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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Office Hours

Is the ‘mancession’ leaving guys short of good clothes? Maybe this suit drive makes sense

Men's Wearhouse, the national men's clothing retailer, is spending all September urging donations of used or good quality men's items to pass along to people looking to upgrade their wardrobes.

The campaign is the National Suit Drive. Anyone who donates good or decent men's items (anything from ties to a suit) gets a coupon earning a 25 percent discount for a purchase at Men's Warehouse.

The national campaign's pitch this year started with a “give-the-suits-off-their-backs” event in five cities, in which  teams of bare-chested men descended on the metro downtown, sporting posters urging guys to make donations.

The goal, according to the campaign, is to help unemployed males dress a little better for a job interview. The press kit claims 82 percent of job losses have affected men, "disproportionately hurting the male workforce,” said George Zimmer, Men’s Wearhouse founder and CEO. "By collecting and donating professional clothing, Men’s Wearhouse aims to help men ‘suit up’ for job interviews and offset the ‘mancession.’ "

Mancession or marketing ploy, you decide. The Spokane location to make donations is the Men's Warehouse store at 5005 N Division.  All items donated during September will go to Spokane-based nonprofit The Artisans, which will handle the distribution of the clothes.



Tom Sowa
Tom Sowa covers technology, retail and economic development and writes the Office Hours blog.