Luxury British fashion brand Burberry announced on Thursday that it will no longer destroy unsold products, with immediate effect.
“This commitment builds on the goals that we set last year as part of our five-year responsibility agenda and is supported by our new strategy, which is helping tackle the causes of waste,” the fashion label said in a statement.
Burberry is stopping the practice of destroying unsaleable products with immediate effect. This builds on our responsibility agenda to 2022, and is supported by our new strategy which is helping to tackle the cause of waste https://t.co/z637rlaBCH pic.twitter.com/mopPuoOlfH
— Burberry Corporate (@BurberryCorp) September 6, 2018
The announcement came after an earnings report sparked outrage in July when it revealed that the brand destroyed unsold clothes, accessories and cosmetic products worth almost €32 million in 2017.
While Burberry said the energy created from the burning was captured, making it environmentally friendly, scores of social media users vented their frustration about the waste.
Burberry is not the only brand known to have destroyed unsold products, which retailers have described as a measure to protect intellectual property and prevent illegal counterfeiting.
An investigation last year found that Swedish high street retailer H&M had incinerated 60 tons of clothes since 2013.
In its statement on Thursday, Burberry also said it would stop using real fur in its products, and phase out existing fur items.
“Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success,” said CEO Marco Gobbetti.
