Quick overview:
The topic of sustainability has become increasingly important in recent years and is more relevant than ever in the fashion industry. Step by step, many online stores are trying to sell sustainable products, avoid waste and apply other strategies that protect the environment.
Retouren vermeiden
Unfortunately, it is unavoidable in online retail that customers will want to return products. Giving customers fewer reasons to return all or part of their purchase is a step in the right direction.
Das Produkt detailliert beschreiben
Es kommt vor, dass ein Produkt ganz anders ist, als der Kunde es sich vorgestellt hat. Damit dies gar nicht erst passiert, sollten Produkte so detailliert beschrieben werden, wie es möglich ist. Gerade in einem Onlineshop für aktuelle Mode zählen die Beschreibung der Farbe und Haptik sowie aussagekräftige Produktfotos oder sogar -videos in guter Qualität dazu. Bei Textilien sollten auch Materialzusammensetzung und Waschinstruktionen erwähnt werden.
Telefonische Kundenberatung oder Live Chat
If the customer is still unsure after reading the item description, a consultation can help to avoid bad purchases. A person with whom the customer can call or chat can answer any remaining questions and make the purchase decision much easier.
Stornierungen oder Änderungen möglich machen
One wrong click and it's done: The customer has ordered the wrong size, the wrong color or even the wrong product. Even if the customer notices it before receiving the goods, it is often the case that the item still has to be packed, shipped and then returned by the customer.
It would be more environmentally friendly to make it possible for customers to cancel or change their order so that unnecessary shipping routes and packaging material can be avoided. Customers will also be pleased if they receive the right product more quickly and do not have to worry about return shipping.
However, if cancellations or changes are to be possible, this is associated with higher programming costs.
Weitere grüne Strategien
Klimaneutralen Versanddienst wählen
An online store is faced with the choice of which shipping service should deliver the orders to the man or woman. Different service providers often offer different conditions: In addition to a financial advantage, shipping companies can increasingly score points with climate-neutral shipping. This ensures that no unnecessary environmental costs are incurred.
Verpackungsgröße auf den Inhalt anpassen
Packaging that would fit the purchase three times is unnecessarily large and therefore not sustainable. Online stores should rather adapt the size of the packaging to the contents - this also saves on filling material.
Wiederverwertbare Verpackungen verschicken
If the transport packaging tears when it is first opened, it can usually no longer be put to good use, which is why a sustainable online store uses packaging that customers can reuse for returns or private use.
Kartons von Kunden wiederverwerten
The procedure just described also works the other way round: if an online store receives returned goods, the associated packaging is often still in good to very good condition. Instead of disposing of them, cardboard boxes received from customers can simply be recycled.
It is important here that a data stamp is used in the interests of data protection so that the previous address is no longer visible.
Emissionsausgleich spenden
More and more online stores are offering their customers the option of donating an emissions offset for their order with just one click when checking out. This requires cooperation with an environmental protection organization.
Nachhaltige Marken anbieten
In addition to procedures that primarily concern the sustainable packaging and shipping of goods, online stores can also ensure that the goods themselves are sustainable.
More and more online stores are attaching importance to the fact that their products are produced in their own country, for example, under good conditions or without animal-based materials.
Arbeitsräume umgestalten
One strategy for making online stores more sustainable is less obvious: even if the online store is just a website open on the customer's cell phone or desktop, there are many people behind it who make the programming of the store, storage and shipping of the products possible in the first place.
To make these people's workplaces more sustainable, old light bulbs can be replaced with energy-saving bulbs, for example.
Even more important than sorting waste is preventing it from being produced in the first place. To this end, paper consumption can be limited and microwaves and coffee machines in the break room can also ensure that less (delivery) packaging is produced.
Über die Autorin:
Aylina Evers works as a copywriter for the fashion company Eierund GmbH and the associated online store HoseOnline.de. She is mainly responsible for product placement and writes blog posts for the fashion magazine.
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