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Unhappy Returns

Unhappy Returns

Online shopping has made buying more convenient, sure. But because we can’t touch, feel, and try items on when perusing e-commerce sites, return rates have skyrocketed. Each year in the US alone, shoppers return approximately 3.5 billion products, only 20% of which are actually defective. Spoiler alert: these perfectly new and non-defective items that we return? Workers only very rarely restock them for sale.

Today I divulge what *actually* happens to clothing that we buy online and then return; I’m also offering up some practical action steps for everyone (like myself!) who enjoys shopping online.

 

Here’s a preview:

[5:15] How did we get here? A brief history of fast, free, no questions asked returns

[7:00] The major differences between forward logistics and reverse logistics

[12:00] What happens to the clothes we return: landfill, merchandizer, or abroad

[16:15] 5 ways to reduce returns sent back to manufacturers

 

Resources mentioned:

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* Want more episodes like this one? Check out #105: Where Do Goodwill Donations Go?

 

 

Online shopping has made buying more convenient, sure. But because we can't touch, feel, and try on clothing items when perusing e-commerce sites, return rates have skyrocketed. Spoiler alert: these perfectly new and non-defective items that we return? Workers only very rarely restock them for sale. On this episode of the Sustainable Minimalists podcast: what *actually* happens to clothing that we buy online and then return; practical action steps for online shoppers, too.

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The Sustainable Minimalists Podcast
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Saying No To New

New things are everywhere—and they’re causing us to disconnect from what we value most.

In a world that constantly tells us that new is better, our relentless pursuit of material wealth is costing us money, time and happiness. Worse, when we define ourselves by what we own rather than who we are, we reduce our lives to a single, superficial dimension.

On today’s show, New York Times journalist Eric Athas offers advice for stepping away from the cycle of constant buying, saying no to shallowness, and discovering the right kind of “new” in our lives.

Here's a preview:

[8:00] We're wired to become bored the familiar, and other truths to newness

[16:00] Consumption has costs! (In fact, it robs us of our finite attention, dilutes our capacity for genuine enjoyment, and misaligns our pursuit of happiness.)

[26:00] Musings on the ways in which overconsumption leads to superficiality

[37:00] Put down the trinket! Redefining what it means to experience novelty, growth, and freshness without relying on a transaction

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Hello there, I’m Stephanie. I live a crazy, beautiful life as a full-time wife, blogger + mother to two spirited daughters. I’m on a mission to simplify eco-friendly living so as to greater enjoy life’s sweeter moments.

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