🤔 Why Collective Impact Drives Experience for Us
If there’s one thing we get questions about more than anything else in our business, it’s why we don’t offer free returns. Today, I wanted to share a new idea we have come up with - and, more importantly, why we landed here.
From a sustainability standpoint, returns are the secret scourge of the retail world. It’s pretty standard for a retailer to anticipate anywhere from 10-30% returns in their ecommerce business. The more liberal your return policy, the higher the volume of returns. Sounds like a great experience for customers, right?
Well, yes in the moment. So what’s the downside? Massive environmental impact. 😕
Over a trillion dollars in product is returned in the U.S. alone every year. To transport these returns, we are collectively incurring additional shipments, traveling by ground and air, throwing another estimated 24 million metric tons of annual carbon emissions into our atmosphere.
(What’s 24M metric tons? Oh, just about 5.1 million cars - that’s ~5x the number of cars in Toronto, nearly 3x the number of cars in New York - driven for an entire year. Simply to process all of our ecommerce returns.)
So when I decide to send back something that didn’t quite fit right or the shade was a bit different from what was pictured or I changed my mind (which - don't get me wrong - I absolutely do)? There is a little hit to the planet too.
(Cue my returns-related panic.)
The thing is, it’s not that we don’t want our families to be happy (not at all!), to get the best fit for the little ones, or to ensure that there aren't issues with what you've received. All of these things matter to us a ton - it's why we operate with complete accountability to the quality of our product, take care to replace anything that's received in anything less than exceptional condition, and offer FAQs and email support and live chat on our site to try to get you the answers you need prior to making your purchase.
But we also feel a deep sense of responsibility to make decisions with our kids' (and grandkids', and great-grandkids'...) long term weighed as much as this moment's needs. (Read: we believe that our collective impact is an equal priority to our individual experiences.)
So without further ado: welcome to the beta of our revitalized exchange program! This isn't being publicly shared yet, but our support team is now operational with this new system and ready to help.
While we will continue to ask you to process your returns locally, you will also be invited to send a receipt for the cost of shipping them back, so that we can provide you with a store credit for that amount. Given how conscious this famm has proven to be, I hope that this proves to be a meaningful, helpful solution to ensure you get what you need while minimizing our collective impact, together.
But we also feel a deep sense of responsibility to make decisions with our kids' (and grandkids', and great-grandkids'...) long term weighed as much as this moment's needs. (Read: we believe that our collective impact is an equal priority to our individual experiences.)
So without further ado: welcome to the beta of our revitalized exchange program! This isn't being publicly shared yet, but our support team is now operational with this new system and ready to help.
While we will continue to ask you to process your returns locally, you will also be invited to send a receipt for the cost of shipping them back, so that we can provide you with a store credit for that amount. Given how conscious this famm has proven to be, I hope that this proves to be a meaningful, helpful solution to ensure you get what you need while minimizing our collective impact, together.
Would be so happy to hear what you think about this. We're not getting things exactly right but we sure are trying hard. It's an amazing thing to be a part of this journey with you, learning with your input and taking your guidance on how we can help you be a part of the real change you want happening for your kids - my inbox is always open!
Jacquelyn
PS: It's a chilly, rainy weekend here 🌧️ and I'm in total cozy mode - check out these sleepy cuties for your littles (sneak peek: newness just landed, more coming soon!), or snuggle them up in our always-iconic rompers.
sustainable 🍃 ethical 🤝 no 💩
✨ just the best kids clothes for the planet.
Since 2008, we've made the softest, the snuggest, the coziest, the coolest baby, toddler, and kids clothes on (and for) the planet, created ethically at factories that pay employees a living wage, with sustainable materials that don't leave our planet worse off than we found it. We believe in passing it on, and our stuff is built to be beautifully outgrown, resold, and reworn by kid after kid after kid. We make our best basics for their best future, and we're so happy you and your little minimalist are part of the famm.
