Amazon is looking to reinvent how it handles unsold or returned inventory, following negative reports about it destroying millions of items.
An investigation by Britain’s ITV News reported on Amazon’s practice of destroying millions of items a year that go unsold or are returned. The revelation prompted quick and severe backlash, with many using it as the poster child for greed and waste. As ITV News reported, many of the items are perfectly fine and could have been donated instead of ending up in a landfill.
Amazon appears to be trying to address the problem, with two new “Fulfilment by Amazon” (FBA) programs.
“Customer returns are a fact of life for all retailers, and what to do with those products is an industry-wide challenge,” said Libby Johnson McKee, director, Amazon WW Returns, ReCommerce and Sustainability. “These new programmes are examples of the steps we’re taking to ensure that products sold on Amazon—whether by us or our small business partners—go to good use and don’t become waste. Along with existing programmes like FBA Donations, we hope these help build a circular economy and reduce our impact on the planet. And we’re excited that these programmes will also help the businesses selling on Amazon reduce costs and grow their businesses—it’s a win for our partners, customers, and communities.”
“FBA Grade and Resell” gives sellers the option to resell returned items as “used,” while the “FBA Liquidations” program helps sellers recoup some of their loss via Amazon’s wholesale resale channel.
The company also touted its “FBA Donations” program, which has donated some 67 million goods since its launch in 2019. The company did not, however, touch on why millions of products per year were being destroyed, instead of making their way into FBA Donations.