Burberry vows to stop burning unsold goods and using real fur
Burberry is to cease its controversial practice of incinerating unsold goods with immediate effect while also pledging to phase out the use of real fur.
Burberry burnishes ethical credentials with ban on real fur and incinerating unsold goods
The new ethical approach follows a backlash after the fashion giant was found to have destroyed £28.6m worth of unsold stock in 2017, including clothes accessories and perfume, in order to protect the image of its brand.
Burberry justified incinerating its unwanted goods on the grounds that they could be stolen or sold on at discounted rates, arguing that the figures had also been skewed by the one-off disposal of £10m worth of perfume demanded by a commercial deal with US firm Coty.
Going forward Burberry confirmed that it will ramp up efforts to reuse, repair, donate or recycle unsold goods rather than automatically dispose of them. The first fruits of this new approach will see Burberry partner with sustainable luxury goods specialist Elvis & Kresse to re-use 120 tonnes of leather waste over the next five years.
Burberry chief executive Marco Gobbetti said: "Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success. We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products."
Dovetailing with the announcement Burberry also pledged to phase out the use of rabbit, fox, mink and raccoon fur from its collections following consistent pressure to do so from animal rights campaigners.
Burberry recently appointed Peter Saville to craft a refreshed graphic identity for the brand.
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