In 2018, Burberry was caught destroying $36.8 million worth of its own merchandise according to Vox. Why not just burn cash instead? They are clearly too rich to know what to do with their money, they made $3.6 billion in revenue that year. They weren’t the only ones, H&M burned 60 tons of brand new clothing in 2013. Here are some other brands that have been caught destroying their merchandise: Urban Outfitters, J.C. Penny, Victoria’s Secret, Eddie Bauer, Nike, Michael Kors and many more.
So why do brands do this? It seems like a huge waste of money, time and resources. According to Vox, “brands destroy product as a way to maintain exclusivity through scarcity.” Here’s what a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch had to say, “Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't want to create the image that just anybody, poor people, can wear their clothing. Only people of a certain stature are able to purchase and wear the company name." Buying brand name is a way to show off how much money you have. I never understood the obsession with buying brand name though. The quality doesn’t actually get that much better with luxury brands. Many actually use sweatshops which means they still don’t pay their workers well. Even though a single bag can be almost the same price as buying a house. So just because something is expensive it doesn’t always mean it’s ethical. Many clothes from fast fashion brands are actually destroyed in India. There’s a documentary showing that these women are actually told to shred brand new clothing. According to Vox, the women think that the people in the West [that is us] must not be able to afford water to do our laundry. Lol these brands should be ashamed, they’re a symbol of wealth but in whose eyes? How do we define wealth and success? Because burning brand new clothes just sounds like a waste of money. The sad truth is, according to the United Nations, every second a garbage truck of clothes is burned or sent to the landfill. The fast fashion industry emits more CO2 than international flights and maritime shipping combined. So does being wealthy and successful mean we should just start throwing away our money and resources and destroy the planet? If so I think we need to redefine what success means in our society because that is just sad. Sign the petition here. Let's make destroying brand new clothes illegal! There are so many people in need of warm clothing, instead these big fashion brands rather flush them down the toilet!
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AuthorHi everyone, I’m Elizabeth! I am a Chinese American and Canadian environmental activist focused on creating awareness on environmental justice issues and tying them to fast fashion and our waste and climate change crisis. I’m very open about my mental health. I talk about these important topics on my platform Archives
March 2021
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