eTail giant Asos has revealed what happens with its global returns.
Counting Australia as a significant market, the business has revealed how it processes returns after they leave Australia Post.
Prompted by questions from shoppers online, the eTailer's senior creative Jess Cheng took to Instagram to explain the process.
Once a customer returns their item – from any brand Asos carries – to Australia Post, the garment is sent back to the UK for processing.
Next, the piece is inspected for damage and anything that needs repairing goes to an onsite tailor for mending.
Then the garment is pressed and steamed to remove any creases. For garments with marks or makeup stains, Asos dry-cleans the items and puts them into an ozone air scrubber.
The garment is then hung in the drying cabinet to dry.
Thanks to this process, 97% of Asos' returns go on to be resold.
And as part of Asos' zero landfill policy, the remaining 3% of garments are "sent to some of our partners so it can be recycled or reused, so it can go on living a happy second life," Cheng explained in the Instagram video.
Addressing hygiene concerns in the comments, Asos added that all returns are cleaned and inspected before being resold.
"All returns are checked by our quality assurance team to ensure the garment is still in mint condition, just like trying on clothes in a physical store.
"Garments take resource and energy to produce, so if there is anything slightly amiss, we make some minor fixes and implement some hygiene controls to ensure the clothes are as good as new and can go on to be loved," the business said.
As for the packaging, Asos' packaging is 100% recyclable and made from at least 85% recycled materials.
For customers who can’t recycle at home, packaging can be sent back to Asos with returns to be recycled into new packaging.