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165 billion packages were shipped in the U.S. last year — using about 1 billion trees worth of cardboard 
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‘Tis the season for gift returns, and there sure are a lot of them.
In December, Americans will return more than 1 million packages to e-commerce retailers each day https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
In December, Americans will return more than 1 million packages to e-commerce retailers each day https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
E-commerce returns are a hidden environmental crisis. Those tens of millions of packages accounted for:
5 billion lbs of landfill waste in the U.S.
15 million tons of carbon emissions https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
5 billion lbs of landfill waste in the U.S.15 million tons of carbon emissions https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
Consumers are returning more and more every year. In 2018, Americans sent back 10% of their purchases, or $369 billion worth, up from 8% two years earlier.
It’s a global trend: In Sweden, return rates can be as high as 60% for some products https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
It’s a global trend: In Sweden, return rates can be as high as 60% for some products https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
In 2017, only an estimated 10% of returned merchandise ends back on the shelves. The rest is sent on to:
Discounters
Recyclers
Charities
Landfill
Incinerators https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
Discounters Recyclers Charities Landfill Incinerators https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
That’s right: Billions of pounds of returns end up in landfills and incinerators.
Making matters worse, getting those products from customers’ homes to wherever they end up is a carbon-heavy process https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
Making matters worse, getting those products from customers’ homes to wherever they end up is a carbon-heavy process https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
Because online items are returned at a much higher rate than traditional ones, emissions exceed what they'd be at brick-and-mortar outlets.
Even as companies like Amazon transition to sustainable packaging, returns will keep adding to their resource usage https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
Even as companies like Amazon transition to sustainable packaging, returns will keep adding to their resource usage https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
A ban on free returns would naturally meet stiff opposition. But a few other steps might help the problem:- Adopt carbon emission labeling
- Stop providing ready-made return labels
- Returnless refunds for products that can’t be sold again https://bloom.bg/32G5S60
