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Hi. My name is Aparna. I am a shopaholic -- and I'm addicted to online returns.
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。
Well, at least I was. At one time, I had two or three packages of clothing delivered to me every other day.
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。
I would intentionally buy the same item in a couple different sizes and many colors,
我会有意地买同样的东西，但是尺寸和颜色都不同，
because I did not know what I really wanted.
因为我不知道我真正想要的是哪一个。
So I overordered, I tried things on, and then I sent what didn't work back.
所以我多买一点，穿上试试，然后把不合适的退回去。
Once my daughter was watching me return some of those packages back, and she said, "Mom, I think you have a problem."
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”。
I didn't think so. I mean, it's free shipping and free returns, right?
我不这样认为。我的意思是，快递和退货都是免费的，对吧？
I didn't even think twice about it, until I heard a statistic at work that shocked me.
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。
You see, I'm a global solutions director for top-tier retail,
我是全球顶级零售解决方案总监，
and we were in a meeting with one of my largest customers, discussing how to streamline costs.
当时我们在和最大的客户开会，讨论如何缩减成本。
One of their biggest concerns was managing returns.
客户最担心的一个问题就是管理退货商品。
Just this past holiday season alone, they had 7.5 million pieces of clothing returned to them.
就在刚刚结束的假期里，他们有750万件退货商品。
I could not stop thinking about it.
我一直在想这件事。
What happens to all these returned clothes? So I came home and researched.
这些退回来的衣服怎么办？于是我回家上网搜索。
And I learned that every year, four billion pounds of returned clothing ends up in the landfill.
我发现，每一年都有180多万吨的退货衣物被扔进了垃圾堆。
That's like every resident in the US did a load of laundry last night and decided to throw it in the trash today.
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。
I was horrified. I'm like, "Of all people, I should be able to help prevent this."
我被吓坏了。我想，“在所有人中间，偏偏我有能力阻值这一切。”
My job is to find solutions to logistical issues like these -- not create them.
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。
So this issue became very personal to me. I said, "You know what? We have to solve this."
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。”
And we can, with some of the existing systems we already have in place.
利用现有的一些系统，我们有能力解决这个问题。
And then I started to wonder: How did we get here?
然后我开始想：我们是怎么走到这一步的？
I mean, it was only like six years ago when a study recommended that offering free online returns would drive customers to spend more.
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。
We started seeing companies offering free online returns to drive more sales and provide a better experience.
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。
What we didn't realize is that this would lead to more items being returned as well.
我们没有意识到的是这同样会导致有更多的商品被退回。
In the US, companies lost 351 billion dollars in sales in 2017 alone.
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。
Retailers are scrambling to recover their losses.
零售商忙于弥补损失。
They try to place that returned item online to be sold again, or they'll sell it to a discount partner or a liquidator.
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。
Basically, if companies cannot find a place for this item quickly and economically, its place becomes the trash.
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。
Suddenly, I felt very guilty for being that shopper, somebody who contributes to this.
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。
Who would have thought my innocent shopping behavior would be hurting not only me, but our planet as well?
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？
And as I thought about what to do, I kept thinking:
当我思考要怎么做时，我不停地思考:
Why does the item have to be returned to the retailer in the first place?
为什么一开始就必须把商品还给零售商呢？
What if there was another way, a win-win for everyone?
如果有另一种方法，对每个人来说都是双赢的方法呢？
What if when a person is trying to return something, it could go to the next shopper who wants it, and not the retailer?
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？
What if, instead of a return, they could do what I call a "green turn"?
如果人们不退货，而是采取我所说的“绿色转换”呢？
Consumers could use an app to take pictures of the item and verify the condition while returning it.
消费者可以用一个APP把商品拍照，并在退货时验证条件。
Artificial intelligence systems could then sort these clothes by condition
人工智能系统可以根据情况对这些衣服进行分类，
mint condition or slightly used -- and direct it to the next appropriate person.
崭新的或者轻微用过的，然后送给对应需要的人。
Mint-conditioned clothes could automatically go to the next buyer,
崭新的衣服可以卖给其他顾客，
while slightly used clothes could be marked down and offered online again.
轻微使用的衣服可以降价，再次在网上出售。
The retailer can decide the business rules on the number of times a particular item can be resold.
零售商可以根据特定商品的转售次数决定业务规则。
All that the consumer would need to do is obtain a mobile code,
消费者需要做的就是获得一个移动代码，
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.
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。
Now you will ask, "Would people really go through all this trouble?"
现在你会问，“人们真的不怕这些麻烦吗？”
I think they would if they had incentives, like loyalty points or cash back. Let's call it "green cash."
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”。
There would be a whole new opportunity to make money from this new customer base looking to buy these returns.
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。
This system would make a fun thing like shopping a spiritual experience that helps save our planet.
这个系统会让购物这样有趣的事情成为一种有助于环境保护的精神体验。
This is doable and would probably take six months to weave some of our existing systems and run a pilot.
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。
Even before any of these logistical systems are in place, each of us shoppers can act now,
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，
if every single adult in the US made a few small changes to our shopping behavior.
如果美国每一个成年人都在购物行为上做一点改变。
Take the extra time to research and think -- Do I really need this item? No.
多花点时间去调查和思考--我真的需要这个商品吗？不。
Do I really want this item? -- before making a purchase.
我真的想要这个商品吗？在购买之前就想好。
And if every one of us adults in the US returned five less items this year,
如果美国每一个成年人每年少退回五件商品，
we would keep 240 million pounds of clothes out of the landfill. Six percent reduction, just like that.
就能避免2.4亿磅的衣服沦为垃圾。这样就能减少百分之六的服装垃圾。
This environmental problem that we have created is not thousands of years away;
这次我们造成的环境问题不是几千年之后会发生的，
it's happening today, and must stop now to prevent growing landfills across the globe.
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。
I want to leave my daughter and my daughter's daughter a better and cleaner place than I found it,
我想给我女儿以及再下一代一个更好、更干净的环境，
so I have not only stopped overordering, I recycle religiously as well.
所以我不仅停止了过量地购物，还尽心地回收退货商品。
And you can, too. It's not difficult.
同样你也可以。这并不难。
Before we fill our shopping carts and our landfills with extra items that we don't want,
在我们用自己不想要的商品填满购物车和垃圾场之前，
let's pause next time we are shopping online and think twice about what we all hopefully really do want:
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：
a beautiful Earth to call home. Thank you.
一个可以叫做家园的美丽地球。谢谢。
