The Hidden Cost of Returns: What Happens After You Click “Return”?
About this event
What really happens after you return an online purchase? Sending something back can feel quick and simple, but the journey of a returned product is often much more complicated. This free, interactive Festival of Social Science event invites you to explore the hidden environmental, financial and human costs of product returns in fast fashion and e-commerce. Through a series of hands-on activities, you can follow the journey of a returned product from the customer through collection, transport, warehouse processing and grading, before discovering the different places it may end up, including resale, rework, recycling or disposal. You can explore the less visible costs of returns, including consumer time, retailer costs, transport and waste, and see how changing shopping habits and new approaches such as peer-to-peer returns could reshape the system. The event also looks at dishonest returns and the growing use of AI and data-driven systems to identify suspicious behaviour. Visitors can vote on questions such as whether AI should ever be allowed to refuse a return and whether human review should still be required. There is no lecture and no prior knowledge is needed. Drop in, explore
Event details
- Date
- Thursday, 29 October 2026
- Start time
- 00:00
Getting there & venue info
West Midlands, See venue website, Birmingham .
Good to know
What time does The Hidden Cost of Returns: What Happens After You Click “Return”? start?
The Hidden Cost of Returns: What Happens After You Click “Return”? is on Thursday, 29 October 2026 at West Midlands, Birmingham. The listed start time is 00:00 (UK time).
What are the set times for The Hidden Cost of Returns: What Happens After You Click “Return”??
Official set times for The Hidden Cost of Returns: What Happens After You Click “Return”? haven't been published. The listed start is 00:00. Running orders are usually confirmed by the venue or artist closer to the date, so check their social channels.
Where is West Midlands?
West Midlands is at See venue website, , Birmingham.
