Most travel to the trash?

And where the returned goods are actually traveling and the size of the problem, Rūta Treinytė, a member of the consumer alliance, commented.

– Isn’t all the goods returned in really trash?

– certainly not all – you can’t say that, but the various calculations show that the large majority of the goods we buy, for example, go to the trash or are burned.

– Why aren’t they just giving or selling something cheaper?

– Some of the goods really go to charity. If they can still be sold, they find themselves on the shelves. However, there are very few such goods, because, for example, if we have already bought, we have damaged the packaging, we have seen the item, or maybe it has been defective – everything is utilized.

Ž. Photo by Gedvila / ELTA

– Are there categories of items that are immediately discarded?

– Such categories would probably be best for you to name traders, but it is clear when the consumer returns the item, the merchant wants it to be of good quality. Naturally, the commodity was made, resources are used, it must pay off. It must be such that it can still be sold. If the item is damaged, worn, it is impossible to repair it, then it is thrown. Perhaps the item can be repaired – maybe something has stopped, you can continue to wear.

– Are we only talking about clothes or any item? After all, for example, household goods – if the packaging is damaged, there is nothing like that.

– We are talking about various goods. For example, you turn on a washing machine – not working or buying a device – not working, buying furniture – torn. The return is complex, but the goods must be manufactured so that they can be repaired. The consumer can contact the manufacturer to repair the item – it will not necessarily be a refund.

But when it comes to returning and exhaust, it is the phenomenon when the buyer buys an online cat in a bag. You don’t know if those shoes will fit whether that furniture will look as you imagine. See, buy, see – don’t like it – you return. And many of those returned, completely new goods are simply thrown away. Here is the biggest problem.

Ž. Photo by Gedvila / ELTA

– Sounds cruel and even unfair to the buyer because you don’t want to litter – you want to be able to choose. This is how I do not go.

– You twisted the idea interestingly. Here is the point: as a buyer, I buy the item – whether in the physical or the e -shop – and I already have a relationship with that product. But I have no relationship with how the item was made, packed, brought and what happens after I return it. If you knew, you would probably not buy the three sweaters you will return from and they will be thrown away. Or maybe you wouldn’t buy them at all or choose one very responsibly.

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– And how not to buy then? Or how to buy responsibly?

– First of all, e -commerce works on a very emotional principle. I saw the gadget on the phone, beautiful advertising, I chose, pressed, and even the hormones of happiness were distinguished. That sudden purchase – you need to learn how to distance yourself from it. Many purchases take place in the evenings, at night – this also shows an emotional solution.

– How do you know if the seller and the manufacturer behave ethically when you buy the item?

– We have no very clear rules yet, but they are already being created. These days, rules have been published, which, for example, textile manufacturers will be obliged that their goods are funded by their own funds if they fall into waste. We have directives that begin to oblige manufacturers and sellers to indicate how many goods have been sold and how much is thrown.

So, where the electronic showcase – whether physical or digital – must be as much as possible for the user. The consumer can also suspend themselves psychologically, but the responsibility must be mutual – both the manufacturer and the buyer.