Hundreds of bras were thrown from a closing Victoria's Secret store. An unacceptable waste to which the fashion world is accustomed
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousVictoria's Secret is among the fashion brands that generate too much waste. The attention on the subject was rekindled after hundreds of bras were found thrown in the bins in front of a closed store in Colorado.
Melanie Gelinas, a Centennial, Colorado resident, was taking out the trash when she spotted some bras discarded in the dumpster. Approaching the woman, she noticed that they were piles of new Victoria's Secret bras that had been thrown away.
The discarded garments were found along with other Victoria's Secrets products in front of the place where a branch of the well-known lingerie store had opened up until recently.
It was the woman herself who first became indignant, photographing what she saw, and declaring to the American news network 9News:
“There must have been hundreds of bras and I just thought, 'What a waste.' These will all end up in landfills and instead could go to a homeless shelter or a shelter for battered women "
Photo © Melanie Gelinas/ 9news.com
An immediate response from a Victoria's Secret spokesperson said:
“We're sorry for how it might look. As this store was closing, we removed sample products, including bras, from our dressing rooms. All remaining inventory has been reassigned to other stores "
Unfortunately, throwing or burning inventory products that can't be sold but could instead be donated is a big deal in the retail industry, and stores often resort to extreme measures like these to protect their brand image.
Several other big brands have been accused of similar things in the past. These include Nike, H&M, Burberry and Eddie Bauer who have ended up under the crosshairs of careful consumers who have harshly criticized them for their decidedly not environmentally friendly and unacceptable behavior, considering that fashion is one of the most polluting industries.
The garments could not only be donated and reused, but the environmental cost of their disposal in landfills or incineration would also be avoided. And this is no small thing.
France has already thought of saying no to the possibility of destroying unsold or sample clothes, a choice that should also be shared by the rest of the world. A moral and material obligation that all fashion brands must assume.
This time it was Victoria's Secret that ended up in the crosshairs, among other things at an already critical moment for the brand, recently accused by a New York Times investigation of having "spread bullying and harassment on employees and models" and a deep-rooted culture misogynist. All this led to real protests that took place in front of the New York store.
Source: The Guardian/ New York Times
Read also:
- France says stop destroying unsold clothes
- Disposable fashion is filling the planet with textile waste: we throw away 811% more clothes than in 1960
- Because in September (and beyond) you should stop buying new clothes
- The interactive path that reveals the dark side of the garments you wear
- Sustainable fashion cannot ignore the recycling of clothes. The new Greenpeace dossier
- Toxic fashion: our clothes are second only to oil in pollution
