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The last few weeks for Ye (FKA Kanye West) have been a wild ride of companies, partners, and projects directly involved with the former billionaire cutting ties over his recent antisemitic remarks. His press run over this period saw Ye take to any outlet that would give him a voice, and in each appearance, reiterated the dangerous ideology that has finally led to the end of one of footwear's most successful collaborations, adidas x Yeezy. With this, we’ve seen The Three Stripes directly stop sales of any product through their own DTC methods and via retailers across the globe as well as the resale platform TheRealReal halting all sales of Ye-affiliated products. Even as prices soar on the secondary market and select colorways become some of the most sold products on StockX, it seems even more companies don’t want to be associated with Ye as a memo sent to Goodwill employees directing them to no longer accept Yeezy apparel or sneakers has surfaced online.
Directly from this memo that was sent by Andy Barajas, Director of Kaizen Engineering/Advanced Scheduling at Goodwill, “As we strive to maintain the most up to date product information on Elevated Brands available to sell we are sensitive to current events and take action when designers and brands do not align with our Mission and RISE values. We are currently removing the sale of Adidas Yeezy Brand product from all channels, Retail Stores, Boutiques, eCommerce and Outlets. As well from our Elevated Brands tool.”
Continuing on with the memo, four points are listed that direct employees to no longer send any Yeezy products to the eCommerce department and for them to not sell the product online. All in-store locations are also directed to remove “any and all Yeezy products from store shelves” and to place them in blue trash bags. As of this writing, we’re unsure if this means they intend to throw out the product entirely, send them for destruction, or maybe hold on to items until further notice.
One other thing to note is that oftentimes you may find knockoff or fake products at thrift stores like Goodwill, meaning that there is a good chance the product the company is removing is not even authentic Yeezy apparel or sneakers.
This is just one of a wide range of companies that have sought to distance themselves from anything Yeezy related in the last few weeks, though it does make one wonder why a store that is intended for those who need to save money on products would limit what they accept. Even with Ye’s comments being hurtful and dangerous if they are going to destroy the product that could be going to those in need of clothing it seems somewhat counter-intuitive. Still, Goodwill is a private company so they have the right to refuse any product they see fit. Keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.
