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This past Saturday, TikToker @thetrashwalker, aka Anna Sacks, took to TikTok to expose luxury brand Coach for their unsustainable practices.
In the short video with almost 600,000 views, Sacks shows several slashed Coach handbags she purchased from a dumpster diver-influencer. Sacks points to the contradictory statements on Coach's (Re)Loved program's page that reads, "So, don't ditch it, repair it—it's another small thing we can do to keep bags out of the landfill and reduce our impact on the planet."
In the fashion industry, destroying unsold, returned, damaged, or excess products is standard practice. According to Vox, these products are destroyed to maintain exclusivity and encourage shoppers to buy new styles.
Forbes also reported that France's consumer goods retailers and luxury brands routinely destroyed more than $730 million of returns and unsold inventory. They estimate that the current value of goods thrown away or destroyed is five times more than those given away.
Although destroying unsold merchandise was outlawed in France in 2019, many luxury brands worldwide still continue this practice.
After Sacks TikTok went viral, Coach took to Instagram to announce that they "have now ceased destroying in-store returns of damaged and unsalable goods and are dedicated to maximizing such product reuse in our Coach (Re)Loved and other circularity programs." Despite their efforts to convince the public of their re-commitment to sustainability, many are disappointed in their response and skeptical of their intentions. Below shows what was posted to their Instagram in response to the controversy.
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