CX & climate change: the hidden cost of returns

This week on the Support Insights podcast, we've caught up again with Cornelia Konstantyner, Head of CX at Organic Basics.

In the episode, we take a look inside the most important global issue of our time: climate change.

Thanks to Amazon's one-click culture, we've all come to expect super fast delivery and super easy returns from online fashion stores.

Brands chasing sales at all costs have optimised the purchase experience to encourage impulse, thoughtless purchases and immediate gratification.

But ease of purchase and returns comes at a high cost to the climate:

• It's predicted that Amazon alone, with their 50% share of the $600bn eCommerce industry, will represent 1% of US climate emissions by the end of 2021. That's predicted to rise to 15% by 2040.
• On average only 50% of clothes returned go back on sale.
• 5 billion lbs of returned goods go straight into landfills each year in the US.
• These are US statistics, but this is a global issue.

For a climate-conscious clothing company like Organic Basics, the impact of one-click culture and free returns is top of mind.

Organic Basics is a certified B-Corp, which means profit is just one pillar of decision-making. The others are people and the planet.

The conversation this week centres on how brands can deliver great customer experiences while also caring about the planet. In particular, we look at the eCommerce returns process.

You'll learn:

• Why there is an issue with free and easy returns policies.
• What brands can do to make it easier for customers to care about the planet.
• The changes brands can make to reduce unnecessary returns from their customers.
• How you can start the conversation internally and start a movement to care about the planet.
• How data and analytics can be used to determine whether a return is worth it.
• What you can do as a consumer to reduce your climate impact.

Hope you enjoy the episode!