Online Shopping and Its Hidden Costs

The Convenience of Online Shopping

Online shopping offers ease and convenience, promoting retail therapy.
Zero shipping fees and the ability to try before you return amplifies this appeal.
However, there are significant environmental impacts to consider.

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries globally.
Statistics:
- 40 garbage trucks full of clothes go to landfills every second.
- By the end of the day, this number reaches 86,000 trucks.
Waste driven by overconsumption and overproduction.

Entrepreneurial shift from Wall Street to fashion after a life-threatening accident in 2012.
Inspired by a culture of longevity in Senegal, emphasizing sustainability as a love language.
Memories of family traditions and intentional clothing purchases shaped perspective.

Customer Engagement
- Survey customers to co-create desired designs.
- Leverage online communities (newsletters, social media) for feedback.
Conscious Production
- Produce on-demand or based on preorders to minimize waste.
- Current strategy: make garments to order with Senegalese artisans, reducing textile waste by over 60%.
Mitigating Returns
- Address high return rates (24.4% in 2023) exacerbated by free return shipping.
- Implement return shipping fees and communicate sustainability goals to customers.

Companies like Finesse and Stitch Fix utilize crowdsourcing and data to manage inventory and reduce waste.
Personal experience showed correlation between poll responses and sales success.

Achieved 35x revenue growth in three years with minimal inventory and healthy profit margins.
Successful strategies for limiting returns led to a 12% return rate, significantly lower than industry average.

Encourages a collective journey towards a sustainable fashion future.
Emphasizes the importance of sustaining resources, culture, and life on our planet.