France Prepares Law to Ban Destroying Unsold Clothes

PARIS — Taking the lead on a thorny issue for the fashion industry, France is drafting a law to prevent companies from destroying unsold clothing, potentially setting new standards that could become a blueprint for the industry. Junior ecology minister Brune Poirson, a young, American-educated government official spearheading the project, said she was prodded to action by an undercover television report that showed new merchandise, including brand new diapers and unopened Lego sets, flagged for destruction by Amazon. Responding to the report, the Internet giant said in an e-mailed statement that only a small fraction of unsold products are destroyed while the majority is recycled, resold, returned or donated. “I am shocked, outraged, but I am lucky, to be sitting in a place where I can do more than be shocked,” Poirson said on French television channel M6 in January. “In the coming months there will be a law — in this law we will ban this sort of practice. Companies like, for example, Amazon, will not be able to throw away products that are still usable. And we will not destroy products that can still be used,” she said. Asked what sanctions she had in mind, she cited financial fines up to criminal sanctions

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