The study published in the journal “Resources, Conservation and Recycling” (Vol. 210, 107811) showed that by mapping the flow of returned products under sustainable and conventional management practices, and quantifying the full lifecycle impacts associated with returns, 22%-44% of returned products in the EU never reach another consumer.
According to the study, 78% of returned items reach a secondary consumer when sustainable management practices are employed. The remaining 22% end up in recycling, landfills, incineration, or are lost along the way. In contrast, under conventional management practices only 56% of returned items reach a secondary customer.
Also, GHG emissions related to the production and distribution of unused returns can be 2–16 times higher than all post-return transport, packaging, and processing emissions combined.
The findings suggest that the environmental impacts of eCommerce and, specifically, online apparel may be systematically underestimated when returns are not accounted for. Consequently, the promotion of circular management practices that maximize the use of returned products has to be much more emphasized among retailers. Furthermore, despite growing concern over product destruction, post-return product flows are not well understood, and the full lifecycle environmental impacts of returns remain largely unknown.
