Returnado powers ASKET’s new Revival Program to help extend the life cycle of unwanted garments long after the returns period

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Returnado powers ASKET’s new Revival Program to help extend the life cycle of unwanted garments long after the returns period.

Swedish start-up Returnado has launched the Returnado Rescue platform, which will power ASKET’s new Revival Program, also newly launched.

Co-developed together with the sustainable menswear brand known for its dedication to ending overconsumption through slow fashion, Returnado Rescue aims to help brands extend the lifecycle of their products and take a more circular approach to the consumption. 

With Returnado Rescue, Returnado is extending its existing offering of cloud-based modular solutions for brands looking to improve their return and exchange processes, while also promoting sustainable practices. Through a dedicated consumer-facing digital platform, brands can collect unwanted items long after the return period has passed, and, regardless of their condition, give them a new lease of life through resale, remanufacture and recycle. 

In exchange for registering their return, consumers receive a voucher which can be invested in new products. On the backend, Returnado connects all the threads: handling the creation of the vouchers, and ensuring items directed to the correct place so that they can be put to the best possible use and retained at their highest value.

By taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of its products in this way, with the help of Returnado’s technology, brands not only extend the relationship between them and their customers, but also help keep their products in use and out of landfill or incinerators, thereby reducing consumption.

The United Nations estimates that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, with garment production accounting for a significant proportion of this. Additionally, according to EU figures, Europeans consume an average of 26kg of clothes per person every year, with 11kg discarded per person annually. Globally, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that 75% of discarded textiles are doomed for landfill or incinerator. These are all shocking statistics that need to be addressed by the industry.

CEO and founder of Returnado Haider Abdo comments: “As one of the leading providers of online returns technology, we are acutely aware of the need to break the fashion industry’s linear production model. By extending the life of an item, we also extend the life of the resources required to make it. That is why when ASKET, a brand synonymous with ending over consumption, reached out to Returnado about doing this project, we were more than happy to collaborate and use our knowledge and tech to support their vision. We are delighted to be able to open up this technology to help brands all around the world move towards more holistic and sustainable business models.”

Returnado has been ASKET’s global returns solution for over a year, playing an important role in providing a seamless returns service to their global customer set.

Jakob Dworsky, co-founder of ASKET comments: “Since launching, our philosophy has always been to create clothes that stand the test of time ensuring they are worn and used more, but now 6 years in, we learnt that some of our customers are done with their pieces. Having already entrusted Returnado with our returns process, we believed that they would be the perfect partner to help us take the process a step further and claim responsibility for our garments at the end of their useful life.”