In this post on the Comms Women platform, Harper Henley, a student at the University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences, analyses an article by Denisa Hejlova, Angga Ariestya, Petra Koudelkova, and Sona Schneiderova on deadstock and overstock in the fashion industry, published in Corporate Communications: An International Journal (Emerald).
In recent years, the fashion industry has faced issues regarding its sustainability practices. Not all fashion companies are as committed to staying green as others are. A recent study has shown that many companies in the fashion industry are not speaking up about deadstock and overstock. This silence is not coincidental; this is their way of ignoring the reality of overproduction. The study, “Strategic Silence in Corporate Communication Concerning Deadstock and Overstock in the Fashion Industry,” conducted by Denisa Hejlova, Angga Ariestya, Petra Koudelkova, and Sona Schneiderova, looked at sustainability reports from 95 companies that signed the UN Global Compact’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. This study reveals that only 20% of companies comment on the issue of deadstock despite its environmental impact.
The overarching problem is defined by the overproduction and deadstock the fashion industry produces. Deadstock are the products produced that are not consumed, used, or purchased by consumers that inevitably end up discarded or destroyed. In contrast, overstock refers to the production of items that do not make it to consumers to be purchased. These are two key facets the fashion industry possesses that are indicative of their unsustainability and overproduction issues. With an everchanging consumer bias, fashion companies continue to produce large amounts of products that they know will either not reach consumers or be sold. Many companies’ corporate reports contain discrepancies to mitigate these uncomfortable truths that need to be addressed.
The study identifies many ways in which companies maintain “strategic silence” by avoiding difficult conversation topics such as overproduction and deadstock and focusing on their reuse of materials instead. This façade allows companies to maintain the front of sustainability without confronting the real issues the fashion industry as a whole faces. This habit also undermines stakeholders who are increasingly demanding transparency and accountability.
This study reflects the importance of requiring open, honest dialogue from corporate companies, especially regarding their policies on sustainability and waste. The implications of poor use of these resources affect more people than just customers alike, and silence can be more detrimental than consumers know. From environmental damage caused by incinerating excess stock, like that seen in Sweden’s Västerås power plant scandal, to the tragic textile waste dumped in places like Africa and the Atacama Desert, these issues cannot be ignored or brushed under the rug. We need to talk about the detrimental effects the fashion industry can have on our environment as a whole.
We, as a society, cannot continue down a path that ignores the uncomfortable realities the fashion industry endorses through over and deadstock. We need more transparent reporting as a fundamental value regarding corporate sustainability efforts. The lack of transparency can no longer be chalked up to corporate miscommunication. Consumers, investors, and other stakeholders are demanding more from brands – they want to know how companies are addressing waste and excess production in real, measurable ways.
The CommsWomen advocacy initiative stands for responsible, honest, and inclusive communication, and in the context of the fashion industry, this means holding companies accountable for what they choose to silence. It is important to build and show that companies’ transparency in these regards will build consumers’ trust and also lead to a more sustainable and ethical future.
As consumers and communicators, we are given the responsibility of ensuring that necessary changes and conversations happen. Advocacy on issues like sustainability that the fashion industry faces will encourage brands to stop silencing the issues that matter to the whole of mankind. We live in a time where the fashion industry is responsible for stepping out, acknowledging, and making sustainability its most important priority yet.
Reference
Hejlova, D., Ariestya, A., Koudelkova, P. and Schneiderova, S. (2025), “Strategic silence in corporate communication concerning deadstock and overstock in the fashion industry”, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 294-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-12-2023-0183