Fashion Revolution comment on Burberry Destroying £28 Million Clothing
More energy should be spent on creative interim solutions such as upcycling and a cultural shift from mass production and mass consumption
Orsola de Castro, Founder and Creative Director of Fashion Revolution recently commented on the reported destruction of £28 Million of Burberry Fashion and Accessories:
The practice of destroying stock is actually quite widespread throughout the industry. It’s a direct consequence of mass production, and many other luxury brands and high street brands are doing this too.
We produce a staggering 100 to 150 billion items of clothing each year and as a direct result, we’re seeing huge amounts of surplus throughout the fashion supply chain. We need to tackle this problem at source; we need greater transparency throughout the fashion supply chain.
Lack of transparency in the fashion value chain prevents us from seeing exactly how much waste and surplus is created, where this waste and surplus is produced and how it is disposed of and the impact it has on the environment.
It’s important to recognise it’s not just Burberry, who interestingly score reasonably well in our Fashion Transparency Index and champion lots of good sustainability initiatives. But the fashion industry needs to invest more in efficiency; there is a lot of talk of circularity and closed loop systems, but we are nowhere near real and effective up-scalable solutions yet.
More energy should be spent on creative interim solutions such as up-cycling and a cultural shift from mass production and mass consumption to a more moderate production leading to mindful consumption, better care and a less throwaway approach from brands and consumers alike.
People buying from retailers need to have a different conversation with brands. Improving the way we buy, care and dispose of our clothes is everyone’s responsibility, and it requires a change in our own personal shopping habits. But our local governments and fashion brands have a responsibility too and we can encourage them to do more.”
Read more at : https://www.fashionrevolution.org/
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