The original shipping packaging is damaged, too large, or no longer available? For these cases, Hermes Germany now offers its customers a simple and free solution with the Hermes return bag. The parcel logistics provider collaborates with WILDPLASTIC®. The shipping bag developed by the Hamburg-based company is made from plastic collected from the environment and nature in countries without adequate recycling systems. This process brings so-called “wild” plastic back into the recycling loop. All over 16,500 Hermes PaketShops are currently being equipped with the new return option. The bag is designed for the most common item sizes.
(Hamburg) “As a parcel logistics provider, our goal is to make the shipping and receiving of parcels as easy as possible for our clients and end customers, which also includes the return process. Innovative solutions are also needed here to combine convenience and sustainability aspects. Therefore, we are pleased to have developed an environmentally friendly solution with the return bag from WILDPLASTIC® that has already proven itself in everyday logistics and makes returning ordered items even easier if the original packaging is no longer available or is unsuitable,” explains Dennis Kollmann, Chief Sales Officer at Hermes Germany.
Return Items Easily at the PaketShop
Simply order and return if not satisfied, this is one of the practical aspects of online shopping for consumers. One in ten online purchases is returned in this country.1 This is not advantageous for the environment due to the increasing CO2 balance. Online retailers are already taking various measures to best support product selection. As a parcel logistics provider and partner of numerous online shops, Hermes Germany ensures continuous optimizations in the receiving and shipping process: In cases where a return cannot be avoided and the original shipping packaging is damaged, too large, or no longer exists, customers can now conveniently and free of charge use a Hermes return bag. This is available at all over 16,500 PaketShops. Customers bring their items along with a self-adhesive Hermes return label or a QR code to a nearby PaketShop of their choice. The bag is packed by customers on-site, sealed with the self-adhesive closure, and labeled with a return label. After handing it over to the PaketShop staff, a return receipt is issued, and the usual process begins. The bag is usable for all Hermes returns and is designed for the most common item sizes (min. 15 x 10 x 2 and max. 30 x 20 x 10 centimeters, up to 1.5 kilograms). Shipping sharp, pointed, and/or fragile items as well as liquids is not possible. When using this additional service, customers should check in advance whether their item to be returned meets the corresponding conditions.
A Solution that Removes Plastic Waste from the Environment and Withstands Everyday Logistics
After the online retailer OTTO and WILDPLASTIC® developed the world’s first shipping bag made from wild plastic in 2021, Hermes Germany is now also relying on the young Hamburg-based company for its additional service. WILDPLASTIC® aims to remove wild plastic waste that is outside the recycling loop, found on illegal dumps, in nature, or in the streets, from the environment. To achieve this, WILDPLASTIC® collaborates with local collection organizations in countries without adequate waste management. The plastic waste collected, for example, in India, Ghana, or Thailand is then processed into polyethylene granulate, from which the 100% recyclable Hermes return bag is made.
Hermes Germany is continuously working to make its business operations increasingly sustainable and collaborates with companies that find forward-looking solutions: “In the search for a shipping packaging that is as environmentally and resource-friendly as possible, which also withstands the requirements of the logistics process and can be easily integrated into the processes at the PaketShop, we have dealt with various materials. The solution from WILDPLASTIC® has proven to be particularly suitable compared to other options. Moreover, the approach of removing plastic waste from the environment and reusing this valuable material is a commendable endeavor. Last but not least, the bag has already proven itself in everyday logistics due to the existing collaboration between WILDPLASTIC® and OTTO in recent years,” says Kollmann.
Freeing the World from Wild Plastic
Katrin Oeding, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of WILDPLASTIC®, adds: “We are very pleased about the collaboration, as together with a strong partner like Hermes Germany, we can achieve even more: save more valuable plastic from the environment, save more CO2, and provide even better working conditions for more waste collectors. We are now a step closer to our goal of freeing the world from wild plastic. Because it takes many of us – actually all of us.”
1 Representative survey by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom among 1,024 online buyers aged 16 and older in Germany; published in February 2023. More on this here.
Photo: © Hermes
