Tweet at Nike to donate - rather than trash - their unsold merchandise!
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Retailers destroy unsold merchandise to remain exclusive or to lower their disposal costs
When merchandise is unsold, luxury retailers often slash or burn it to it them out of resale stores. This practice helps retailers keep their products exclusive to only those who can afford the high price.
Even non-luxury retailers sometimes slash or burn unsold merchandise because it is cheaper for them than disposing of the merchandise in a proper or sustainable way.
This practice results in large amounts of wasted products and extra trash in the landfill each year.
Some retailers already started donating or repurposing their unsold merchandise
In the past few years, Coach and Burberry both stopped destroying unsold merchandise after public pressure from environmentalists and customers. In January 2020, France passed a law banning the disposal of unsold non-food products. Thanks to this law, brands such as Dior are no longer able to discard items that could be recycled or donated.
Instead of destroying the merchandise, these retailers are working to recycle and repurpose their items in ways that are sustainable.
Nike has stated that they do not trash merchandise, but has been caught trashing merchandise as recently as November 2021. We are addressing Nike because it has made commitments to environmental sustainability and has the resources to innovate more sustainable ways to dispose of unsold merchandise. Additionally, many of our Tandem community members are likely customers of Nike, which makes Nike more likely to listen to us.
Sources / Learn More: Green Matters, New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, The Fashion Law