Cascade Alliance

France to End Disposal of $900M in Unsold Goods Each Year

Believe it or not, landfills around the world are being filled with unused goods that could otherwise be recycled.  An article from June 2019 in the New York Times revealed that France has intentions to ban the destruction of unsold consumer products.  This practice currently results in the disposal of new product that’s worth over $900 Million USD in the country each year.  Manufacturers and retails will be required to reuse, recycle, or donate their goods by 2023 instead of disposing the items.

The main reason behind luxury brands such as Burberry burning thousands of dollars worth of their unsold goods is to maintain and preserve brand value.  Burberry is not the only brand to destroy product rather than resell them for lower cost to another market.

This new bill that was debated by the government earlier in July could make destroying unsold goods a criminal offense that would result in financial penalties or prison time.

We applaud France’s effort to curb the disposal of unused goods.  They’ve recently advocated for other environmental issues as well such as pledging to end the sale of vehicles that run on fossil fuels by 2040, and stopping the construction of a major commercial airport which would greatly impact the environment.  The second hand retail industry is quickly growing – this could be a good fit for selling the slightly damaged or returned goods.

You can read the full article on the New York Times website by clicking here.