France to ban burning of unsold luxury goods
France plans to ban the burning of unsold luxury goods in an effort to mitigate the fashion industry’s massive waste problem and sweeping environmental impact.
The announcement was made by French Deputy Ecology Minister Brune Poirson during a conference on fashion and sustainability at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. ‘Too many companies feel OK with just throwing away or destroying the shoes or the clothing that haven’t been sold. You can’t do this anymore. It’s shocking,’ Poirson said.
Francois-Henri Pinault, chief executive officer of Paris-based luxury group Kering revealed that he had been hired by French president Emmanuel Macron to create a ‘coalition’ of CEOs and top brands in the fashion industry to join forces and set ambitious sustainability targets together. ‘The fact that this is how we’ve always done it doesn’t mean we should continue. Even if we don’t have solutions for everything, let’s commit,’ Pinault told Bloomberg.
Macron’s government is pursuing plans to outlaw the common practice of burning unsold garments and goods rife within the luxury industry. Enlisting Pinault would give impetus to the movement as Kering has the capacity to implement changes as one of the largest companies in the industry due to its ownership of brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and Balenciaga.
Whether the rest of the fashion world will follow remains to be seen.
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