Luxury brand Burberry is facing criticism for burning unsold clothing and beauty products worth millions of pounds in order to protect its brand value.
Social media users have criticised the company for wastefully destroying clothing instead of putting it on sale or donating it to a charitable cause, as part of a practice used by luxury brands to keep their products in the hands of only those who can afford them at full price, reports thehollywoodreporter.com.
An open letter posted by the online resale giant " thredUp" called out the British brand, saying: "We can't afford to waste perfectly good clothes anymore. We are in the midst of an environmental crisis exacerbated by the fashion industry."
It claims the fashion industry causes 10 per cent of global carbon emissions.
"Today we invite you to send any unsold Burberry product to thredUp for resale back into the circular economy, and we'll donate 100 per cent of the proceeds to the environmental charity of your choice."
According to Burberry's annual report, released in June 2018, "The cost of finished goods physically destroyed in the year was 28.6 million pounds (about $37.8 million), including 10.4 million pounds (of destruction) for beauty inventory."
In 2017, they burned 26.9 million pounds worth all in the name of exclusivity.
However, the brand said that the energy that was released from burning the clothing was captured, making it environmentally friendly.
"Burberry has careful processes in place to minimise the amount of excess stock we produce."
Twitter users also spoke up about the wastefulness and ethics of Burberry's decisions, including actor Russell Brand, who wrote: "This makes you feel an odd sense of anguish and doom."
Others pointed out that many fashion brands follow suit, and Burberry doesn't deserve the sole blame for sticking to the status quo.
Burberry has been associated with celebrities like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Lily James and Tom Holland.
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