
Beneath the TikTok account “GlamourDDive,” a girl named Ella from Texas regularly posts in regards to the insane issues that she finds when dumpster diving round massive retail shops.
She’s gotten over 1.2 million followers on TikTok and a whole lot of 1000’s on YouTube and Instagram. Not solely that, however she really opened up her personal on-line store the place she repurposes the objects she finds — most not too long ago, she went to the Nike dumpsters.
Ella discovered 1000’s of {dollars} price of Nike attire when dumpster diving.
Ella has been across the Nike block just a few occasions within the final yr or so — at the very least primarily based on the posts she’s made on TikTok — and has come away with luggage of brand-new Nike merchandise valued properly within the 1000’s of {dollars}. Nike isn’t low-cost.
The primary video she posted was again in October 2022 the place she thought she may need stumbled into an worker’s secret stash, however she shortly returned to the shop to dumpster dive again in February, and extra not too long ago on April eighth.
“One other hidden jackpot dumpster diving at Nike,” she wrote within the overlaid textual content. “This huge bag seems to be prefer it’s full of a bunch of clothes. All the pieces nonetheless has tags on it. That is insane.”
After pulling the bag out and taking stock of the objects, it’s clear that she’s raking a whole lot upon a whole lot of {dollars} in garments. 4 jackets priced at $120, a Nike Tech fleece priced at $130, three hoodies, a few long-sleeve shirts, some sports activities bras, pants, and socks — simply from the one bag. If we take a look at retail pricing, this simply goes over $1000.
However this isn’t the one time she’s gone to Nike, and even dumpster-dived in any respect. On her web site, she resells a number of the objects she finds when dumpster diving, drastically reducing them from their retail value. Generally, she simply donates them instantly.
“Many merchandise I discover are donated together with meals, clothes, blankets, animal provides, and many others,” she writes. “I attempt to maintain costs low-cost and discounted compared to the retail value. Nevertheless, delivery is added [to] the cart which can elevate the worth.”
Whereas Ella’s trigger is unquestionably noble, there’s a a lot deeper drawback being showcased right here, and many individuals within the feedback pointed it out as properly.
Somebody, referring to the garments, posed the query, ‘Why don’t they donate them?’
The easy reply is capitalism. In actuality, the reply is way more complicated, and there are a myriad of explanation why firms might select to discard good, unsold merchandise, however the backside line is… it could damage their backside line.
In accordance with style watchdog Weight-reduction plan Prada in October 2021, the destruction and discarding of unsold merchandise profit companies within the type of a tax loophole. Broken items can turn out to be a tax write-off for these firms.
Much more startling is claims made by HuffPost in 2018 that many manufacturers imagine discounting, donating, and even freely giving their garments would burn their model’s picture — so as a substitute, they burn the garments that they’re promoting. The market worth for garments would go down if all you needed to do was anticipate them to turn out to be free, proper?
It is smart within the minds of individuals whose whole aim is to drive revenue and revenue, however for these of us with an ethical compass and sustainability in thoughts, it’s an terrible follow.
“There’s a big extra of wasted items thrown away every single day by company America,” Ella writes on her web site. “This solely contributes to a build-up of air pollution and waste that ultimately finally ends up buried and left to rot in landfills.”
That’s why her final aim is to “give again to households and animals that won’t have the help or means to assist themselves.”
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on leisure and information, social justice, and politics. Sustain along with his rants about present occasions on his Twitter.