By Inge Bujakiewicz-Baars, Head of Sustainability at ReBound Returns
Imagine a truckload of clothing. Now imagine that truckload dumped into landfill or burned. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, this happens every second around the world.
Retail’s waste challenge is growing. Fast fashion is the world’s second-largest consumer of water and contributes an estimated 2–8% of global carbon emissions. At the same time, rising return volumes are placing more pressure on supply chains already struggling with waste, cost and emissions.
For retailers, this creates an urgent question: how can returns move from being a source of waste to a driver of circularity?
The importance of circular business models
Traditional retail supply chains are largely linear: products are made, sold, used and discarded. Circular retail works differently. It aims to keep products and materials in use for longer through reuse, resale, repair, refurbishment and recycling.
Circular models are central to making that shift possible.
Returns are often viewed through a narrow operational lens, focused on logistics costs or transport emissions. Yet the bigger issue is what happens after a product comes back. Across the market, between 22% and 44% of returned products never reach another customer, while one in four items is discarded altogether.
This is where circularity becomes commercially and environmentally important. A well-designed take-back process gives retailers a second opportunity to recover value from products, reduce waste and extend product life.
Building circularity into returns networks
While lower-emission logistics matter, circularity is ultimately about prolonging the useful life of products.
At ReBound we see more than one million items are processed every month. Through structured returns processes, the majority of products can be returned to retailers or brands for reuse or resale rather than waste.
Many returned items can be resold or rented immediately. Others can enter circular pathways, including repair, refurbishment and donation where reuse is no longer viable. The objective is simple: keep products in circulation for as long as possible and extract greater value from materials already in the system.
Data is helping retailers understand the importance of this. Research supported by ReBound found that a product can be returned, refurbished and resold up to 14 times before emissions reach the level associated with producing a new item. This highlights the environmental value of extending product life wherever possible.
Coming together for circularity
Creating a genuinely circular retail network depends on collaboration across the supply chain. Retailers cannot achieve circularity through reverse logistics alone. Success depends on decisions made across product design, material selection, fulfilment, repair, resale, donation and recycling partnerships.
Operational realities are another consideration. For example, retailers may want to work with lower-emission carriers, but progress is constrained by the availability of alternative fuel infrastructure and transport options. Likewise, circular returns systems can work effectively when working with those who have expertise in repair, refurbishment and end-of-life recovery. To work at scale, every stage can be connected into a reliable ecosystem.
Consumer expectations are accelerating change
Pressure to improve is growing from both regulators and consumers. Retailers face increasing scrutiny over returns, unsold stock and textile disposal, while shoppers are paying closer attention to sustainability performance. More than 70% of UK consumers say environmentally responsible returns matter to them, according to ReBound research conducted in 2025.
Returns are rising, but so is the opportunity. Retailers that rethink take-back as part of a circular strategy can reduce waste, recover more value from inventory and strengthen trust with consumers.
Enabling circular participation at scale
To help retailers close the loop, many retailers are embracing having a Circularity Portal, which is a consumer-facing service designed to route unwanted products into circular pathways including take-back, resale, donation and responsible recycling.
The service enables consumers to return used products through a branded self-service experience, even without an existing sales order. Retailers can then direct products into selected circular routes based on business priorities and product condition.
Retailers have a significant opportunity to keep products in use for longer and recover more value through circularity, but engaging consumers at scale can be complex. Using ideas such as the Circularity Portal helps connect shoppers into existing circular programmes through simple, accessible digital journeys that support resale, donation and responsible end-of-life pathways. By making participation easier and more consistent, we hope to help accelerate circularity across the wider retail sector.
Moving from pilots to practice
Momentum towards circular retail is building, but progress remains uneven. High upfront investment, operational complexity and fragmented supply chains continue to slow adoption.
The next challenge for retail is scale. Circularity will depend on moving beyond isolated sustainability initiatives and embedding take-back, reuse and recovery into everyday retail operations. For retailers, the opportunity is significant: reduce waste, lower environmental impact, recover product value and meet rising consumer expectations.
Returns are increasing either way. The question is whether retail treats them as waste – or as the foundation of a more circular supply chain.
About ReBound
ReBound is a global leader in returns management, enabling seamless omnichannel returns for retailers and consumers. By combining integrated returns software with a comprehensive logistics network, ReBound provides a complete ecosystem of partners to manage end-to-end returns efficiently and sustainably.
ReBound is part of Reconomy, the circular experts.
www.reboundreturns.com
Published 16/06/2026
