[GreenYes] Re: Target destroys and throws out perfectly good furniture

["Tom Rhodes" <tom.rhodes@no.address>]

Good day Maggie and all you illustrious GreenYessers,

Yes, that is rather disturbing and makes me upset with some retailers.
Not to play the devil's advocate by any means, but some manufacturers
will not allow retailers to sell merchandise that may reflect badly on
that company. Having managed a MRF located at a county landfill, I saw
lots of high dollar hardware, ceiling fans, lawnmowers, etc. being
desposed of by a major home improvement center just because a screw was
missing or it was returned by a customer for some minor reason. In other
cases, it is because the store doesn't want to take the time to repair
or replace parts, even though it would be financially advantageous to do
so. I'm sure they are probably getting a write-off somehow, but I don't
feel that they are factoring in the employee labor, container rental,
hauling costs and tipping fees associated with disposal. Yeah, it pretty
much stinks.

However, in the Raleigh, NC area, some, if not all the Target stores
donate unsaleable merchandise to local GoodWill stores. I shop the
GoodWills and have found some dandy bargains that originally came from
Target. For instance, I paid $15 for a large tent that retailed for
around $100 originally. The tent stakes and guy ropes were missing so
they couldn't sell it as is on the retail floor. I had some rope and
picked up a set of tent stakes at Target for about $5........ Hey, $20
for a $100 tent! You can't beat that. The store probably took a tax
write-off and/or manufacturer reimbursement, avoided the disposal costs
and became a good environmental neighbor and benefactor all in one fell
swoop.

Anyway, any retailer can do this if they only would. Maybe the manager
of your local is just "old school". A few letters to retailers and
corporate offices may have some impact.

Best,
Tom Rhodes

-----Original Message-----
From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On
Behalf Of Marjorie J. Clarke, Ph.D.
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 2:38 AM
To: GreenYes@no.address
Subject: [GreenYes] Target destroys and throws out perfectly good
furniture


I was appalled to find today at the local Target store in the
Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, that when I wanted to buy the floor
model (the last one in the store) of two different pieces of furniture -
nice solid wood, glass, dovetail joints, reasonable price, that the
store manager was adamant that Target has a policy 1) not to sell such
furniture, 2) to destroy this furniture before 
disposing of it.  Something to do with liability??   Can we start a 
campaign to get them to change this?   The manager said something 
illogical like, what would happen if the customer brought the piece
back?
We have Materials for the Arts, Furnish a Future, and numerous thrift 
stores that would probably love to have all this furniture.   Who 
knows what, besides furniture, that this crazy policy applies to.
Multiply this by all the Target stores in the country and you see how
much is being wasted.


Maggie Clarke, Ph.D.
mclarke@no.address
Environmental Scientist and Educator
www.MaggieClarkeEnvironmental.com
www.MaggieClarke.com
New York City  





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