H&M is the latest brand to charge for returns — and that might be good for the planet


The latest fashion trend in the UK seems to be brands charging customers to return items. While that sucks for consumer pocketbooks, it probably has a positive environmental impact. Free returns come with an environmental cost, namely more pollution and waste.
H&M is the latest brand to start charging for returns in the UK, BBC reported today. It joins Zara, Uniqlo, and several other clothing brands cutting their own costs by nixing free returns. The parent company that owns Zara, Inditex, and H&M make up the two biggest clothing retailers worldwide. If these policies start gaining traction outside of the UK, they could make a significant dent in the fashion industry’s environmental footprint.
Before you buy a thing, it has probably been on a lengthy journey by sea, air, truck — maybe even all three. That journey creates greenhouse gas emissions heating the planet and local air pollution (especially for what tend to be low-income communities of color near warehouses). Returning the product extends its journey, creating even more pollution. And there’s a good chance its final destination will be a landfill since it can be cheaper for a company to chuck the unwanted item rather than sell it again.
The popularity of online shopping with free returns has encouraged people to use their homes like dressing rooms. It’s easy to buy a product online, try it on at home, and then return an unsatisfactory item. And that has taken a growing toll on the environment. In the US, carbon dioxide emissions from hauling around returned goods grew from 15 to 24 million metric tons of CO2 between 2019 and 2022. That’s roughly equivalent to the climate pollution from more than 5.3 million gas-guzzling cars last year.
Around half of online purchases are returned, The Guardian reports. But that doesn’t mean the items go back on the shelf; half of those returned products go up for sale again in the US. Nearly 10 billion pounds of returned merchandise wound in landfills in the US last year, according to one estimate.
Disincentivizing returns is one way companies can cut down on that waste and their greenhouse gas emissions. They can also give consumers more accurate and detailed information about products they market online. That might be able to stave off some returns by giving customers a better idea of what they’ll be getting in real life once a package gets to their door.
The latest fashion trend in the UK seems to be brands charging customers to return items. While that sucks for consumer pocketbooks, it probably has a positive environmental impact. Free returns come with an environmental cost, namely more pollution and waste. H&M is the latest brand to start charging for…
Recent Posts
- 3 features that would actually make me pay for a Samsung Health subscription for my Galaxy Watch – and one big problem it needs to avoid
- TikTok’s ‘ban’ problem could end soon with a new app and a sale
- 16-Core AMD EPYC 4005 CPU is almost 3X faster than AMD’s first server flagship – and I can’t believe what a bargain that is
- Samsung’s very special rugged tablet comes with eight – yes, eight – years of Android updates and hot-swappable batteries
- The latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 leak is the first hands-on video of the flip foldable
Archives
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022