Fashion’s Fire

By Rosa Stancil

Imagine… the luxury handbag of your dreams. Its beauty and craftsmanship are awe-inspiring. You would practically sell your soul to have this piece of art hanging from your shoulder.

Now imagine that bag being wastefully burnt. Never finding a shoulder to rest on. It’s distasteful, disturbing, and unethical.

Unfortunately, this unsavory scenario is a common one. Many luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Burberry have defaulted to burning their leftover stock. Meaning not only does the bag of your dreams not end up on your shoulder but on no ones at all.  

Millions and millions of dollars in unsold luxury goods have been lost to the flames of fashion’s fire. Why is this you ask?

Here comes the highly distasteful part. These luxury brands would rather save face and uphold a certain level of exclusivity than offer their unsold goods at a discounted rate in a market of consumers that wouldn’t be able to afford the product at its original price. 

Now from a branding perspective, perhaps this makes sense. Many of these luxury brands believe that consistent pricing is vital to reinforcing the relationships with their customers and enhancing product value. However, it’s just plain wrong to destroy such beautiful things and face absolutely no repercussions.

How haven’t you heard of this? Well, that is because believe it or not brands aren’t obligated to disclose this information, even to their own customers. This lack of transparency is disturbing and frankly dangerous for these brands, as consumers are increasingly valuing brand transparency in their purchasing decisions. 

Luckily, as the word has spread about the ugly flames of fashion’s fire, so has the disgust left with consumers.

Governments and consumers alike are starting to stand up to this unethical and unsustainable way of disposal. Brands that once defaulted to burning their leftovers are now finding more ethical and sustainable ways of disposing of their unsold stock. Hopefully, this means there will be a future where all dream handbags end up on a shoulder.