As Joann Fabric and Craft stores across the country closed, employees were forced to deal with the massive amount of remaining inventory. In a Reddit post, one former employee revealed the company's unsettling practice of discarding perfectly good sewing patterns.
What's happening?
An exasperated Joann employee vented their frustrations in the r/joannfabrics subreddit after posting a video highlighting the company's careless clean-out process. The video shows a pile of sewing patterns tossed into the dumpster.
"That dumpster is like 4 feet of pattern waste," wrote the OP. "Ugh."
The OP explained how initially the company had employees sort the patterns with the goal of keeping them, but that quickly turned into "'everything in the dumpster, don't forget to douse em with water and take a pic for proof' overnight."
Redditors were equally appalled by the company's purposeful destruction of sewing patterns and blatant waste.
"Bookstores and the publishing companies had a similar thing," responded one user. "Rip the cover off and send that in while tossing the books themselves. It's a huge waste."
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Why was Joann's inventory policy concerning?
Sewing patterns are not cheap, so throwing out perfectly good patterns is a huge waste of money. It's also a massive hit to the environment. Those discarded patterns will now end up in landfills that are already crowded. From there, they'll slowly break down, releasing harmful, planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.
The most frustrating part, however, is that this could easily have been avoided had the company simply donated the patterns. Donating them would not only keep the patterns out of the trash but also offer them to consumers who may not be able to afford purchasing new patterns.
Is Joann doing anything about this?
One Redditor in the r/joannfabrics forum explained how their store cleared out the remaining patterns by selling "mystery boxes." Each mystery box contained approximately 25 patterns and was priced at only $20, a significant discount considering a single pattern can cost $20 on its own.
Offering remaining inventory at serious discounts is a win for consumers and the environment. It gives shoppers the chance to buy items at an affordable price, extending the life of products that would otherwise end up in the trash.
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What single change would make the biggest dent in your personal food waste?
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Not buying food I don't need 🧐 What's being done about inventory waste more broadly?
One of the main ways companies can reduce inventory waste is by minimizing overstocking and implementing effective inventory management practices. Some companies have reduced their waste through sustainable policies, such as switching to compostable utensils and offering refillable beauty products.
We can each do our part to reduce unnecessary waste by shopping secondhand, using less plastic, and responsibly recycling or disposing of trash.
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