Luxury Brand Coach Will Stop Destroying Unusable Goods After TikTok Outrage
Coach announced that it will no longer destroy damaged and unusable handbags returned to its stores. The announcement follows a viral TikTok video that has accused the luxury brand of destroying unwanted items.
A post shared by Coach (@coach)
Coach’s announcement followers backlash generated by a viral video posted by TikTok user Anna Sacks. The video shows Sacks holding up various destroyed Couch bags. It appears employees have cut the bags, rendering them useless.
Sacks suggest that Coach asks employees to deliberately destroy the handbags per company policy. She alleges that the company is using this tactic as a method to write down the value of its inventory. She claims there is a tax loophole that the company is abusing by making it appear the items were accidentally destroyed.
A spokesperson for Coach said this statement was inaccurate and that the company is not claiming any tax benefit from these items.
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A statement sent to CNN by a spokesperson for the brand has said these claims are inaccurate. The spokesperson said, “the company ‘is not claiming any tax benefits’ for items returned in-store that are damaged, defective, worn and otherwise non-saleable and not able to be donated that were destroyed in store.”
Destroying unsold merchandise isn’t an uncommon practice. Many other popular brands have also come under fire for the action. Burberry, Amazon, Nike, Victoria’s Secret, H&M, and Eddie Bauer have all received backlash destroying items, according to Daily Dot.
Sacks, known as The Trash Walker, sifts through trash left out by businesses and recycling left on the curb. Her goal is to show her 300 thousand followers how much of what some consider to be waste is still usable.
Over 2.5 million people have seen the video on TikTok alone. Many of the viewers took to the comments to voice their disapproval.
A post shared by Anna Sacks (@thetrashwalker)
One user commented on the video, “Was saving to get a Coach bag for my mom’s birthday, we’ll be buying something else,” which received 30,000 likes.
The luxury goods maker has responded on Instagram, although without mentioning the viral video.Coach said that it would no longer destroy in-store returns of damaged and unsaleable goods. These items would instead be donated to its ‘reuse handbag repair program’, which it offers in stores.
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Sources: CNN, Business Insider
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