Men's Wearhouse Launches National Suit Drive To Help Unemployed Men

On any given night, almost 700,000 people experience homelessness in the U.S. Of that number, an estimated 37 percent are people in families -- families who often depend on an unemployed breadwinner and only need simple, short-term help with housing and job placement to return to stability and independence.

To expedite that process, business attire retailer Men's Wearhouse has launched their third annual National Suit Drive for the homeless and unemployed. Taking into account the role that appearance plays in interviews, Men's Wearhouse designed their suit drive specifically to help men hit by the recession make a good impression on potential employers.

The campaign has attracted attention by using scantily-clad men to advertise. Young men in their underwear can be seen on street corners and in other public places holding signs that say "Give The Suit Off Your Back."

Men with a surplus of dress or professional wear can donate their gently-used items to the nearest Men's Wearhouse store until the end of September, at which point they will be handed over to 200 different charities that help the unemployed find jobs. The drive will accept anything from sport coats and dress slacks to vests and ties, but the retailer has also pledged to add a new dress shirt to the pile for every whole suit collected.

By helping men "suit up" for interviews, Men's Wearhouse believes they can lessen the blow of what has become known as "the mancession."

Comments

[rjaxone]

12:09 AM on 09/09/2010

What a breathof fresh air to read this story. It reminds me that in spite of all the hate going around in America, there are still good and decent people doing good and decent things...

[J Hammond]

11:58 AM on 09/06/2010

Why is a shirt all the Men's Warehouse, a private corporatio­n, can provide? And why is there no promotion for the donations of women's business attire? I understand that the Men's Warehouse is sponsoring this drive, but that shouldn't limit the company from recognizin­g that men AND women are unemployed­.
Close, but not close enough, Men's Warehouse.

[avg american]

02:41 AM on 09/07/2010

www.dressf­orsuccess.­org, is an extremely reputable organizati­on that has been supporting women for a while and was probably (I am just guessing) the inspiratio­n for Men's Warehouse.

[indieminded]

02:06 PM on 09/03/2010

Great campaign. Kudos Mens Wearhouse.

Though scantily clad men would certainly draw attention in most places, I'm not sure they would even cause a blink of an eye in Times Square (see photo). :-)

[ConservativeWorld]

12:13 PM on 09/03/2010

Libs, do you see what is going on here? Men's Warehouse, a big, bad, mean, angry and profiteeri­ng corporatio­n is proposing a grass roots, CONSERVATI­VE program to help out.

Yet, it is the government that is messing things up. Where is the government program to provide suits? It does not exist because the government would give substandar­d suits that would have holes in them and would smell like a musty basement.

[Goodworks98]

12:37 PM on 09/03/2010

It takes everyone to help bring about good ideas to life...the private sector,rel­igious sector...a­nd yes...even the government at times...We all need to work together to bring about help were help is needed...n­ot to just rely on one particular sector to bare the brunt of the need. It really is great to have all sectors in there to accomplish the common good!!!

[Bobolini]

01:37 PM on 09/03/2010

Private sector has smart idea to help people who are unemployed by getting people to donate their old suits, while getting them in the door to buy more stuff from the people who organized it. Very good scheme. Then the government offers a tax write off - Very helpful and a great idea!

Then the doof (Mr. Conservati­veWorld) above gets so darn confused about the whole thing and he starts having weird hallucinat­ions about musty basements!­?

Shouldn't we just jump to the chase and call the Tea Party what it is? The folks who mix prescripti­on drugs with alcohol and then go out into public? When they can't manage they comment on the huffpost!

[DaMojo]

09:35 AM on 09/05/2010

Sometimes a xanax chased by a shot of tequila are the only ways to cope.

[Faust Eddie]

11:02 AM on 09/03/2010

Cool. I still have gift card to them. dang gotta use it.

[beerbagger]

02:23 AM on 09/03/2010

This is the type of marketing that works and should be the role of the future to come. If companies are gonna start being given full US citizen rights and status then they should behave as though they give a damn.

This is a great start!!!

[Ricardo Valentin]

12:13 AM on 09/03/2010

What a wondeful idea!

[TonkaTruck]

10:34 PM on 09/02/2010

That's cool.

[oldngrumpy]

10:18 PM on 09/02/2010

Being newly retired from retail sales I have a closet full of suits that I hope not to wear again. I'm hoping to be one of those obnoxious linen pants and Hawaiian shirt guys now. I'm glad this was featured on HP.

[mmike1969]

07:58 PM on 09/02/2010

I've always thought their suits were a bit overpriced­... However, if it means a company will do something NICE and HELPFUL, I will buy anther suit at the Men's Wearhouse! Or at least another dress shirt...

[InedaName]

07:54 PM on 09/02/2010

You had me at scantily clad men! But seriously, when those unemployed men find jobs they'll be Men's Warehouse customers.

[Jacques415]

07:37 PM on 09/02/2010

Okay, this worked. Next time I need a suit, I'll shop the Men's Warehouse first.

[moonflowerjewelry]

07:06 PM on 09/02/2010

!Terifico!