November 2017 by Aloysius Bird
Stupid sexist decisions, nothing to offer men.
I really appreciate the importance of reusing items particularly clothes. Particularly when the modern approach to producing cloths revolves around exploiting children working in sweatshops in third world countries for a pittance while these cloths made to adorn the middle class west with disposable incomes for the short period they are fashionable until their owners decide it is time to buy the new fashions with next months salary.
I am not fashion conscious and I do not have disposable income. I use as many people like me do charity shops to buy clothes which I can not afford to buy new. I also believe in the importance of charity particularly for deprived children whatever the reason. I appreciate those who take time to clear out their wardrobes and donate to charity. This is why I support Barnardo's by using their charity shops particularly as the donations they receive are usually good quality. I am also happy to pay a slightly higher price for quality items, knowing that the money will support children who need it.
So today feeling the cold and finding my winter coat zipper (bought last year from Barnardo's) had broken I made a beeline for Barnardo's in Waterlooville. When I arrived at the shop I found the shop literally flooded with women's clothes so much so that I thought I was having trouble finding the men's section. I asked a volunteer where the men's clothes were, she told me they had been removed to make way for a small christmas section. I also noticed another elderly gentleman confused as to where the mens clothes were, he left the shop looking very disappointed. I asked what was the reason for removing the men's clothes section for christmas items, asking, do men's clothes not sell well. She replied that on the contrary men's clothes sell very well even though there are fewer of them. I asked whose decision was it to remove this section when it would make more sense to remove a small section of overstocked womens clothes for the christmas section. The volunteer agreed that this was a stupid idea that had come from above and agreed that in this cold weather they had nothing to offer men.
I left the shop disappointed and eventually donated my money to the Cat Rescue shop for a replacement coat.
