Quickly order an outfit for that party, ordered today, delivered tomorrow. Ordering clothes is incredibly accessible and attractive. No full fitting rooms and sweating in line, but with one push of a button your new outfit delivered to your home. Doesn't it fit? Then just send it back - often for free. In the Netherlands we have the highest return rate in Europe: 44% of all clothes are returned1. But what actually happens with all those clothes?
The expectation: 'that will just be resold, right?'
If you ask people what happens to returnable clothing, you often hear, "That's just resold, right?" Or, "I never actually thought about that."But it's not that simple. Reselling returned clothing means additional costs for inspection, cleaning and repackaging. And while not impossible, many companies choose a cheaper option: destruction.Burning clothes is cheaper than cleaning and resending them. Every year, 1.2 million items of clothing are destroyed in the Netherlands2.What can you do?
No ordering clothes is obviously the most sustainable choice, but not always realistic. The key lies in ordering more consciously. Do you really need to order five sizes of the same pants? Use size charts and check sustainable webshops that do re-sell returned clothing. In addition, Plastic Soup Foundation has a free fashion guide full of tips on how to use clothes more sustainably. Among other things, you can read which fabrics are actually made of plastic, and what to look out for when shopping.Who is responsible?
As a consumer, you can make more conscious choices, but the real change has to come from producers. Plastic Soup Foundation lobbies for stricter legislation, including a fashion passport3 . This requires brands to demonstrate what their clothes are made of, under what conditions, and what happens when you return something. Together we are making the fashion industry fairer and more sustainable.1: https://npokennis.nl/story/30/wat-gebeurt-er-met-de-kleding-die-je-retour-stuurt
2: https://www.bnnvara.nl/artikelen/copy-online-kleding-die-je-terugstuurt-wat-gebeurt-daarmee
3: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2024/757808/EPRS_STU(2024)757808_EN.pdf
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