alone, ${?}^{18}$ was characterized by complex value chains with multiple suppliers in different countries and long shipping times between continents. A piece of clothing may be manufactured in Bangladesh, but its production could rely on essential components, such as buttons and zippers, sourced from China, as well as raw materials, such as cotton, sourced from India. ${?}^{19}$ Therefore, factory closures and shipping restrictions mandated in China during the pandemic held up final assembly in garment factories in Bangladesh. A disruptive event in any country from which a company was sourcing an essential component could disrupt the entire supply chain, and planning for such contingencies was challenging due to the unpredictability of COVID$-19.$ Both consumer demand and production capacity in different countries was highly dependent on governments' abilities to manage the virus within their national borders.

As supply chains contended with disruptions on both ends, brands and retailers were additionally faced with mounting piles of unsold inventory, filling up stockrooms and warehouses. H&M$,$ for instance, was sitting on $3\mathrm{.}4$ billion in unsold merchandise by April $2020.{?}^{20}$ Apparel companies scrambled to pivot toward online sales, and many brands had no choice but to resort to deep discounting strategies, as well as internal staff sales, but this was not nearly enough to clear the rising mounds of so$-$called deadstock. Much of this unsold inveritory continued to overburden landfills or it was incinerated $-$ a controversial approach to textile waste as it produced more carbon dioxide than burning coal. ${?}^{21}$ The fashion industry's global waste problem was the product of a culture of excess, resulting of both overconsumption and overproduction, enabled by cheap overseas labor.