Norwegian sports and outdoor retailer XXL has found itself in the middle of a waste-related scandal following the discovery of a big pile of discarded products that would have been good to use if they hadn't been purposely slashed with a knife.
Turku resident Heli Hintikka made the discovery on Tuesday with Finland's largest circulating daily, Helsingin Sanomat, reporting on the story on Wednesday.
The story has since sparked intense debate about the environmental effects and wastefulness of consumer culture, especially on social media.
"Sporting goods store XXL Sports & Outdoor could have donated usable goods to Ukraine or to the less wealthy. Instead, useful products were cut with a knife. The Earth is drowning in waste and this type of activity is not acceptable for the Earth's carrying capacity," a Facebook comment reads.
The destruction of products is only employed as a last resort, XLL said in a press statement on Thursday, adding that such action is only taken when the defective product becomes a potential hazard or if the contract with the supplier so requires.
Sometimes destruction is the only option, manufacturers say
Yle spoke to two Finnish sports manufacturers, Reima and Halti, who said that such retail practices were not uncommon.
Children's clothing manufacturer Reima said however that, in principle, the first option in case of a defective product should always be repair. The company added that it reimburses the cost of repair to retailers.
Reima added that if the buyer asks for a refund or replaces it with a new product, the product's care instructions must be slashed as an indication that the firm has been reimbursed for the product.
"Usually the product then remains the property of the customer, meaning they are allowed to do with it as they please. We only take a defective product back if we want to investigate a quality defect," Reima's Communications Manager Riikamaria Paakkunainen told Yle.
"We do not rummage around garbage cans, but our hope is that usable products are not destroyed. If a product defect poses a danger, then it is more responsible to destroy it," she added.
Of all the products sold in Reima's own stores, only 0.21 percent become subject to a complaint or refund, according to Paakkunainen.
Halti chief executive Aki Kuusilehto told Yle that the sports and outdoor manufacturer also primarily encourages repairing defective products, however, the decision ultimately lies with the consumer.
"I hope that consumers will accept the repair of the product. The purpose of destruction is to ensure that products are not returned for a second time," Kuusilehto said, adding that some of the products that cannot be sold again are given out to staff for test use.
Halti's products were also discovered in XXL's rubbish bins.
Similarly to Reima, Halti's percentage of reimbursements also falls under one percent, according to Kuusilehto.