Burberry Is Setting Fire to Items That Cost Animals Their Lives
While top designers such as Donatella Versace, Donna Karan, and John Galliano are ditching fur, Burberry has yet to renounce the animal-derived material. But just when we think the British fashion label couldn’t get any worse for animals, it proves us wrong. New reports claim that in the last five years alone, it has burned more than 40 million kilos of unsold items, including ones made with fur and other skins—an even more egregious waste.
Burberry burns millions of dollars of clothes to stop them from being sold at discount prices https://t.co/CE0gK0xg5k pic.twitter.com/TasjG3gkeV
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 20, 2018
You might be asking yourself, “Why would a company deliberately destroy its own products?” Brace yourself … Burberry’s justification is disgraceful—it’s to protect its product line. That’s right—if Burberry can’t sell its items, it has decided that no one can. Folks are understandably calling on the fashion company to scale back production—but we’re taking things a step further.
What Animals Have to Do With It
Regardless of the undeniable suffering experienced by animals killed for clothing, Burberry has yet to denounce fur and refuses to stop using wool, mohair, down feathers, leather, and exotic skins. Animals used and killed for their skins are raised in some of the worst conditions imaginable, and they endure horribly painful deaths. For example, animals killed for their fur are often anally electrocuted and drowned so as not to damage their fur.
Let’s be clear—if Burberry didn’t incinerate its products, that wouldn’t make the company’s continued use of animal skins acceptable. But the fact that folks aren’t even buying these products makes its executives’ rationale even more deplorable. Animals’ body parts are their own.
Burberry is literally setting fire to items that cost animals their lives.
Not to mention that the company is wasting resources and increasing its environmental footprint exponentially, since fur, leather, wool, cashmere, and other animal-derived materials don’t just cause animals to suffer needlessly—they pollute the planet. The company must shift its production practices—anything other than a “no waste, no animal suffering” policy is unacceptable.
From apples to kombucha tea: see the ingenious ways designers are making #vegan leather: https://t.co/QVZx24CalQ pic.twitter.com/2GwGNl08YF
— PETA Asia (@PETAAsia) May 8, 2018
Vegan fashion is only gaining in popularity. Shoppers are becoming more conscientious and compassionate—they want ethical, animal-friendly options. Perhaps if Burberry eliminated cruelly obtained animal skins from its designs, there wouldn’t be over 40 million kilos of unsold merchandise to burn.
Pledge That the Only Skin You’re in Is Your Own
Burberry is stuck in the Dark Ages. Ditching animal skins, scaling back production, and adopting cruelty-free fashion alternatives are completely possible. You can make a difference—refuse to shop at Burberry until it starts showing concern for animal welfare and urge all your friends and family to do the same. Don’t forget to also send a powerful message to the industries that sell animal skin as clothing, designers, retailers, and others who directly profit from the suffering caused by these cruel industries by pledging to never wear the skin of another animal.
