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Last week, luxury fashion brand Coach came under fire for slashing their unsold products. Outrage erupted online after activist Anna Sacks posted a TikTok showing the brand’s unmistakable leather goods severed beyond repair. This was an especially hard blow for Coach, who has continuously preached sustainability and maintaining a circular fashion model. There is even a section on their website dedicated to reusing and recycling, appropriately named Coach Re(Loved).
With the intense amount of media scrutiny the brand came under last week, many are left wondering exactly how much of their products actually have gotten the chance to be Re(Loved), or even just loved.
When Stuart Vevers stepped into the role of creative director at Coach in 2013, the company saw an overhaul of design, making the brand more youthful, colorful, and desirable. As a symptom of this, it’s become far less affordable for the average consumer to don Coach’s signature horse and carriage hardware.
It’s become apparent that the brand would prefer to trash their coveted products than sell them for a reduced cost. At even half the price, it’s likely that the profit margin would still be considerable. However, Coach would rather their bags see the inside of a dumpster than make high fashion accessible to more of the general population.
In this Instagram apology, the brand has promised to engage in more sustainable practices in the future. While this is all well and good, it’s a promise they’ve made before that they did not keep. It’s becoming increasingly hard to trust that high volume brands are at all circular, when they can be so square.
What are your thoughts on the recent Coach scandal? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
