Zalando has become a target for investigative journalists who have hidden GPS trackers in returns. The accusation: Zalando systematically destroys a large number of returns and sends them unnecessarily throughout Europe. What does Zalando say about this?
“Zalando deceives its customers and does not keep its green promises,” write Carmen Maiwald and Vanessa Materla, both journalists at the investigative business magazine Flip. They found out in cooperation with the investigative format Vollbild of the Südwestrundfunk and the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. Flip specializes in such stories: As early as 2021, the magazine uncovered the recycling lie in sneakers with the story “Sneakerjagd”, also at that time with the help of hidden GPS trackers.
So this time Zalando was tracked, which at least announced on its website that 97 percent of the returned fashion items would be sold again via the Zalando shop after appropriate testing and careful processing. Only less than 0.05 percent would be destroyed. “Can that be true?” was the question the journalists wanted to pursue.
Returns are taken abroad – also to be destroyed there?
Using GPS trackers hidden in ten returned items of clothing, the group tracked the routes taken by each return. Lo and behold, seven of the ten pieces of clothing sent signals from Poland after just a few days. The possible reason for this is quickly found: In Germany, it has been forbidden since 2020 to destroy new goods and returns. That is why Zalando had already begun to “move large parts of its returns department at the Erfurt location abroad,” the authors write, citing a conversation with the Zalando works council. Many Zalando returns are therefore “out of reach of the German judiciary,” it said.
What happens to returns in Poland? The team of journalists finds that out, too. They are sorted and sometimes destroyed. At least that’s the result of talks with employees of the Polish company. Figures on the amount of clothing destroyed are not given, but the impression is given that this is much more than just the 0.05 percent mentioned.
Zalando: returns centers close to the sales market, no systematic destruction
In a detailed, almost four-page statement and two phone calls, Zalando tries to straighten out the picture that, according to a Zalando spokesman, is far removed from reality. In Europe, for example, there are over 20 specialized returns centers close to the sales market, which are by no means all located in Poland, as the report suggests, but also in Münster, Manchester and Tallinn, for example. “We try to organize the transport of returns as efficiently as possible in order to enable the returned items to be resold quickly and at the same time to keep logistics costs low. In doing so, we do not rely on theoretical assumptions, but rather on data on the purchasing behavior of our more than 50 million customers as well as almost 15 years of practical experience in returns management. On this basis, we are continuously developing our processes,” writes Zalando in its statement.
And how much does Zalando actually destroy? Zalando: “When handling returns, Zalando fully complies with the duty of care in accordance with the Closed Substance Cycle Act (KrWG). It is important to us that every article has a chance of being reused, because the destruction of goods and returns not only lacks any commercial logic, but also contradicts our understanding of sustainable management.
Zalando had over 250 million orders in 2021. Around 50 percent of the items ordered are returned on average. With these quantities, a significantly higher quota of destroyed articles is not economically viable, the spokesman explains. After all, Zalando not only loses sales, but also has to bear the costs of disposal. So Zalando is sticking with it: 97 percent of the returns actually flow back into their own shops, either the Zalando Shop or the Zalando Lounge.
But Zalando has to admit one thing: As a platform, Zalando can of course only speak for the returns that it processes itself. The communicated figure of 97 percent therefore only applies to items from the Zalando wholesale business and to items from the partners who use Zalando Logistics Solutions. Of the more than 1,600 brands and retailers in the Zalando partner program, around half currently use Zalando Logistics Solutions and therefore process returns via Zalando. Zalando does not know what the others do with their returns, but does not explicitly mention this restriction.
Trucks as returns warehouse: Does Zalando send trucks unnecessarily throughout Europe?
The investigative research raises another accusation: Zalando uses trucks in the sense of “predictive analytics”. Because a return comes a distance of around 7,000 kilometers during tracking – from Poland to Sweden, to Denmark, Germany and back to Poland. The suspicion: “Every trip with the truck is based on a speculation as to where the item of clothing could most likely be ordered next. The predictions are made by an algorithm that is programmed to ensure the fastest possible delivery. The vans constantly circled the whole of Europe. Zalando confirms this approach,” writes Flip. In addition, the returns centers of fashion online retailers are sometimes overcrowded, Flip quotes an expert, and “whatever no longer fits in is therefore quickly loaded back into a truck and sent on a journey across the sales markets.” That means: “The trucks serve in the Ultimately as storage space for Zalando”.
What does Zalando say? Although the returns management is data-based, says Zalando. And the returns are not sent directly from the returns centers, but from specialized logistics centers, from where the products start their journey to the customers. But the idea that Zalando is sending an armada of trucks through Europe to store returns is not true, the spokesman said. That is absurd because Zalando does not operate its own fleet of trucks. In addition, Zalando is itself a logistics company that works as a service provider for partners. If you didn’t have the capacity, you wouldn’t do it.
So how did the 7,000 kilometers come about? Zalando explains: “The processed returns are not sent directly from the returns centers for the next order, but are initially bundled in large quantities and brought back to one of the logistics centers within our network, where they then begin their journey to our customers. We decide in which of our logistics centers the items are to be stored, among other things, based on how likely it is that they will be resold in the region of the relevant location or market. It can therefore happen that a returned item travels comparatively longer distances in order to enable resale and thus further use: This also explains the observed transport routes of the tracked items.”
attempt at a conclusion
Zalando defends itself against the accusation of deliberately deceiving its customers and engaging in greenwashing. That wasn’t surprising. So why the whole story? On the one hand, Zalando’s point of view appears plausible in at least some respects and is therefore worth reporting. On the other hand, it is also revealing which routes individual products apparently cover and how difficult it is for online fashion retailers to become more sustainable and reduce CO2 emissions. Because even the compensation of emissions has now become questionable, we only know that thanks to investigative journalists. The much more important point for this detailed report is the following: Ultimately, this discussion serves to gain knowledge. It is therefore advisable to read the investigative report and judge for yourself whether this is the reality of fashion retail and, if so, whether it should remain so. Sustainability is important, but it is also a work in progress. Anyone who sets out to become more sustainable and talks about it always makes themselves a target. You also have to take that into account.
Editor’s note: This post was updated on March 3 at 4:25 p.m. with information from Zalando.