It should probably come as no surprise that shoppers at Bloomingdale’s flagship store paid more attention to signs advertising 50% discounts than to the three-day “Denim and Shoe Recycle” Earth Day event.
From April 20 to April 22, Bloomingdale’s customers rushed to the 59th Street store to get their hands on designer items on sale, however many of them didn’t know that during the same time the store, together with Housing Works thrift shops, was hosting an Earth Day event.
Customers were asked to recycle their gently worn denim and shoes, which would be donated to Housing Works thrift shops, in exchange for four passes to see the Disney movie, Oceans, and organic travel shoe bags. Also they could check out designer Eileen Fisher’s eco-friendly collection trunk show, and contribute to the environment by pre-ordering the items.
However the popularity of the event was very low. Most customers didn’t stop at the Earth Day stands.
Sisters Gabby and Rossana Fishman came to try to get their hands on some designer items after a long day of work, however they didn’t know anything about the ongoing Earth Day event.
“It is a great idea, and I have so many almost new jeans laying around at home that I haven’t worn for years, I would’ve loved to participate, but I didn’t even know about it.” said Gabby Fishman.
“We got so many letters in the mail about the sale, but nothing about this Eco event,” her sister said.
The lack of interest in the event didn’t stop the chaos in the store. Sale associates were running around trying to help customers find items they were looking for.
Erin, a sale representative, didn’t seem to be concerned with the lack of interest in the Earth Day event. “There is nothing we can do, people are just more interested in the sale,” she said.