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What really happens to the clothes we send back

Part 2 of TED Radio Hour's The state of fashion

Returns from online retail shopping have created logistical and environmental nightmares. Former UPS executive Aparna Mehta and reporter Amanda Mull explain what really happens to our returns.

About Aparna Mehta

Aparna Mehta is a retired VP of Global Customer Solutions at UPS who now works as a leadership coach.

About Amanda Mull

Amanda Mull is a senior reporter at Bloomberg, where she writes the Buying Power column on consumer culture. Previously, she was a staff writer at The Atlantic.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and Rachel Faulkner White. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Aparna Mehta

Related TED Talk: 3 creative ways to fix fashion's waste problem

Related TED Talk: Fashion has a pollution problem -- can biology fix it?

Related NPR Links

The Indicator: supply chain solutions

Fresh Air: How a quest for greater profits upended the global supply chain during the pandemic

Planet Money: Of boats and boxes

Copyright 2024 NPR

Manoush Zomorodi
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Harsha Nahata
Harsha Nahata (she/her) is a producer for TED Radio Hour. She is drawn to storytelling as a way to explore ideas about identity and question dominant narratives.
Sanaz Meshkinpour
[Copyright 2024 NPR]