A recent article from The Betoota Advocate highlighted the distaste a local woman felt when she had to gently explain to a Cotton On employee that if she had any money to spare, she probably wouldn’t be fucken shopping there!
Known for offering basic clothing that begins to unravel after three washes, Cotton On remains one of the few affordable clothing retailers in Australia selling tops and T-shirts for under $70 – with the only other high street option being Glassons, which caters more to trendy twenty-somethings.
Still, despite very clearly being a store for people who don’t have coin to spare, Cotton On staff are required to ask every customer if they’d like to donate to a charitable cause at checkout.
But for local woman Heidi Loom, 29, she IS the cause – which is why she’s fed up with being guilt-tripped by companies asking her to give more.
Speaking to a reporter from The Betoota Advocate, Heidi questions whether luxury boutiques like Gucci or Chanel ever hit their customers up for donations, or if it’s exclusively poor people getting tapped.
“It’s a mutual humiliation ritual.”
“The Cotton On employee doesn’t want to ask, but they have to – and then I have to be like, ‘Oh no, sorry, I’m a huge piece of shit who doesn’t care about starving kids in Africa!’. Yeah, I just spent $9 on a Boost Juice but can’t spare $2 to give a child clean water.”
“And it’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s the principle – these corporations make millions in profit using sweatshop labour… which I’m now also supporting because I’m buying it.
“Anyway, I don’t want to be having an existential crisis while shopping for a *fucken* basic tank top.”
This negative shopping experience certainly isn't unique to Cotton On, grocery chains are equally guilty of expecting cash-strapped Aussie customers to donate to charities on their behalf, fueling their tax benefits and swelling their multi-billion dollar profits.
So next time you're making clothing choices, especially for children's wear, you definitely won't encounter this 'existential crisis' experience at Baby Todd & Co.
"We never ask our customers to donate — we focus on doing what we can to support vulnerable people in our community, and that’s something we care deeply about."
Steve Alexander, Owner and Brand Director
Read more about Baby Todd & Co.'s community support
Story adapted from an article by Effie Bateman for The Betoota Advocate