Burberry Ceasing Practice of Burning Unsuccessful Inventory

Britain’s Burberry brand has begun a green smart movement to terminate the procedure of burning millions of unsold stock such as perfumes, clothing, handbags, and using real animal fur in their company due to the furore of environmentalist’s.

In July, the company openly admitted to the practice of destroying 28.6 million pounds (51.4 million AUD) worth of products in just one year so that their products weren’t sold for cheaper and devalued their company.
Numerous retailers have been named and shamed throughout the years for destroying their unsold stock, even punching holes in the garments before throwing them away. Retailers including Nike, Richemont, and Louis Vuitton have faced allegations in the past to prevent devaluing their stock or throwing it away when unsuccessful.
Chanel even claimed that in the past, that they had done everything they could to avoid destroying excess stock, this included selling the products from previous collections to partners or employees.

Excess stock is becoming a significant issue within retail outlets due to the consumers rapidly going through different styles constantly, causing each seasons stock to become unsuccessful and thus causing them to be destroyed, or sold for lesser value. Since younger shoppers these days have become increasingly aware, ethically and environmentally, the practice of destroying stock excessively had begun to damage Burberry’s image.

Tara Button states that seeing as how there are so many people around the globe who are too poor to afford clothes for themselves or their children, it is criminal to demolish such useful goods.
Others understood why Burberry destroyed unsuccessful goods, to keep the fashion label exclusive, but they also suggested other, more environmentally friendly, and less wasteful ways of doing this. Such as, slowing down production, rethinking a new procedure to prevent excess stock regularly which would lead to less wastage.

Environmentalists have welcomed the news of Burberry terminating the use of animal furs such as mink, fox, Asiatic raccoon, and rabbit from their clothing ranges following “Ethical Fashion” in the footsteps of big brands like Gucci, Donatella Versace, Furla, Calvin Klein, Gap, Zara and many more.

Burberry’s new partnership with Elvis & Kresse has begun to transform around 120 tonnes of leather offcuts into brand new products throughout the next 5 or so years.
Burberry now has high hopes for their new designer Riccardo Tisci to drastically transform the company into a more ethical and environmentally friendly way, revealing his designs at London Fashion Week in September. The designer has also reportedly worked with Beyoncé and Madonna.
According to Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive of Burberry, modern luxury is nothing but being environmentally and socially responsible. Gobbetti is also currently steering Burberry onto the right track to becoming a more upmarket label. He also said that belief is core to them at Burberry and key to their long-term success. They are committed to applying the same creativity to all other parts of Burberry as they do to their products.
Burberry is now working to ensure to decrease the amount of excessive stock, including recycling and donating any unsold inventory in the future.