Digital fashion solution company Sharecloth has released a report on the amount of wasted clothing produced by the fashion industry. One of the main focus of the report is the burning of unsold clothing by major brands. In 2017, H&M incinerated 15 tons of clothing while last year Burberry burnt products instead of selling them at a lower cost.

The report also claims companies which destroy their dead stock will almost never acknowledge this publicly. The report contains many figures on the extent of the problem with the current trend of fast fashion. The global fashion industry produces 150 billion garments a year, which equates to about 20 pieces per person.

More than 50 per cent of fast fashion produced is disposed in under a year. Also offered is a warning to the fashion industry, that by 2030, fashion brands will see a profit reduction of $52 billion if it continues operating the way it currently does. This it says is due to scarce resources, higher labor costs and overproduction. As to why companies overproduce clothes, one reason is fast fashion but other reasons are growing demand for clothing and also unit cost, with bigger orders equaling lower price per piece.