Designer fashion label Burberry burned more than $36.5 million worth of clothes in 2017, it has been reported.
The upmarket clothing line, famous for its checked design, has destroyed $65 million of products in the past five years, The Times reports.
The news comes as insiders claim luxury brands destroy unsold products to prevent them from being sold at discount prices on the gray market to the “wrong people,” the paper reported.
On Thursday, Burberry said it strove to act in a “responsible” manner when disposing of stock, saying there were “careful processes” in place to minimize the amount of waste.
It comes as The Times claimed shareholders were unhappy with the amount of clothes destroyed, with one asking why the unsold products were not offered to the company’s private investors at a meeting last week.
Burberry, which is valued at $9.6 billion by Forbes, said it took the issue of waste “extremely seriously” and that it uses special incinerators to harness the energy.
The company, which has featured famous models including Cara Delevingne, Sienna Miller, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Romeo Beckham in its ad campaigns, said the practice of destroying excess stock was common across the retail industry.
According to the report into excess waste, the value of products destroyed increased by half in the last two years.
To put the burning into context, you could buy 20,000 of Burberry’s notoriously expensive trench coats with the $36.5 million value of the destroyed items.
The Times also contacted a number of brands, including Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham, to find out how their waste was handled.
Only Temperley replied, saying its unsold clothes were either donated to charity or sold at a discount outlet.
It has previously emerged that Richemont, the owner of Cartier and Montblanc, destroyed more than $500 million worth of watches in two years.
And more than 16.5 tons of H&M stock was burned last year, helping to power a small Swedish city, Vasteras, instead of using coal.
Louis Vuitton has also been named as a brand that burns its unsold bags.
Burberry has been embraced by famous faces around the world, and Kylie Jenner is no exception.
The new mom shared a snap of herself cradling her baby daughter, Stormi, with the 5-month-old dressed in the designer threads.
In the photo, Stormi is wearing a Burberry dress made from the fashion house’s iconic checked print and Kylie is shielding her face from the lens.
Burberry’s lines are traditionally mega expensive, with its cheapest rucksack retailing for $1,200 in Asia.
The brand’s iconic Chelsea Heritage Trench Coat costs $1,800, while shirts can cost up to $1,000.
Bosses have recently vowed to slash prices by 4 percent in Chinese markets to help sales.
A Burberry spokesperson said: “Burberry has careful processes in place to minimize the amount of excess stock we produce.
“On the occasions when disposal of products is necessary, we do so in a responsible manner and we continue to seek ways to reduce and revalue our waste.
“This is a core part of our Responsibility strategy to 2022 and we have forged partnerships and committed support to innovative organizations to help reach this goal.
“One example is our partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular Initiative, where we join other leading organizations to work towards a circular fashion economy.”