Fashion waste: Why brands are destroying their own products

As with many retail businesses, fashion companies face challenges with waste that can be difficult to recycle.

But it may come as a surprise to learn that big-name clothing and jewellery retailers are actively destroying their products before throwing them in the bin.

The unsustainable practice has gained significant attention, sparking boycotts and calls for changes in legislation.

But what are the reasons behind this disconcerting trend?

Unravelling the fashion waste problem

Slashing and burning perfectly good clothing raises critical questions about sustainability, ethical business practices, and its societal impact.

According to Keep Britain Tidy, the UK already throws away £140 million worth of clothes a year – that’s the equivalent of 10,000 items of clothing going to landfill every five minutes.

And a considerable portion is attributed to the deliberate destruction of goods by retailers.

In 2017, a Danish TV report claimed that high-street clothes shop H&M was found to have burned 12 tonnes of unsold clothes every year since 2013.

And Richemont, owner of Cartier and Montblanc, once destroyed around £437m worth of designer watches over a two-year period, sparking outrage.

Similar accusations have been levied against other well-known brands, with reports of cutting up new garments so they were of no use to anyone.

And believe it or not, it’s a perfectly legal thing to do that saves these businesses a lot of money.

Motivations behind retail product destruction

Overproduction of goods to meet demand fluctuations and fast changes in trends leads to surplus inventory.

In an attempt to maintain brand exclusivity and perceived value, some retailers choose to dispose of excess stock rather than discounting or redistributing it.

While you might assume that selling at a discount or donating to charitable causes for good PR would be the way to go, high fashion brands often see it as devaluing their products and reputation. Flooding the market with discounted products could erode their brand image and make otherwise high-end items seem ordinary.

Instead, some brands prefer to have tighter control over how much their garments sell for and who can afford to wear them

Destroying products also prevents counterfeiting and maintains a sense of scarcity, even at the expense of environmental sustainability.

MORE: The five Rs of waste: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle

And despite the loss of potential profits by choosing not to sell their clothes at a discount, it’s actually a more cost-effective strategy.

How can retailers afford to lose so much inventory?

Intentionally damaging clothing so they can no longer be sold presents a significant tax benefit.

Companies can write off clothes they destroyed themselves the same way they can with accidentally damaged items. There is no legislation that prevents them from doing this.

Because of the tax breaks, it is often cheaper for brands to destroy perfectly good clothing than it is to find a more sustainable home for it.

Timo Rissanen, professor and author of Zero Waste Fashion Design, told Vox that the price tag on the clothing doesn’t necessarily reflect the value of the product.

He said, “The retail price of a luxury product has nothing to do with its actual value.

“When you buy something from Chanel or Gucci and you pay full retail, that money is actually paying for the massive advertising campaigns.

“If Chanel destroys a dress it tried to sell for $1,200, it hasn’t really lost $1,200. I don’t think Chanel even paid $100 [to make] that dress. And the money they’d lose would probably just be recouped through fragrances.”

But while the brands aren’t losing money through destroyed stock, the environment is certainly paying the price.

The environmental impact of destroying clothes

The deliberate destruction of retail products has significant environmental consequences.

Items that could otherwise be used by consumers are sent to landfills, contributing to pollution and resource depletion.

MORE: What happens when waste rots in landfill (and what can be done)?

The production and transportation of new clothes involves substantial energy consumption and emissions, making the wanton destruction of products a major contributor to the carbon footprint of the retail industry.

But while clothes that are in good condition can obviously be sold in sales and donated, the reality is that recycling textiles isn’t actually so easy.

Some fabrics can easily be woven into new clothes, but polyester and cotton blends can’t.

Buttons and zippers pose an additional challenge because they have to be manually removed.

Because of the difficulty involved in its recycling, clothing is typically shredded and used for insulation or cleaning cloths, rather than new clothes.

Of course, incineration is a valuable way to recover energy from waste, but there are several stages above it in the waste hierarchy that are being skipped.

MORE: The waste hierarchy: How it works and why it matters

Public outcry and regulatory responses

As awareness of this issue has grown, there has been a surge in public outcry against the practice of destroying perfectly good products.

Consumers are increasingly demanding greater transparency and responsibility from retailers in handling surplus stock

In response to this pressure, some companies have started to implement more sustainable practices, such as donating excess inventory to charities or discounting items to clear stock responsibly.

After high-end fashion brand Burberry revealed in a report that it deliberately destroyed £28.6m worth of clothes, boycotts forced the business to change its ways.

The company has since pledged to reuse, repair, donate or recycle all unsaleable products.

The UK government has also initiated plans to curb fashion retail waste.

The recently announced Circular Fashion Programme is a £15 million initiative headed up by UKRI. It will directly challenge the issue of retailers buying back and destroying merchandise, as well as investing in technology to better sort clothing that can be used to produce other items.

The issue of fashion retail waste in the UK, particularly the deliberate destruction of products by retailers, highlights the urgent need for a paradigm shift in the industry.

Balancing the demands of commerce with ethical and sustainable practices is essential for the long-term health of the environment and the well-being of society.

As consumers become increasingly conscientious about their choices, retailers must adapt and embrace responsible approaches, ensuring that surplus inventory does not contribute to the alarming levels of waste in the retail sector.

MORE: Waste warrior: One man vs ‘criminal’ retail rubbish

SunSkips believes in sustainable waste management and reducing waste generation as the first step to a more environmentally friendly fashion industry.