A Disturbing Number of Brands Are Burning Their Unsold Inventory

When Burberry recently disclosed that they incinerated over $37.5 million worth of their own unsold product in 2017, it drew some rightful ire across the board. However, as The BBC is reporting, Burberry is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the industry’s disposal problem.

Describing “landfilling and burning” as fashion’s “dirtiest open secret,” the story details how the wasteful disposal of unsold garments is a practice that extends industry-wide.

And while the reasons brands landfill and burn vary – Burberry did it to “protect the brand’s exclusivity and value,” while most fast fashion outfits do it because there’s no demand for their deadstock merchandise – “with global production now exceeding 100 billion garments a year, groups are warning of ‘potentially catastrophic’ environmental damage if [the] trends continue.”

So what can we do about it?

The story recommends people “return to engaging emotionally with their clothing – learning to love the things they own and taking longer to consider future purchases.”

And, of course, brands could also just make less stuff.

You can read more about it at The BBC.

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