One Victoria's Secret employee recently revealed the chain's outrageously wasteful practices in a TikTok video.
Many companies throw out the products they can't sell, and more and more photos and videos from unhappy employees have been shared online in response to the problem. While some people try to salvage these items via dumpster diving, unfortunately, many companies respond with policies that force workers to destroy the items before putting them in the trash so that no one can use them.
That's what TikToker Sarah Martin (@sarahmartiin) says she was forced to do by her employer, Victoria's Secret.
"Come do damages with me at work!" Martin says in her video, which shows her in the store with a pile of clothing items and a pair of scissors. According to tags on each item, they're damaged, meaning the store can't sell them for full price.
So instead of repairing the merchandise or selling each item at a discount, Victoria's Secret apparently directed Martin to cut the items up so they're no longer wearable before bagging them and tossing them in the trash.
@sarahmartiin Come to work with me at Victoria's Secret! #TheAdamProject #ShowUsYourDrawers #TurboTaxAlphorn #victoriassecret ♬ Love You So - The King Khan & BBQ Show
"Why don't they just donate them?" asked one commenter, adding crying emojis.
"That just breaks my heart ... So many women shelters could benefit from all those," agreed another commenter.
The sad reality is that retail companies place profit over doing good — and it's not profitable to give away products. After all, someone might skip buying an item from the store if they find out they can get a slightly damaged one for free.
Rather than allow that to happen, the company would rather deny clothing to people in need, wasting all the labor, materials, and energy that went into the product while clogging up landfills and increasing pollution by manufacturing and shipping replacement items.
Martin received some critical comments on the video, prompting her to clarify in a comment of her own.
"Just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I agree with it!" she wrote. "I follow company policies."
That's the position many employees find themselves in when faced with corporations that consider salvaging or donating unsellable items to be "stealing."
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