There’s a lot of news about the huge ecological problem that is happening in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Including the recent article on National Geographic that shows how tons of clothes (some of it unused) go to die in the world's largest fog desert. The scale is breathtaking.
Evidently people talk about how to end the contested export of discarded clothing to our countries. But I would like to highlight that some of the reasons why there's so much product going to waste has a lot to do with our consumption habits, and particularly online shopping. The campaign for ethical and sustainable fashion should happen at all levels of the industry, and we believe the greatest impact might come from prevention (Yes, "prevention"... I'm an MD turned entrepreneur :-)
Online Shopping and responsible consumption.
As industry insiders we have experienced first hand the drama related to traditional online returns. Up to 30% of apparel, shoes, and accessories are returned because of problems with size, fit, or feel.
The truth is it’s not really sustainable for online retailers to offer returns as a way to substitute a try-on experience. In fact, it’s incredibly expensive and complicated for retailers, because the reverse logistics is so slow and expensive that frequently it's easier to trash the returned items. This situation affects even those brands that are not doing fast fashion and are working with ethical materials and sustainable productions. And to top it all off, most customers don’t know they are becoming accomplices of this waste generating process.
Taking a step in the right direction begins with every one of us being conscious of what we are actually buying (including materials and production aspects) before committing and hitting that buy button. But the reality is that if you buy that "badass looking" pair of jeans without knowing for sure how they're gonna fit or feel on you, chances are you might return it and they'll end up in a landfill.
In TryCloud we are enabling online retailers offer on-demand try-before-buy experiences that help customer buy only what they love. Items ship from stores and return to those same stores immediately, allowing those items to be reshelved right away. Retailers save money, items are not doomed to immediate obsolescence, and customers can do more conscious shopping.
And it’s precisely conscious shopping what we are after. We have designed our model with the idea to contribute with the UN’s 12th sustainable development goal. We are convinced our solution is a step in the direction of responsible consumption within the fashion industry. We believe you should try everything you want to buy just what you love!
What about your own experience dealing with returns? Tell us in the comments below. Best, Carolita