that extra clothing & manage a tax deal....Or offer special sales with very low prices - $5 an item? Some smaller stores do that on their own initiative. I found myself buying a $6 H & M cocktail ring - why not more sales deals??
A 529 College Savings plan is also a great way to set aside money to save for college. As an advocate of Allstate Insurance, I would suggest taking a lot of their site: http://myallstatefinancial.com
It has a lot of great articles and resources on college savings including a financial planning calculator that I've found really helpful while budgeting.
The issue here, and the one I think that Bill was attempting to make when he's not blaming liberals for poverty and starvation, is supply and demand. If a company like Walmart has excess product, and gives it away for free, they are flooding the market and driving down their (already insanely low) prices, leading to lost revenue. People wouldn't BUY stuff if they knew that the store would eventually give it away for free. I'm sure that Walmart has done a cost-benefit analysis and decided that it was a better option to destroy goods than to drive down retail prices by giving things away.
I don't think a "free" rack is a good way to handle something like this; companies (all kind of companies, not just retailers like Walmart) need to be careful about avoiding over-production. It's a tightrope act - one one hand, you don't want product shortages that lead to customer discontent, but on the other hand, you don't want dead stock either. The key to profit is in understanding your market and producing more efficiently to begin with.
It should be noted the Walmart says that they normally donate excess clothing to charity and that it was a contractor that destroyed the good mentoned in the article.
HI! these are some amazing ideas!!! :) great job....i have a question.....i am looking at starting a jean quilt but....i don't know how many jeans i will need! i am still a begginger i have so far quilted one small quilt and am working on a twin right now...i would like to make either a twin or qween quilt. How many jeans do you think i would need??? i would really appreatate your help!!!! thanks so much!! :)
Khurt has a point about chutneys- I was going to bring up acchar, actually (but I am writing an article about it, so was going to keep my cards close to my chest and all that). Have you ever had acchar? It's also called "pickle" in India and Pakistan, and it's green (unripe) mangos (and sometimes garlic, carrots, chili peppers, and another fruit called amla) that has been preserved in mustard oil and spices. I cannot begin to describe how happy it makes my tastebuds - just mix it into a little cream cheese. A tiny bit goes a long way, so it's a VERY frugal choice.
What I think is that it sounds so wasteful that it tarnishes their reputation in a major way. I have boycotted stores / restaurants (like forever) for less that this. They need to think again -- and quick!
These companies are takign the write off on the merchandise to improve their bottom line, for their share holders, who have invested their money to realize a return.
Why is a company in any way responsible for people who want things, that can't afford them, and why should shareholders lose out on the write off because of it?
Because you say, it is the right thing to do?
Sigh, more people have died of starvation because of the liberal ideology of getting food stuffs to Africa, than woudl have starved if left to their own devices, just because it makes you feel good to do something, doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do. Someone without a coat today, might take it upon themselves to learn how to make one for themselves tomorrow.
How about treating Adults like adults and not children?
I found that what's in it for me is that I don't have to shred the bills anymore. I don't have to waste time sorting through so much mail. My mail box is locked. So I now check it twice a month. I get rid of the flyers and what's left is my magazines. Easy. And when the new Apple tablet is in hand, I (hopefully) won't have to get my magazines in the mail either.
OMG, I've been looking for something like this forever. I'm tired of saving every receipt and paper in a drawer (no file cabinet in my new place yet).
I'm surprised you mentioned electronic medical records. I'm actually writing a blog post about to save money using them.
Thank you for the great post!
I have been told by a neighbor that works for Wal-Mart that this is what they do - they destroy perfectly good merchandise - clothes, toys, lawnmowers - it all goes into one of those huge super-shredders that shreds everything. Don't know why. Wal-Mart does some good things for the communities in which they have their stores. I'm not sure why they just don't donate the stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it. Would love to see what you've written on the subject as well.
On a side note, I'm thrilled to see the article being well received. I've been meaning to write it for a couple of years now, and this is the first time I've gotten all my notes in one place to crank it out. Guess everyone eats a few of these a week, so why not get the discussion rolling?
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
This post is so relevant to me right now. I have a new blog post about saving money on groceries and I talk about packing lunches a little bit. Great ideas here!
That onion dip sounds delish. Taking it in a separate container is definitely the way to go, as you say.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
In my experience, a company can give things for free without having to worry that they are falling into the wrong hands (either people selling them, or people who could afford to purchase). They have to give them to legit non-profits.
Most, if not all, of the groups we partner with have screening programs to ensure that the recipients of donations actually are in need.
I don't often get to see the recipients in person, but they do write to us and when we do see them, I can attest that these people are THANKFUL that there are groups out there to help them. Nobody LIKES taking handouts, no matter what people think.
I worked in a Waldenbooks while in college. It killed me to dumpster (no recycling then) all those paperbacks. I could have cried.
I volunteer with a small local charity in Ocean County, NJ. We provide quality of life essentials to those in need.
A local Wal-Mart has been wonderful to us, we get bags and bags of clothes, housewares, baby gear, whatever. They've donated photo processing services and their employees have helped at our events. I think it's because the store manager and a key employee or two is willing to put in a little effort. They bag everything and set it aside.
While one of the employees chooses to deliver it to us, we would gladly pick up this merchandise.
Any charity would bend over backwards to get brand-new Wal-Mart gear!
Not exactly healthy, but I used to like to put a bit of French Onion Dip on turkey sandwiches (in lieu of mayo, which I detest). It's best to take the dip seperately in a little container rather than spread it on the sandwich if you're taking it to work or school.
Yes, I work for a book vendor, and weekly, I rip the covers off MANY books, just so we can send them back for less shipping cost. (they are all paperbacks only.) The rest of the book gets recycled, which is good, but still...what a WASTE!! They should (they have to have some sort of record of which books didn't sell, so they need the cover and price info) really donate the stripped books, so other people who did NOT have $7.99 to read a book, CAN read a book!
I feel so wasteful when I stand there and rip the cover off book after perfectly new book!
There's gotta be a better way!
(oh, and lots of times, the coverless books are NOT recycled. Plenty of times, they've gone straight into the trash compactor at the store.
I cringe everytime!!!
My boyfriend worked for a national book retailer and was not surprised to find out that H&M and Walmart are doing this. He said they would destroy loads of magazines and rip the covers off of books. Companies do get a tax refund on these "damanged" goods and do this to prevent people from dumpster diving.
http://us.kpmg.com/microsite/taxnewsflash/2009/May/09217.html
Another option - an H & M Outlet where they sell unwanted merchandise at a slashed price...That's what Saks 5th Ave. & Nordstrom's do -
Goodwills around me have a lot of new Target merchandise (presumably donated)- which certainly raises my opinion of Target - I am sure H & M could donate that extra clothing & manage a tax deal....Or offer special sales with very low prices - $5 an item? Some smaller stores do that on their own initiative. I found myself buying a $6 H & M cocktail ring - why not more sales deals??
Here are some what's-in-it-for-me-reasons to go paperless!
http://www.apaperlesslife.com/2010/01/10-selfish-reasons-to-go-paperless/
No Andrea, I've never had acchar. Sounds delish, though. Looking forward to your post on the topic.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
I used the scrap pieces from past sewing projects to make placemats ,table runners and wall hangings
A 529 College Savings plan is also a great way to set aside money to save for college. As an advocate of Allstate Insurance, I would suggest taking a lot of their site: http://myallstatefinancial.com
It has a lot of great articles and resources on college savings including a financial planning calculator that I've found really helpful while budgeting.
The issue here, and the one I think that Bill was attempting to make when he's not blaming liberals for poverty and starvation, is supply and demand. If a company like Walmart has excess product, and gives it away for free, they are flooding the market and driving down their (already insanely low) prices, leading to lost revenue. People wouldn't BUY stuff if they knew that the store would eventually give it away for free. I'm sure that Walmart has done a cost-benefit analysis and decided that it was a better option to destroy goods than to drive down retail prices by giving things away.
I don't think a "free" rack is a good way to handle something like this; companies (all kind of companies, not just retailers like Walmart) need to be careful about avoiding over-production. It's a tightrope act - one one hand, you don't want product shortages that lead to customer discontent, but on the other hand, you don't want dead stock either. The key to profit is in understanding your market and producing more efficiently to begin with.
It should be noted the Walmart says that they normally donate excess clothing to charity and that it was a contractor that destroyed the good mentoned in the article.
HI! these are some amazing ideas!!! :) great job....i have a question.....i am looking at starting a jean quilt but....i don't know how many jeans i will need! i am still a begginger i have so far quilted one small quilt and am working on a twin right now...i would like to make either a twin or qween quilt. How many jeans do you think i would need??? i would really appreatate your help!!!! thanks so much!! :)
Khurt has a point about chutneys- I was going to bring up acchar, actually (but I am writing an article about it, so was going to keep my cards close to my chest and all that). Have you ever had acchar? It's also called "pickle" in India and Pakistan, and it's green (unripe) mangos (and sometimes garlic, carrots, chili peppers, and another fruit called amla) that has been preserved in mustard oil and spices. I cannot begin to describe how happy it makes my tastebuds - just mix it into a little cream cheese. A tiny bit goes a long way, so it's a VERY frugal choice.
What I think is that it sounds so wasteful that it tarnishes their reputation in a major way. I have boycotted stores / restaurants (like forever) for less that this. They need to think again -- and quick!
These companies are takign the write off on the merchandise to improve their bottom line, for their share holders, who have invested their money to realize a return.
Why is a company in any way responsible for people who want things, that can't afford them, and why should shareholders lose out on the write off because of it?
Because you say, it is the right thing to do?
Sigh, more people have died of starvation because of the liberal ideology of getting food stuffs to Africa, than woudl have starved if left to their own devices, just because it makes you feel good to do something, doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do. Someone without a coat today, might take it upon themselves to learn how to make one for themselves tomorrow.
How about treating Adults like adults and not children?
Apparently as of Jan. 1, 2010, Disneyland is no longer offering free birthday visits!
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Apparently as of Jan. 1, 2010, Disneyland is no longer offering free birthday visits!
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Great idea with the chutneys. I keep meaning to use more of those.
I have at least started using more fruit in dinner menus, which was a goal this year. Maybe this will be my year to get there with the chutneys.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
@ WIIFM?
I found that what's in it for me is that I don't have to shred the bills anymore. I don't have to waste time sorting through so much mail. My mail box is locked. So I now check it twice a month. I get rid of the flyers and what's left is my magazines. Easy. And when the new Apple tablet is in hand, I (hopefully) won't have to get my magazines in the mail either.