Burberry destroys perfumes worth £28 million annually to guard against counterfeits

British luxury brand Burberry destroyed perfumes worth 28.6 million pounds last year, to prevent unwanted items from being stolen or sold cheaply, BBC reported.

The high-end fashion label, which has destroyed unsold clothes, including perfumes and accessories worth 10 million pounds so far this year, in the last five years has done away with products worth over 90 million pounds.

"Burberry has careful processes in place to minimise 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," a company spokesperson told BBC.

It is a common practice for the retail industry to destroy products to protect intellectual property and avert illegal counterfeiting by safeguarding the supply chain so that it remains unaffected.

However, Burberry clarified that destroying cosmetic items was not a practice, but a consequence of them signing a new deal with US-based cosmetic firm Coty.

“Burberry has vigilant processes in place to reduce the volume of excess stock we make. On the occasions when disposal of products is essential, we do so in an accountable manner and we continue to seek ways to moderate and revalue our waste,” added the company spokesperson

The company claimed that it takes its environmental responsibilities seriously, and recently joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative to avoid waste in the industry.