What happens to the clothes we return?

Most shoppers do not pause to ponder over the life that fashion purchases online take on once returned

The COVID-19 pandemic turned even skeptics of online shopping into believers. Those who were already members of the camp added to their carts with more frequency, including items for which they may have previously sauntered into stores for. Brands set up e-shops overnight to cater to this growing demand, and the Indian e-retail market saw a 25 per cent growth last year. According to Unicommerce’s e-commerce fashion report, the fashion industry reported a 51% per cent growth in volumes of online orders

But this reach, ease and accessibility of ordering from the comfort of our beds is also accompanied with a certain degree of carelessness. How many times have we ordered a dress in a size up and down as well, to return the ones that don’t fit? Or changed our mind about that pair of ripped jeans that we were previously excited about? Turns out, in India, 25 per cent of online fashion orders are returned. Your purchases are sure to have contributed to this percentage at some point. I know mine have. Despite conversations on the environmental impact of our purchase decisions and the fashion industry’s wasteful practices, we rarely stop to wonder what happened to that white blazer or combat boots—probably shipped to you from halfway across the country (or world)—we decided we didn’t want to keep.

What’s the big deal, you are probably thinking? Especially when incentives like free returns, refunds, discount codes and same-day shipping make the deal sweeter for clients, more so from mass market and high-street retailers. “Returns are just not sustainable, and this culture needs to change. There is a lack of education on the cost of returns not just to the business but to the environment as well. We have a long, long way to go,” says Meghna Goyal, founder of Mumbai-based conscious fashion label Summer Somewhere that adopts strict return policies.

The damaging impact of returns is both environmental and economic. “Shipping and processing returned items has an enormous cost in terms of logistics. Processing is notoriously labour-intensive,” explains Filippo Sessa, sustainability director of internationally renowned sustainability solutions agency Eco-Age. “Returns also imply additional travelling, and therefore carbon emissions. In most cases the product travels back to a central hub, perhaps in a different region, just to be sent to recycling, or worst, incineration or disposal, signifying a failure for the whole supply chain.”

Hold on…so my returns don’t always go back on the rack?

While different brands have different approaches to process returns, not all incoming items–even if in perfect condition–end up back on the shelves. Often because the overheads of doing so just don’t make enough financial sense for the brand. Many brands don’t have the logistics, technology and manpower to add them back to their inventory. Others have policies that restrict them from reselling opened products as new. Discarding is an easier option in these cases, only for these garments to ultimately end up in landfills. In other cases, items are sold off during clearance sales or passed on to bulk resellers. Brands like Burberry, Nike and H&M have come under fire for burning stock that they are unable to use.

Do homegrown brands function the same way?

We crowdsourced answers from Indian designers for this story via Instagram, and received varied responses, mostly from labels producing in small batches. These included dry cleaning the returned item and adding it back to stock, donating it to charity or upcycling the piece in order to reuse the fabric.

Goyal reveals her brand accepts returns only for faulty or damaged items. Exchanges are accepted after a quality check—if it has minor damages, it is mended and re-joins the inventory. “We often have customers reach out to us for sold-out pieces. If we do have such a return where the damage cannot be mended, it is offered to these customers at a considerably discounted rate. We don't believe in discarding any of our stock, whether it is damaged or not,” she says. Returns at streetwear brand Bhaane also undergo a quality test, which, if the items pass, are resold to customers. However if not, they go into a discard pile. “We have liberal policies and are accommodating because the brand is driven by community. But over the years, customers have developed a familiarity towards the brand so we get minimal returns (only 6-7 per cent per season) even though we are an e-commerce-heavy brand,” says creative director Nimish Shah.

Is there a solution?

It’s impossible to eliminate returns altogether. But there must surely be a way to reduce its volume, and thereby, the eventual impact. For starters, brands could stop incentivising mindless returns. Sessa points towards Zara that has started charging £1.95 to return online purchases by mail in the United Kingdom. Instead, incentivise in-store returns so that products can be immediately put back into circulation. “In the case of luxury brands, higher price points and more stringent return policies have kept the issue relatively under control,” she adds. Transparent presentation of all details on the website will also allow customers to make more confident, informed choices.

According to designer Payal Singhal, whose eponymous label has verticals ranging from couture to pret and accessories, strict return policies is the main tool to avoid overproduction and wasteful inventory. “We don’t accept returns across any of our categories. Everything is made on order, so we provide excellent customer service to ensure clients don’t have the need to exchange their purchases in the first place.”

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