Ever thought about buying used underwear? No? Then be careful where you shop.
Nordstroms, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Bloomingdales and The Gap were recently caught on tape accepting returns of used underwear, re-tagging them and putting them right back on the sales floor.
A Today Show report this morning showed undercover investigators purchasing underwear and bikinis from eight major retailers, removing the hygienic strip and returning the product to the sales floor. They marked their purchases with small dots in order to identify them. Every store took the items back for full refund. In the cases of five of the retailers the item was immediately re-tagged and put back on the sales floor, sometimes within seconds!
A former employee who worked at three different Victoria’s Secret stores told stories of even worse actions. Not only did her stores re-tag and place returned lingerie items out for sale, items that had an obvious “odor” to them were hung overnight for the “odor to come out” and then placed back out on the sales floor. Gross! Even stained items were accepted and resold, she said. This statement was put to the test by the investigators who visibly stained some panties with baby oil. Employees at The Gap, Bloomingdales, Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s accepted the returns, gave the refund and placed those items back out for sale.
It’s not illegal on a national level to sell used underwear. Some charity stores like Salvation Army sell donated underwear but they are thoroughly washed (supposedly) before being placed up for sale and buyers at their stores knowthe items are used. And, unfortunately, there is a large market on the Internet for underage girls to sell their used panties to men, especially in Japan, and women in general can sell theirs to those with certain, um, fetishes.
Some states have laws regarding what personal items can be resold. In New York it’s illegal to sell used hats, but not used underwear. Apparently head lice is a bigger problem than anything that could be transmitted through used underwear. What are the health risks? According to microbiologist Peter Kameek (sp?), if not properly cleaned before wearing, used underwear can harbor dangerous germs and diseases that can stay present and active in fabric for weeks. The dangers are most apparent in traces of, gulp, fecal matter harboring such things as bacterias, viruses and fungi.
Stores where purchases were made and not seemingly returned to the sales floor were Saks Fifth Avenue, J. Crew and Express. Looks like Saks got smart after they got caught doing this by a New York CBS affiliate back in 2003. Funny, Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret were also caught back then. All five stores issued statements to The Today Show that it’s not their policy to do so. Policy, schmolicy. Profits talk, people.
So what’s a girl to do? You can either buy panties in unopened packages (aka “granny panties”) or make sure the hygiene liner is present on the stuff you buy. Problem is most panties don’t come with those anymore, only bathing suits. So other than wearing your goods until they’ve worn out so badly you might as well be wearing nothing, just be sure to thoroughly wash any undergarments you buy before you wear them. And try not to think about it when you’re browsing the lingerie.
