Unsold concert merchandise from Universal Music Group typically accumulates in a large Nashville warehouse, with many items forgotten over the years. Environmental concerns arise from the accumulation of apparel, as many companies donate or incinerate unsold merch as a last resort. Recently, Bravado has taken a new approach by shipping 400,000 shirts to Morocco for recycling into new cotton yarn. This initiative, led by Billie Eilish, aims to create 280,000 new shirts for European fans in time for the holiday season, promoting sustainability in the merchandise industry.
"It's like the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark," says Matt Young, president of Bravado. "This stuff predates me-I believe it was just forgotten."
Typically that stuff gets donated to Goodwill-but they don't even want that much, especially if it has a band name," Young says. "Some artists may want it destroyed, or you do a sale on a website-which is usually the first wave of defense."
UMG's head of sustainability Dylan Siegler says the company has so much deadstock in storage partially because it only donates or incinerates unsold merchandise as "the very last resort."
Looking to find a new option for its unsold apparel, Bravado is now sending 400,000 shirts from its Nashville warehouse via cargo ship to Morocco, where Spanish clothing designer and manufacturer Hallotex will turn many of them back into cotton yarn, which it will then spin into new, 100% recycled cotton shirt.
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