Over the years, many stores have been caught throwing away or destroying products.
In some cases, this is understandable; a food product may have spoiled and needed to be removed from the store, or an item may not be fit for sale and thus need to be destroyed.
However, some internet users claim that they’ve witnessed popular stores getting rid of usable products, with many accusing these stores of engaging in greedy behavior to keep high profit margins.
In August 2023, a Vans store sparked controversy after users found a pile of destroyed shoes outside its location. That same year, an internet user accused Family Dollar of throwing out “boxes and boxes” of brand-new items. A similar accusation has been made against TJ Maxx, and numerous food workers have alleged that their restaurants throw out uneaten stock at the end of the night.
Now, a user on TikTok says they’ve discovered Petco engaging in the same behavior.
In a clip with over 798,000 views, TikTok user Andy (@yourmomismyfriend72) shows a dumpster filled to the brim with beds for pets. The beds have been slashed.
“Look at these dumpsters. They’re filled with dog beds,” the TikToker says. “They f***ing take razor blades to them and cut them so nobody can garbage pick them.”
“This is new stock. This sh*t still has tags on it,” Andy continues. “Like, donate it to a f***ing shelter—what are you doing?”
In the text overlaying the video, Andy adds, “Petco purposely destroying unsold dog beds despite the millions of shelter dogs that are sitting in concrete kennels right now.”
@yourmomismyfriend72 Deplorable. Corporate greed at its finest. #petco @Petco ♬ original sound – Andy
In the comments section, many claimed that this behavior was commonplace.
“I worked at Petco, anything that gets trashed gets destroyed. I used to put things behind the dumpster so people could take it. We were told to destroy crates, cut leashes & food bags,” wrote a user.
“I worked for a corporate company before and anytime we had new products instead of donating the old we had to destroy them so no one could re-use it bc it’s considered ‘theft,’” stated another. “It’s selfish.”
“I used to work in the stock room at a petsmart and at the end of my shift this is exactly what I’d do. Destroy stuff they ‘can’t’ sell and throw it in the trash,” alleged a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Petco via email and Andy via Instagram direct message.
Update 2:50pm CT May 14: In an Instagram DM exchange with the Daily Dot, Andy revealed that, while Petco had not reached out to him personally, they did leave a comment under his video.
“The company hasn’t reached out to me personally, but they did comment on the video a couple weeks ago when it had like 700 likes,” he wrote. “Unsurprisingly, the comment didn’t really address the subject matter of my video in any depth. Just basic PR talk about the company’s mantra and stuff.”
While Andy says he understands that destroying unsold merchandise is common practice for many companies, he describes the behavior he’s witnessed from Petco as “egregious.”
“I’ve seen brand new fish tanks that were deliberately shattered, and even live fish in bags in their dumpsters,” he detailed. “Unfortunately, the dog bed incident was the first time I thought to document it so I don’t have concrete evidence to back up the other claims.”
Andy states that corporations like Petco must do more to solve these problems.
“I’d like corporations such as Petco to implement more sustainable and humane methods when it comes to the handling of unsold stock. I understand that cutting up unused dog beds allows Petco to claim them as damaged goods for tax write offs, but so would donating them to shelters,” he shared. “It’s upsetting to know that they’d rather send their unsold product to landfills instead of helping the alarming number of animals that are currently sitting in desolate concrete shelters.”
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for Petco to label themselves as big proponents of pet health and wellness while also partaking in these shady business practices,” he continued. “The same criticisms can more or less be applied to any of the large retail corporations that dominate the free market.”
Update 8:05am CT May 15: In an email to the Daily Dot, a Petco spokesperson directed the Daily Dot to the series of comments they left under Andy’s video. They are as follows:
“At Petco, the health and wellness of pets is always our top priority, and we care deeply about every pet and pet parent in the communities we serve. To prevent a product that is no longer in suitable, safe condition from being mistaken for viable merchandise, our teams dispose of it according to our animal care and safety standards. Whenever possible, we donate safe products to local animal welfare organizations through Petco Love Foundation.”
“We looked into this and the products were no longer safe so our team followed our policy and disposed of them. Rest assured, we donate safe products to local animal welfare orgs whenever possible through Petco Love. Thank you for caring about pets in need as much as we do.”
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