A new viral video on TikTok is painting Goodwill workers in a bad light as one user, @fozzyozzyy accuses the workers in the thrift store of separating expensive donated items from other goods and holding them for themselves. The video shows one employee at an undisclosed Goodwill location holding four Off-white brand sneakers and taking them to the back for an unspecified reason.
"The goodwill workers really took 4 pairs of off-white sneakers out of a bin and took them to the back," the user wrote in text appearing in the video.
@fozzyozzyy
#goodwill
#goodwillbins
♬ original sound – OzTheWozz
Spectators who came across the video left their judgments in the post's comment section.
“Only people that benefit from that store are the workers,” one user wrote, per Daily Dot. “They take all the good stuff and leave the garbage for the customers.”
“That’s a shame. I donate to help poor customers,” another user said. “It makes me not want to donate.”
According to Goodwill's site, the company is "a non-profit social enterprise, [that] provides work opportunities, skills development and employee and family strengthening for those who face barriers such as disability or social disadvantage; with the aim of advancing individuals, families and communities toward self-sufficiency and prosperity."
The site also mentions its employees and "disadvantaged people who are in training" are "offered vouchers or discounts at Goodwill retail stores."
Goodwill has not publicly commented on the incident as of yet.
The commentary wasn't all bad online. There were some users on TikTok who cut the employee some slack or gave the benefit of the doubt.
“Nobody has an idea if he is in need of help or assistance either,” one user said. “Just because he’s working at Goodwill doesn’t mean he’s rolling in money.”
“Makes sense to me. Finders keepers," another person said.
Some people who used to work for the nationwide nonprofit organization revealed another side previously not considered.
“I work at Goodwill and they make us take expensive items and move them to a different box in the back so the company can resell them online,” one person said.
“When I worked there years ago, we had to go through the bins to find the most valuable items so they could sell them at higher prices up front,” another ex-employee shared.
