Apparel April 2019 Apparel April 2019 issue | Page 71

FEATURE
Last year in July, leading fashion brand
Burberry came under the radar when it was
noted that it had burned almost £30 million
(US$40 million) of its old stock. Even though the
brand admitted that it had burnt a hefty collection
of its unsold clothes, accessories and perfumes
instead of selling them off on discounted prices,
it still had to face a lot of uproar and outrage.
According to Burberry and many other brands
that choose this destiny for their old and unsold
collections, they do this in order to protect their
brand’s exclusivity and value. Burberry tried to
justify its act by saying that it had captured the
energy from the burning to try and make the
process more environment-friendly.
Experts do mention that burning old stocks
and landfilling with garments that are out of
fashion are two of the most pertinent problems
that the fashion industry in general encounters.
Over the last 15 years, the global fashion industry
has doubled production. But unfortunately, the
time frame between wearing a cloth to throwing it
out or it getting worn out has lowered by around
40 per cent. Better quality of manufacturing
garments has increased the lifeline of most
products. This reduces the demand for new
clothes on the one hand; on the other hand,
whenever someone throws away old clothes
from their personal collection,
on, 73 per cent
of the same is either burned
d or buried
in landfill. The stark reality is s that only
around 12 per cent is collected
cted for
recycling. Notable brands today
oday are
taking a step towards recycling,
cling,
but compare this with brands
ds
trying to get rid of their old
collection by the process
of burning, and you will
automatically realise the
hefty share that such
unworthy practices hold.
THE TIME FRAME BETWEEN
WEARING A CLOTH TO
THROWING IT OUT OR IT GETTING
WORN OUT HAS LOWERED BY
AROUND 40 PER CENT.
THE BURNING QUESTION
In a fast changing postmodern world, are
the brands able to behold their exclusivity by
adopting such heinous routes? Even though the
answer is hush-hush, it surely can’t be a yes.
Globalisation has seeped through every lane
and by-lane of the world, so nothing perhaps
can be so unique or exclusive that it needs to
be burned down to survive competition. Your
patrons are likely to come back to only you for
your brand promise, spotless designs, and years
of dedication to fashion and style.
Another research has proved that these
trends damage the environment irrevocably
and they limit the opportunities of the fashion
industry. The industry, in an effort to resolve these
shortcomings, suffers in the long run.
APPAREL
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April 2019
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65