Postmoda Pivots to Tackle Billion-Pound E-Commerce Returns Crisis

In 2025, the e-commerce returns crisis has reached a tipping point. According to a recent report, about 20% of items purchased online are expected to be returned this year, up from previous years. This has led to a staggering $25.1 billion in processing costs for apparel companies, and over 8 billion pounds of returns being sent to landfills.

The issue has become so prevalent that many brands and retailers have been reluctant to acknowledge it as a problem. "Where is it ending up? Nobody would talk to us about it. Brands wouldn't talk to us, merchandising officers wouldn't talk to us," says Adarsh Alphons, the cofounder and CEO of Postmoda.

Postmoda, a startup that launched to the public in late 2023, aims to tackle this crisis head-on. The company plans to offer a marketplace for luxury and designer returns, taking them off the hands of retailers and keeping them out of landfills. Instead, Postmoda will offer these items to shoppers at a discounted price.

This is Postmoda's second iteration, after the company initially launched a peer-to-peer apparel rental platform called Wardrobe in 2021. But Alphons soon realized that the business model, which relied on dry cleaners as middlemen, was not scalable. After a period of reassessment, he identified the growing returns problem as a significant opportunity.

Now, with additional funding from existing investors, Postmoda is poised to scale up its marketplace and partnerships in the coming year. The company's goal is to provide a sustainable solution to the e-commerce returns crisis, while also offering shoppers access to high-quality, discounted luxury and designer items.