Clothing retailers caught throwing out unsold clothes

The Swedish clothing giant H&M, after being caught throwing away (and destroying) unsold clothes by a New York graduate student, will stop tossing its leftovers in the bin.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that "the chain said it will instead donate the garments to charity. Graduate student Cynthia Magnus contacted The New York Times after discovering bags of unworn but slashed clothing outside H&M in Herald Square."

H&M spokeswoman Nicole Christie told AP, "It will not happen again" and that she didn't know why the New York City outlet was destroying its unsold clothing -- which had holes punched through them by a machine, suggesting that the practice was official policy.

Magnus told The New York Times yesterday that she'd found clothes thrown out by an H & M store.

During her walks down 35th Street, Ms. Magnus said, it is more common to find destroyed clothing in the H & M trash. On Dec. 7, during an early cold snap, she said, she saw about 20 bags filled with H & M clothing that had been cut up.