It’s easy to forget what happens to the items we return. It’s easy to forget what happens to the things we return. That blender that didn’t match your kitchen, the shoes that pinched, the shirt you tried on once. They disappear from your doorstep— but not from the planet.

While you may not have to deal with them anymore, someone still has to. These returns, appearing harmless, are a component of an expanding and intricate crisis in the retail sector.

In 2024, for example, product returns in the United States were estimated to total 890 billion, as reported by the National Retail Federation. However, the bigger narrative isn’t solely about the expense. It’s really about the destination for those products.

Optoro reports that returns generated about 8.4 billion pounds of landfill waste in 2023. That statistic alone ranks returns as one of the major contributors to unnecessary retail waste.

For many retailers— especially in fashion and electronics— the cost of returns makes reprocessing untenable. Items are more likely to be discarded, liquidated, or landfilled than resold. The expense of returning a product typically represents 27% of the initial sale price and can reduce a retailer’s margin by as much as 50%.

It is a problem that spans continents. Based on a data set of 630,000 returned clothing items in Europe, 44 percent never reach a second consumer. Half of them are recycled, a quarter end up in landfills, and a seventh are incinerated. According to research conducted by Ben-Gurion University, the rest end up lost somewhere along the way.

This return-to-waste pipeline is now more than merely a logistical issue; it’s a crisis for sustainability. “Returns have turned into retail’s blind spot,” says Sam Scoten, CEO and cofounder of CheckSammy, a business providing an alternative to the current norm. “Many systems were designed to deliver products to buyers quickly, not to consider what occurs afterwards.”

The company’s Zero Point Returns initiative is among a rising array of solutions aiming to challenge this approach. However, what sets it apart is more than a specific technology— it’s the company’s ambition to transform the entire returns ecosystem.

The Infrastructure Gap

In various industries and with some merchants, returns are handled as an afterthought, considered more a customer service requirement than an environmental concern. The outcome is a waste stream that is inefficient and underreported, causing retailers to rush. In fashion, over-ordering (ordering one item in several colors or sizes) is a common practice, normalized by programs such as Amazon’s ‘Try before you buy’. As a result, on average, 20 to 30 percent of items that were ordered online are returned.

What might be most troubling for retailers is that consumers now view returns not as an exception, but as a right. Optoro’s State of Returns 2024 Survey revealed that 46% of consumers return items several times each month, an increase of 29% compared to the previous year. The survey further showed that 80% of consumers report they have ceased shopping with a retailer because of modifications in return policies, reflecting a significant 34% increase compared to the previous year.

This has placed numerous brands in a difficult situation where they are unsure whether to impose penalties on returns and potentially alienate loyal customers, or take on the increasing expenses and environmental impact.

Opening Up New Avenues

“Brands don’t aim to send products to landfills,” explained Scoten who also noted that most of them lack the local or national infrastructure necessary to manage reverse logistics sustainably. “It’s a logistics issue disguised as a waste issue.”

CheckSammy’s strategy is based on physical infrastructure. Its Zero Point Facilities, strategically positioned throughout North America, serve as centers for collecting, organizing, and repurposing returned goods. Products are received, sorted, and directed along the most sustainable route available: recycling, repurposing, donation, or secure disposal when required, while providing full transparency and detailed reporting back to the client.

Zero Point Facilities not only minimize waste, but they also reveal new avenues of value. Optoro’s survey reports that 77% of consumers are now willing to purchase secondhand or open-box items straight from brands at a reduced price. Recommerce has moved beyond being a niche trend and is now a developing standard.

The system makes this possible by detecting like-new returns that can be directed to internal or external resale channels. This method corresponds with an increasing consumer readiness to opt for sustainability when it is convenient and rewarded.

According to Scoten, retailers should not view returns as a negative. “They ought to regard them as resources. With appropriate infrastructure, recommerce can genuinely boost revenue and enhance loyalty.”

In the end, what CheckSammy and others in this field are promoting is a change in perspective: to view returns not as a customer service hassle, but as a chance for sustainability and a logistics challenge. This implies investing in regional infrastructure, improved data integration, and sustainable processing capacity.

This is especially pressing as regulators start to examine retail waste more closely. Revisions to the FTC’s Green Guides and increasing examination of corporate greenwashing require retailers to substantiate claims with demonstrable actions.

“Returns have gone unnoticed in many ESG strategies,” noted Scoten. “That is evolving. Retailers are being questioned, how are you managing your waste?” he added. Now, they must respond.