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davidcyclebackCard makers have cut up all sorts of stuff to make the cards, including bats and/or jerseys from Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Wagner, Jackie Robinson, Mantle, etc. They win them in auction or otherwise buy them, then cut them up. If you look through the Sotheby's/Barry Halper Auction, I'm sure a number of those jerseys have been cut up and now now reside piece by piece on cards. I'm pretty sure the pictured Ty Cobb Philadelphia A's was one of the jerseys cut up.
It should be noted that MLB/MLBPA have control over the production of baseball cards (how many, type, etc), as Topps and Upper Deck can't produce MLB cars without MLB/MLBPA license (MLBPA = Player's Assoc.). So if collectors wanted to complain about the practice, they can complain to MLB/MLBPA. Unlike Topps or Upper Deck, which only cares about this year's $$, Major League Baseball may be convinced that destroying historical relics is not a good idea. MLB likes money of course, but also is concerned about the game's history and its preservation.
Anyone who follows baseball card hobby knows that, while that 11 year old might like game used cards today, in ten years these cards will be worth little and you can't go back and put Babe Ruth's jersey together again. I bet that in ten years most of the collectors of these cards will look back at these jersey and bat cards and say, "Jeez, that was a stupid fad. I paid how much for a card with a piece of Babe Ruth's pants?!?! Oh well, I was only 12 and 12 year olds act stupid sometimes."
On the other hand, if Topps is purchasing already cut cut signatures and putting them on Topps cards, there's nothing wrong with that. A cut signature has to reside somewhere and on a Topps card is as good a place as anywhere. Topps also hires living players to sign cards that were designed to be signed by the player, and that is a fine idea for making a collectible to put into packs.