What happens to stuff that doesn’t sell out at the regular declared price?
Most grotesquely, some European designer brands are burning the goods rather than mark them down or sell them to a lesser species of retailer who would sell their beloved label at a promotional price, which could reach steep discounts if the style really sucked.
As of July 2026, the European Union has banned this practice. Large fashion companies must reuse, donate or recycle unsold goods and fast fashion houses are forbidden from just throwing their unsold goods into landfills (see the text of the EU law here).
So what happens now? Fashion houses must plan their production better with smaller runs, and fast-fashion retailers will have blowout sales. The former will get more scarce which will undoubtedly result in higher prices (for which they are already being criticized) and fast-fashion houses will become Treasure Hunts as they trash price their unsellables.
This is only part of the picture. Go to just about any e-commerce site (go ahead, choose one and see) and you can find some or many things on “sale,” with discounts ranging from 20% to 70% (what happens after 70%?). Shoppers can bet on this, and they do.
What is worse is the predictability of these sales. Not just Black Friday, Christmas, Father’s/Mother’s Day etc. but the seasonal nature of many goods. Let’s take sweaters, for example. What do they do with last winter’s sweaters in July? IF they don’t plan to reintroduce them next winter, they are heavily discounted.
Here’s the worst part: Customers are trained to shop when the sales occur, so there is little incentive to buy at regular price. So, what is the “regular” or “real” price at which they will make a purchase? Ask a customer and they will tell you something between 30% and 70% discount. You are a customer—is this correct or not?
What is the result with the manufacture of these clothes? Think about it. IF a brand knows that they will only sell on seasonal discounts, do you think they will make these clothes with quality appropriate to the full price? No. So those who buy for full price are not getting full value; and those who thought they were getting a $200 sweater for $130 are really getting a $130 sweater. That’s all.
As this practice is pervasive in the fashion industry, what is also lost is trust. E-commerce becomes a cat-and-mouse game where nothing is real and where customers trust nobody.
We at Lotus & Michael are veterans of the fashion industry, and we also are customers. We see what you see. Can’t trust anybody. So, when we started our brand, we made a commitment to what is missing in the e-commerce world- authenticity.
This isn’t just us passing wind. We put it in writing. Number 3 of our 12 commitments reads as follows:
“Dependable Pricing-We guarantee that each product’s price on our website will be reliable and consistent, so as to be fair to every one of you when making a purchase. You will have the security of knowing your price won’t be discounted after you buy the item.”
(You may see this and the rest of our commitments here.)
Now you are thinking: “So what do they do with stuff that doesn’t sell, broken sizes and discontinued styles?”
What we don’t do is put them on sale. If they disappear from the web site, what happens to them?
We donate them. As a US Army Veteran, Michael has chosen the Vietnam Veterans of America to donate our clothes to. Where our stuff ends up is beyond our control.
So, the bottom line is we merchandise to sell at the real price, of which there is only one. Material, Quality, Accessories are chosen to meet all of our commitments, and what you see is what you get. And what we wear. Guaranteed.
Check it out and buy sustainable: https://www.lotusandmichael.com/