Online fast fashion website Boohoo has recently become the latest retailer to cancel free returns, angering its customers.

Many people have become accustomed to free returns, free shipping and general convenience of online shopping that has become the norm during the pandemic.

Consumers are often unaware of the sheer scale of the problem, which damages our planet and hits their pockets.

Boohoo, Zara, Next and Uniqlo have also introduced paid returns, with more brands likely to follow.  Shoppers who subscribe to next day delivery service Boohoo Premier for HK$123 (US$13) a year will still receive free returns.

Experts point out that returning unwanted online purchases is not, in fact, free.  The monetary cost of shipping and returns is baked into the prices shoppers pay – and there is a big environmental cost to pay.

The UN Environment Programme says the fashion industry accounts for up to 10 per cent of global carbon dioxide output.  Global production of clothing has at least doubled since the year 2000, according to the World Economic Forum. The average American has been estimated to throw away 37kg of textiles a year, of which 85 per cent ends up in landfills.  Much of the Clothing returned by online shoppers also ends up in landfills.

Consumers often believe that their returns go right back to the retailers or destroyed.  However, these goods are often sold to a discounter at a fraction of their original price.

Why? Before they can be resold, they are transported from warehouse to processing facility, generating millions of metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.  If they remain unsold or are defective, they are shipped to a landfill, generating more emissions.

Nearly half of all returned stock gets discarded and returns add 2.3 million tonnes of waste to landfills annually.  Still, fast fashion retailers continue to produce more despite knowing how many of the items you buy are likely to be returned – after all, as long as you keep shopping, a few unwanted items are of little concern.

Brands calculate in meticulous detail how much stock is likely to to returned and factor the cost of that into their prices.

Online returns cost retailers an average of 21 per cent of the original order value, according to a survey by global shipping and mailing company  Pitney Bowes.  So consumers pay that cost with each item they buy online. Charging customers a fee for returns makes the cost explicit.  This could deter them from frivolous online buying and make them more mindful and ecofriendly shoppers.  With brands and customers united in their pursuit of a greener fashion industry, ending free returns could support sustainable efforts while reducing the cost to consumers. But reprocessing still has a way to go.