In 2024, online fast fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing made a radical change to their returns policy. Previously, their site had been a go-to for shoppers who order clothes, wear them on one night out and then return them for a full refund—or order several sizes in a process known as bracketing to ensure that one is the perfect fit. Such practices cost retailers between $25 to $30 per item, so it’s unsurprising that Pretty Little Thing started banning serial returners by suspending their accounts.
Aside from causing strain on retailers’ finances, serial returning is a huge environmental problem. In the US alone, transporting returns generates 15 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year. Meanwhile, in the UK, 75 percent of returned clothes (an estimated 23 million garments) ended up in landfill in 2023. But from transport to cleaning services to size recommendation tools, technology and AI are stepping in to minimise the emissions and waste caused by returning clothes.
AI software plans more efficient routes for returns
Just as delivering parcels to feed our online shopping habits causes emissions, so does sending them back. The inefficiency of delivery routes is a key culprit. So-called reverse logistics software is using AI to tackle this issue. By adjusting routes to current conditions, such as traffic, weather and vehicle capacity, the software can reduce both travel time and fuel consumption. A 2024 study showed that AI optimisation led to a 30 percent reduction in distance travelled. Meanwhile, a 2022 study indicated a 15 to 20 percent reduction in last-mile CO2 emissions.
Adoption of this software is becoming increasingly commonplace in retail. But it’s not without its challenges. Integration with existing systems takes time and resources and the initial investment isn’t cheap. To accurately forecast, the software needs consistent, high-quality data sets that aren’t always available. Despite these setbacks, AI-driven reverse logistics software is expected to see a 25 percent increase in adoption over the next three years, helping our returns travel as short a distance as possible.
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Uploading returns on resale platforms stops them going to landfill
For returned clothes that may end up in landfill, resale platforms are a lifeline. Retailers are gradually realising that running their own resale site is a way to make a profit from returns as well as reducing their emissions. But how does an item go from being returned to for sale once again? Clothes must be evaluated to see if they are high-quality enough to sell. Then, they must be cleaned and repaired before being photographed and listed on resale websites.
British company ACS Clothing offers all of these services. CEO Andrew Rough told RESET, “Everything we do is to elongate the life of clothes.” A certified B Corp, ACS processes around six million apparel items a year. Their RFID technology replaces bar codes to optimise sorting without the need for manual labour. Their sanitisation system uses ozone technology to neutralise carbon (removing the smell of body odour) and has also been proven to remove traces of SARS or COVID on garments, too. Now, they’re in the process of researching a way to identify stains with a photography set-up, potentially informed by AI. “Mistakes happen when there’s the human eye,” Rough said. “[AI would] streamline systems and make them more efficient.”
However, the uptick has not been immediate. ACS have faced barriers in adoption from retailers, who are yet to switch their thinking from viewing “apparel or footwear not as short-term inventory but as a long-term asset”. Meanwhile, some consumers believe “they’re getting something that’s dirty or unclean, [when in reality] all garments are totally sanitised”. But with the resale market projected to grow to $73 billion by 2028, these misconceptions are slowly losing their grip. As Rough tells us, resale is “an essential requirement to keep clothes out of landfill”.
AI software that helps customers choose the perfect size
When Pretty Little Thing started banning serial returners, it led to social media outrage. Customers protested that they would “return fewer items if [Pretty Little Thing were] more consistent in its sizing of clothing.” This problem goes beyond one single company; consumers have found that their ideal fit fluctuates vastly from brand to brand. Once again, AI is being developed to tackle this. SizeSense is an AI model and Shopify plug-in that offers tailor-made sizing recommendations to reduce the element of chance when purchasing clothes online.
A US study from 2022 indicated that 75 percent of customers returned apparel items because of poor fit. Helping consumers find the perfect size, even while shopping online, is a huge opportunity to lower return rates and keep clothes out of landfill. Instead of relying on generic sizing, SizeSense asks customers for specific measurements as well as their preference for loose, regular or tightly fitting clothes. It then considers fabric elasticity and clothing design before generating an accurate size recommendation.
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Integrating tools like these into their business models is a sign that brands are taking steps to reduce the impact of returns on the environment and their profit margin. But for true change, we need to overhaul the entire industry. Brands must reduce overproduction, improve clothing quality and take responsibility for the end-of-life of their textiles. As customers, we also have to think twice before making a purchase. Packaging up a return and sending it back to a brand might mean you get your money back. But there’s still a three in four chance that the item will live on forever in landfill—exactly the kind of timeless fashion statement you don’t want to make.
