I think it’s time to have a conversation about the massive amount of hidden waste created by the likes of Amazon through free returns.

From TFA:

"In 2022, returns cost retailers about $816 billion in lost sales. That’s nearly as much as the U.S. spent on public schools and almost twice the cost of returns in 2020. The return process, with transportation and packaging, also generated about 24 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.

"UPS transports those items to the retailer’s warehouses dedicated to processing returns. This step of the process costs the retailer money – 66% of the cost of a $50 item by one estimate – and emits carbon dioxide as trucks and planes carry items hundreds of miles. The plastic, paper or cardboard from the return package becomes waste.

“In 2019, about 5 billion pounds of waste from returns were sent to landfills, according to an estimate by the return technology platform Optoro. By 2022, the estimated waste had nearly doubled to about 9.5 billion pounds.”

For those of us in the metric world, 9.5 billion pounds is around 4.3 billion kilograms.

https://fortune.com/2023/06/14/amazon-returns-ecommerce-how-bad-big-problem-816-billion/

@green #sustainability @technology@beehaw.org @technology@lemmy.ml #CircularEconomy #Waste #Business #Economics #Recycling #Environment

  • bmaxv@noc.social
    2·
    1 year ago

    @ajsadauskas @green @technology@beehaw.org @technology@lemmy.ml

    Hmmm…

    I don’t think Amazon is the root cause here.

    And it’s certainly not the consumer’s right to return things.

    Rather it’s the non existent life cycle management for a lot of products and/or that it’s “not profitable” to restore some products to “as new” and to sell them again. So #rightorepair ?

    We could talk about packaging tech too, but that’s an obvious one that already gets lots of attention.

  • Evan
    1·
    1 year ago

    I think this is more about direct to consumer shipping. If it’s shipped first to businesses, consumers can return it directly there

  • Lawrence London@calckey.art
    21·
    1 year ago

    @ajsadauskas@aus.social @green@lemmy.ml @technology@beehaw.org @technology@lemmy.ml

    idiots that order things they shoulddn;t, not taking any responsibility for their purchases

    amazon announced a change in the free returns policy - look it up
    there may be 816B$ in lost sales bu think of the cost of driving to a brick and mortar store, parking, fuel cost & pollution, etc etc etc
    much cheaper for Prime, Fedex or UPS to deliver it to you - one person moves goods from store to hundreds of customers every hour - think of the savings in fuel-pollution-wear on vehicle-wear on highways-cost of parking-other assorted waste embodied in the whole process of shopping at a store

    Amazon could help by telling folks to try and make informed purchases
    Amazon could force vendors to describe their products more accurately to avoid returns

    I really like Amazon and have Prime which is great. I can’t tell you how much it has saved me free delivery or low cost - and Fedex & UPS are great too

    We need Amazon
    Why can’t returned goods be sold at cost or given away to charities
    Amazon does offer slightly used or new unboxed products and they are just fine - save $$ this way
    Just be a smart shopper and return less purchases
    Its a two way street

  • Lawrence London@calckey.art
    11·
    1 year ago

    @ajsadauskas@aus.social @green@lemmy.ml @technology@beehaw.org @technology@lemmy.ml
    idiots that order things they shouldn’t, not taking any responsibility for their purchases
    amazon announced a change in the free returns policy - look it up
    there may be 816B$ in lost sales bu think of the cost of driving to a brick and mortar store, parking, fuel cost & pollution, etc etc etc
    much cheaper for Prime, Fedex or UPS to deliver it to you - one person moves goods from store to hundreds of customers every hour - think of the savings in fuel-pollution-wear on vehicle-wear on highways-cost of parking-other assorted waste embodied in the whole process of shopping at a store
    Amazon could help by telling folks to try and make informed purchases
    Amazon could force vendors to describe their products more accurately to avoid returns
    I really like Amazon and have Prime which is great. I can’t tell you how much it has saved me free delivery or low cost - and Fedex & UPS are great too
    We need Amazon
    Why can’t returned goods be sold at cost or given away to charities
    Amazon does offer slightly used or new unboxed products and they are just fine - save $$ this way
    Just be a smart shopper and return less purchases
    Its a two way street