Comments on: CVS: Where “Freed” Condoms Go To Die

By: karamel

karamel — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:18:15 +0000

dear cvs:
Court a sponsor to give them away or partner with your local (24 hour) clinic & shelter to make sure the people who NEED TO STEAL these items can get them for free.
PROBLEM SOLVED.(and not just YOUR problem, a-hole.)

By: laura

laura — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:50:33 +0000

clearly most of you guys have not worked in high theft areas, and i hate to break it to you but most high theft areas are urban areas. you have no idea how angry it makes the employees that care, when people steal. i can't believe that you have nothing better to do than go to cvs's and check to see if condoms are locked up. Is this your job? if so, how do i get a job like that? i bust my butt every single day making an HONEST wage and when people come in wipe out my store then make money selling the stolen items to mom and pop stores, it's a slap in the face. A slap in the face to every honest person that buys condoms or anything for that matter. maybe your focus should be on the theives not the hard working people trying to protect their stores. maybe you don't know this but managers bonus pools are partly based on loss. so the more people steal the less in our paychecks

By: A World Aids Day PSA « Capitol Hill Style

A World Aids Day PSA « Capitol Hill Style — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:32:18 +0000

[...] be embarrassed when the CVS clerk has to unlock the case to get the condoms for you (ps. CVS needs to stop doing that). Don’t be embarrassed if people look at you funny in the checkout line. And don’t [...]

By: You Could Lose Your Birth Control Coverage (If You Haven’t Already) - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:25:07 +0000

[...] contraception already facing serious accessibility issues in D.C., this decision could have ramifications for both men and women. If you’re one of the [...]

By: Glad I'm not Bald

Glad I'm not Bald — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:26:56 +0000

What an aweful thing that Jana Baldwin and friends are doing to a good company like CVS. It is so sad to see a store get taken down by a small group of people like Jana Baldwin. I live in Maine and we are like 99% white community and I can tell you I know of tons of quick stop stores that have condoms behind the counter. I know of many of big box stores that only have condoms at the checkout. And i know of even some drug stores that have them under lock and key. It appears that Jana Baldwin just wants CVS to have condoms put outside of the store with an honor box that says please pay. The bottom line is that CVS is not trying to start a race issue. Like anywhere you go if a store has an item that has a high theaft they need to have options to prevent these items from being stolen. Its a pain in the butt when i have to speak with a manager to buy an IPOD but i understand why stores put them under lock and key. I think its time for Jana Baldwin to get a real job and stop wasting Managers and CVS time and money. It appears to me that she has just dreamed up in her head that CVS is trying to prevent inner city young adults from getting condoms which is so silly. The bottomline Jana if you really want to make a differance spend time spreading the word on how to obtain free condoms i think you would set a better example. The fact that this website allows to publish such nonsense on the site is so crazy. I think i need to start a campain to request that stores stop locking up Prepaid cell phones. It would be a shame if someone who needs to make a call and couldn't all because these aweful stores are trying to protect the bottomline. Also the reason the stores don't lock up the $50 shampoo (not sure what kind you are talking about but whatever) is because these items aren't getting stolen. Why doesn't Walmart lock up $1,000 TVs?? humm maybe because these dont fit nicely inside jacket pockets. Also local police departments dont have time chasing down theives for $6 condoms. I got a idea Jana Baldwin why don't you start a fundraiser and open little condom shops that offer condoms that aren't locked up? Hummmm.. That sounds like a better waste of time. Goodness America what kind of world have we come toooo.

By: Dude

Dude — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:57:37 +0000

You all are fools . . . it's not the job of CVS to make life easy for you. And they are accessible. No one is saying they won't sell them to you. All it requires is for you to be a real man or woman and buy it. In fact, I doubt people aren't buying condoms because there to ashamed and they're locked up. They're not buying condoms because they would rather steal them or they like going bareback. Question: Do you blame the victim (like the girl who gets rape or CVS stores) or do you blame the perp (the rapist or the thief) if the victim takes reasonable steps to protect herself/itself from harm. I'm going to buy more products at CVS to counterbalance your moronic behavior. How about your organization pay for the condoms that get stolen, so CVS doesn't have to take the hit. Jana Baldwin = Moron.

By: The Sex Ed Gender Divide - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

The Sex Ed Gender Divide - The Sexist - Washington City Paper — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:53:21 +0000

[...] locked drugstore condoms produced shame and frustration in both male and female respondents: Many youth also reported [...]

By: Free The Condoms Part II «

Free The Condoms Part II « — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:07:55 +0000

[...] article and this article for an example of how one store (ahem, CVS) was slapped on the hand for locking up condoms and is [...]

By: Morgan B

Morgan B — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:00:07 +0000

You know, I only buy condoms at CVS, and they're not locked up, nor are they awkwardly located across from the pharmacy counter, like they are at most grocery stores. I love CVS, and I've never encountered a problem with buying contraceptives there.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:47:25 +0000

firstly, these condoms arent locked. if you "PUSH" on that thing that clearly says push and then pull that little glss thing down then you can get those. how do I this? because my store has that same case for razors.

secondly, cvs reserves the right to lock whatever they want to lock up. we are a free company and if something is getting stolen, we will lock it up no ifs ands or buts about it. if you honestly intended to buy the condoms, you have a problem with them being locked up. i do have a solution for you though. if cvs "offends" you by locking the condoms then dont shop there. go to walgreens or wal mart or one of the thousands of other places that sells condoms. people act like we are the only ones in the world that sell those.

By: CVS Free the Condoms Rally Tomorrow - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

CVS Free the Condoms Rally Tomorrow - The Sexist - Washington City Paper — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:07:34 +0000

[...] will gather outside the Dupont Circle CVS store in an attempt to pressure the pharmacy chain to rethink its locked condom policies. The ultimate goal of the “rally and press conference” is to convince “CVS to [...]

By: Unlock CVS Condoms: The Petition - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Unlock CVS Condoms: The Petition - The Sexist - Washington City Paper — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:26:50 +0000

[...] in its Washington, D.C. stores. Last month, I wrote a story about how, despite the lip service, condom access in our CVS stores remains tricky. Unlocking the condoms and then placing them into click-boxes which are often broken—and [...]

By: Aisha Moore

Aisha Moore — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:23:45 +0000

Good Job!

John why is it that stores within blocks of each other lock up condoms and others don't? The reason......two of them are CVS and one of them is a Rite Aid.

By: CVS Employees - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

CVS Employees - The Sexist - Washington City Paper — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:26:19 +0000

[...] week, I wrote about how CVS Pharmacies in Washington, D.C. are continuing to limit access to condoms by locking up some stores and declining to work with public health activist groups. The main [...]

By: Jana Baldwin

Jana Baldwin — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:07:47 +0000

Hey John. . . Condoms ARE NOT high ticket items. . . at CVS's. . . if you would like for me to go through every price then we can go there. In fact the 36 pack of condoms that cost $25.99 do not "FIT" within the size requirements for the CLICK-BOXES- so the most "expensive" condoms sit out in the open- explain that to me. IF YOU had READ MY ABOVE comment you would have seen that CVS fails to LOCK UP their $60 shampoo's, toothbrushes etc which ARE getting stolen and if you visit http://savelivesfreethecondoms.blogspot.com then you will get a great idea about what I am speaking of. .

FURTHERMORE- ONE SHOULD NEVER JUST TRUST MEN to BUY THE CONDOMS. . .

WOW. WOMEN need to buy condoms as well. John, YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE and GET REAL about DC and what youth and many people who should have to go through any kind of hassle to simply buy personal products in the District.

EQUAL ACCESS for EVERYONE.

By: John

John — Sun, 24 May 2009 17:54:27 +0000

Get a life please! Ive been in retail for over 20 years. People will steal, therefore condoms should be locked up just like high ticket value items. If you are not man enough to buy condoms, then you are not man enough to have sex.

By: ClickBox Victim

ClickBox Victim — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:12:47 +0000

Good reporting. I can attest to the Click boxes, at least in the Shaving Dept. Those things break often than not because the mechanism and spring are completely faulty. Clearly they take the CONVENIENCE out of a ConVenience Store. Target, Wal-Mart, even Safeway puts them in the open. Jana is right though, you will find many things LOCKED DOWN in Black Neighborhoods and communities, while they are being robbed blind in other ones.

By: suzanne

suzanne — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:45:24 +0000

Great reporting - should be in the print edition and in the Washington Post too. And good work, Jana and friends.

By: Jana Baldwin

Jana Baldwin — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:08:06 +0000

Thank you so much The Sexiest! I think you clearly have an idea of the countless hours and hours and hours that Save Lives Free the Condoms has put into this cause. . . here is the BOTTOM LINE. . . whether people will be offended or not they need to hear it- the click boxes are almost ALL in predominantly populated black areas in DC. Here is the issue, after speaking to countless managers at various CVS's who of course at the time I was just merely having a conversation with and CONTINUE to have conversations will tell me that in the "white" CVS's condoms are stolen just as much. What I think is the most interesting is how at the CVS closer to where I live by GW University they sell $50 shampoo- and that is not in a Click-box or locked up. . . and that gets stolen. Just last week at the CVS on 20th and Penn over $1000 worth of electronic toothbrushes were stolen. Why do I know this? I ASK QUESTIONS, open my big fat mouth. The manager loves me. Most of the employees are in fact the ones that are actually being hurt the most by the policies.
I suggest shopping at TARGET- they DO NOT lock up their condoms and their condoms are a fraction of the price.
Also NO ONE NEEDS TO PAY FOR CONDOMS- the District provides them for free to any person, organization, or business you can fill out an order form right here:
http://doh.dc.gov/doh/cwp/view,a,1371,q,602647.asp
Thanks again!

By: jenna

jenna — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:28:16 +0000

i actually believe that condoms are locked up to prevent theft instead of being some sort of moral pushing thing (like target does with birth control), but i think it would be helpful to push an alternative when demanding stores to unlock condoms- namely to put those electronic sticker sensors on them instead of locking them up like they do with expensive hair products. is this also what they do to prevent theft of razor blades? i can never tell- they keep them in those weird dispenser things, but they aren't locked up, so i never understood why they were displayed like that.

By: mdesus

mdesus — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:06:42 +0000

yeah you can either lock up the condoms, or you can take the shitty stuff you had behind behind the counter, and clear some space for condoms. hmmmm...