TED英语演讲视频：你网购退货的商品去了哪里？
相信大家或多或少，都有网购的经验。买到了不合适的商品，大家都会退货。然而我们退货的商品，都去了哪里呢？退货的商品应该怎样处理呢？下面的这个TED视频，给了我们答案。
本则TED的演讲者是一个购物狂，曾经喜欢网购很多东西之后又退货。后来，她发现网购退货的商品几乎都变成了垃圾，自己无知的购物行为不仅造成了浪费，还污染了环境。作为一名全球顶级零售解决方案总监，她认为自己应当有所行动，来减少这种情况的发生。
于是，她利用现有的系统和条件，提出了新的解决方案。顾客不必把商品退回商家，而是直接寄往下一个买家，顾客自己也可以得到一些奖励。网购为人们提供了便利，但不能以牺牲环境为代价，人们也应当做到绿色消费。
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?width=500&height=375&auto=0&vid=h0812xtrtcb
TED演讲稿Hi. My name is Aparna. I am a shopaholic --and I'm addicted to online returns.
Well, at least I was. At one time, I had two or three packages of clothing delivered to me every other day. I would intentionally buy the same item in a couple different sizes and many colors, because I did not know what I really wanted. So I overordered, I tried things on, and then I sent what didn't work back. Once my daughter was watching me return some of those packages back, and she said, "Mom, I think you have a problem."
I didn't think so. I mean, it's free shipping and free returns, right?
I didn't even think twice about it, until I heard a statistic at work that shocked me.
You see, I'm a global solutions director for top-tier retail, and we were in a meeting with one of my largest customers, discussing how to streamline costs. One of their biggest concerns was managing returns. Just this past holiday season alone, they had 7.5 million pieces of clothing returned to them.
I could not stop thinking about it. What happens to all these returned clothes? So I came home and researched. And I learned that every year, four billion pounds of returned clothing ends up in the landfill. That's like every resident in the US did a load of laundry last night and decided to throw it in the trash today.
I was horrified. I'm like, "Of all people, I should be able to help prevent this."
My job is to find solutions to logistical issues like these -- not create them. So this issue became very personal to me. I said, "You know what? We have to solve this." And we can, with some of the existing systems we already have in place.
And then I started to wonder: How did we get here? I mean, it was only like six years ago when a study recommended that offering free online returns would drive customers to spend more. We started seeing companies offering free online returns to drive more sales and provide a better experience. What we didn't realize is that this would lead to more items being returned as well. In the US, companies lost $351 billion in sales in 2017 alone. Retailers are scrambling to recover their losses. They try to place that returned item online to be sold again, or they'll sell it to a discount partner or a liquidator. Basically, if companies cannot find a place for this item quickly and economically, its place becomes the trash.
Suddenly, I felt very guilty for being that shopper, somebody who contributes to this. Who would have thought my innocent shopping behavior would be hurting not only me, but our planet as well?
And as I thought about what to do, I kept thinking: Why does the item have to be returned to the retailer in the first place? What if there was another way, a win-win for everyone? What if when a person is trying to return something, it could go to the next shopper who wants it, and not the retailer? What if, instead of a return, they could do what I call a "green turn"? Consumers could use an app to take pictures of the item and verify the condition while returning it. Artificial intelligence systems could then sort these clothes by condition -- mint condition or slightly used -- and direct it to the next appropriate person. Mint-condition clothes could automatically go to the next buyer, while slightly used clothes could be marked down and offered online again. The retailer can decide the business rules on the number of times a particular item can be resold. All that the consumer would need to do is obtain a mobile code, take it to the nearest shipping place to be packed and shipped, and off it goes from one buyer to the next, not the landfill.
Now you will ask, "Would people really go through all this trouble?" I think they would if they had incentives, like loyalty points or cash back. Let's call it "green cash." There would be a whole new opportunity to make money from this new customer base looking to buy these returns. This system would make a fun thing like shopping a spiritual experience that helps save our planet.
This is doable and would probably take six months to weave some of our existing systems and run a pilot. Even before any of these logistical systems are in place, each of us shoppers can act now, if every single adult in the US made a few small changes to our shopping behavior. Take the extra time to research and think -- Do I really need this item? No: Do I really want this item? -- before making a purchase. And if every one of us adults in the US returned five less items this year, we would keep 240 million pounds of clothes out of the landfill. Six percent reduction, just like that. This environmental problem that we have created is not thousands of years away; it's happening today, and must stop now to prevent growing landfills across the globe.
I want to leave my daughter and my daughter's daughter a better and cleaner place than I found it, so I have not only stopped overordering, I recycle religiously as well. And you can, too. It's not difficult. Before we fill our shopping carts and our landfills with extra items that we don't want, let's pause next time we are shopping online and think twice about what we all hopefully really do want: a beautiful Earth to call home.
Thank you.
大家好，我是阿帕纳。我是一个购物狂。我非常喜欢网购再退货。至少我曾经是这样。有一段时间，每隔一天 我就会收到两三个服装包裹。我会有意地买同样的东西， 但是尺寸和颜色都不同， 因为我不知道我真正想要的 是哪一个。所以我多买一点，上身试试， 然后把不合适的退回去。有一次我女儿看着我 把一些快递包裹退回去， 她说，“妈，我觉得你有点问题”。
我不这样认为。我的意思是，快递和退货都是免费的 对吧? 对此，我之前从未多想过。直到我在工作中听到一个 令我震惊的数据。我是全球顶级零售解决方案总监， 当时，我们在和最大的客户开会， 讨论如何缩减成本。客户最担心的一个问题 就是管理退货商品。就在刚刚结束的假期里， 他们有750万件退货商品。我一直在想这件事。这些退回来的衣服怎么办? 于是我回家上网搜索， 我发现，每一年都有 180多万吨的退货衣物被扔进了垃圾堆。就像所有美国人昨晚都洗了 一大堆衣服， 然后今天就把它们扔掉一样。我被吓坏了。我想，“在所有人中间， 偏偏我有能力阻值这一切。“
我的工作是寻找解决 这些物流问题的办法， 而不是制造问题。所以这个问题对我来说非常私人。我说，“你知道吗? 我们必须解决这个问题。” 利用现有的一些系统， 我们有能力解决这个问题。然后我开始想：我们是怎么走到这一步的? 我是说，提供免费网购退货服务 可以促进消费的研究 也才是六年前才提出的。我们开始看到 一些公司提供免费的在线退货服务 来增大销量， 让顾客有更好的购物体验。我们没有意识到的是 这同样会导致有更多的商品被退回。美国公司为此损失的销售额 高达3510亿美元， 这还只是2017年的数据。零售商忙于弥补损失。
他们把退回的商品重新放到网上销售， 或者卖给打折销售商， 或者进行清算。基本上，如果这些公司不能 尽快和经济地处理退货商品， 那这些商品就会变成垃圾。突然间，我为自己也是那种 共同造成这种局面的购物者 感到惭愧。谁会想到我无知的购物行为 不仅会伤害自己， 同时还会破坏环境? 当我思考要怎么做时， 我不停地思考: 为什么一开始就必须把商品 还给零售商呢? 如果有另一种方法， 对每个人来说都是双赢的方法呢? 如果一个人想要退货， 商品是寄给下一个想要它的顾客， 而不是零售商呢? 如果人们不退货， 而是采取我所说的“绿色转换”呢? 消费者可以用一个APP把商品拍照， 并在退货时验证条件。人工智能系统可以根据情况 对这些衣服进行分类—— 崭新的或者轻微用过的， 然后送给对应需要的人。崭新的衣服可以卖给其他顾客， 轻微使用的衣服可以降价， 再次在网上出售。零售商可以根据 特定商品的转售次数 决定业务规则。消费者需要做的就是 获得一个移动代码， 到最近的发货地点 包装、发货， 然后商品就可以从一个买家 到下一个买家， 而不是变成垃圾。
现在你会问， “人们真的不怕这些麻烦吗?” 我认为如果有激励措施的话， 就不会， 比如忠诚积分或者返现。我们称作“绿色货币”。将会有一个全新的机会 从这些愿意购买退货的 新的客户群赚钱。在这个系统交易把有趣的购物体验， 变成一种 有助于环境保护的精神体验。(掌声) 这是可行的， 可能需要6个月的时间 来改造我们现有的一些系统 并开始试运行。甚至在这些后勤系统到位之前， 我们每一个购物者现在就可以行动， 如果美国每一个成年人 都在购物行为上做一点改变。多花点时间去调查和思考—— 我真的需要这个商品吗? 不。我真的想要这个商品吗? 在购买之前就想好。如果美国每一个成年人 每年少退回五件商品， 就能避免十多万吨的衣服沦为垃圾。这样就能减少百分之六的服装垃圾。这次我们造成的环境问题 不是几千年之后会发生的， 是当今正在上演的问题， 现在必须停下， 阻止全球垃圾填埋的增涨。
我想给我女儿以及再下一代 一个更好、更干净的环境， 所以我不仅停止了过量地购物， 还尽心地回收退货商品。同样你也可以，这并不难。在我们用自己不想要的商品 填满购物车和垃圾场之前， 让我们在下次网购时先停一停， 仔细想想我们真正想要的是什么：一个可以叫做家园的美丽地球。
谢谢。
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