Hi. My name is Aparna. I am a shopaholic --
Habari! Jina langu ni Aparna. Ni mnunuzi wa kupindukia --
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
and I'm addicted to online returns.
pia ni mraibu wa marudisho ya mtandaoni.
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
Well, at least I was. At one time, I had two or three packages of clothing delivered to me every other day. I would intentionally buy the same item in a couple different sizes and many colors, because I did not know what I really wanted. So I overordered, I tried things on, and then I sent what didn't work back. Once my daughter was watching me return some of those packages back, and she said, "Mom, I think you have a problem."
Basi, angalau nilikuwa hivyo. Wakati mmoja, nilikuwa na vifurushi viwili au vitatu vya nguo vilivyoletwa kwangu kila siku. Kwa makusudi nilinunua bidhaa ile ile katika ukubwa tofauti na rangi mbalimbali, kwa sababu sikujua nini nilichohitaji haswa. Hivyo niliagiza zaidi, nilijaribisha vitu, na nilirudisha visivyonifaa. Binti yangu alipokuwa akiniangalia nikirudisha baadhi ya vifurushi, alisema, "Mama, nadhani una tatizo."
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
I didn't think so. I mean, it's free shipping and free returns, right?
Sikudhani hivyo. Yaani, kusafirisha ni bure na kurudisha ni bure, ndio?
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
I didn't even think twice about it, until I heard a statistic at work that shocked me.
Sikuwaza kabisa mara mbili kuhusu hilo, mpaka niliposikia takwimu kazini ambayo ilinishitua.
You see, I'm a global solutions director for top-tier retail, and we were in a meeting with one of my largest customers, discussing how to streamline costs. One of their biggest concerns was managing returns. Just this past holiday season alone, they had 7.5 million pieces of clothing returned to them.
Mimi ni mkurugenzi wa ufumbuzi kimataifa kwa wateja wa rejareja wa ngazi ya juu, na tulikuwa katika mkutano na mmoja wa wateja wangu wakubwa, tukijadili ni namna gani tunaweza nyoosha gharama. Moja ya hoja yao kubwa ilikuwa ni kusimamia urudishaji bidhaa. Kwa likizo hii tu iliyopita, walikuwa na nguo takribani milioni 7.5 zilizorudishwa kwao.
I could not stop thinking about it. What happens to all these returned clothes? So I came home and researched. And I learned that every year, four billion pounds of returned clothing ends up in the landfill. That's like every resident in the US did a load of laundry last night and decided to throw it in the trash today.
Sikuweza kuacha kulifikiria hili jambo. Kipi kinatokea kwa hizi nguo zote zinazorudishwa? Kwa hiyo nilirudi nyumbani na nikafanya utafiti. Na kugundua kwamba kila mwaka, paundi bilioni nne za nguo zinazorudishwa huishia jalalani. Ambapo ni sawa na kila mkazi wa Marekani kufua nguo nyingi usiku wa jana na kuamua kuzitupa katika taka siku ya leo.
I was horrified. I'm like, "Of all people, I should be able to help prevent this."
Nilishtushwa. Nikasema, "Katika watu wote, Natakiwa kuweza kuzuia jambo hili."
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
My job is to find solutions to logistical issues like these -- not create them. So this issue became very personal to me. I said, "You know what? We have to solve this." And we can, with some of the existing systems we already have in place.
Kazi yangu ni kutafuta suluhu katika miamala kama hii -- siyo kutengeneza matatizo. Kwa hiyo hili swala likawa binafsi sana kwangu. Nilisema, "Unajua nini? Tunatakiwa suluhisha hili." Na tunaweza, tukitumia baadhi ya mifumo ambayo tunayo tayari.
And then I started to wonder: How did we get here? I mean, it was only like six years ago when a study recommended that offering free online returns would drive customers to spend more. We started seeing companies offering free online returns to drive more sales and provide a better experience. What we didn't realize is that this would lead to more items being returned as well. In the US, companies lost $351 billion in sales in 2017 alone. Retailers are scrambling to recover their losses. They try to place that returned item online to be sold again, or they'll sell it to a discount partner or a liquidator. Basically, if companies cannot find a place for this item quickly and economically, its place becomes the trash.
Na nilianza kujiuliza: Tumefikaje hapa? Namaanisha, ilikuwa miaka sita tu iliyopita ambapo tafiti moja ilidai kua kutoa marudisho ya bure mtandaoni itapelekea wateja kununua zaidi. Tulianza kuona makampuni yakitoa marudisho ya bure mitandaoni ili kupelekea mauzo zaidi na huduma bora. Ambacho hatukutambua ni kwamba hii itapelekea kurudishwa kwa bidhaa nyingi vile vile. Nchini Marekani, makampuni yalipoteza dola bilioni 351 katika mauzo kwa mwaka 2017 pekee. Wauzaji wa rejareja wanapambana kuondoa hasara zao. Wanajaribu kuweka kua bidhaa zinazorudishwa mtandaoni ziuzwe tena, au wataziuza kwa mtoa punguzo au dalali. Kimsingi, kama kampuni haziwezi kupata sehemu kwa ajili hii bidhaa kwa haraka na unafuu, inaishia kwenda kuwa taka.
Suddenly, I felt very guilty for being that shopper, somebody who contributes to this. Who would have thought my innocent shopping behavior would be hurting not only me, but our planet as well?
Ghafla, nilijisikia hatia kwa kuwa mnunuzi wa aina hiyo, mtu ninayechangia katika hili. Nani angewaza kwamba tabia yangu nzuri ya kufanya manunuzi ingeniumiza sio mimi tu, lakini sayari yetu vilevile?
And as I thought about what to do, I kept thinking: Why does the item have to be returned to the retailer in the first place? What if there was another way, a win-win for everyone? What if when a person is trying to return something, it could go to the next shopper who wants it, and not the retailer? What if, instead of a return, they could do what I call a "green turn"? Consumers could use an app to take pictures of the item and verify the condition while returning it. Artificial intelligence systems could then sort these clothes by condition -- mint condition or slightly used -- and direct it to the next appropriate person. Mint-condition clothes could automatically go to the next buyer, while slightly used clothes could be marked down and offered online again. The retailer can decide the business rules on the number of times a particular item can be resold. All that the consumer would need to do is obtain a mobile code, take it to the nearest shipping place to be packed and shipped, and off it goes from one buyer to the next, not the landfill.
Na nikiwa nawaza nini cha kufanya, Niliendelea kuwaza: Kwanini bidhaa zinatakiwa kurudishwa kwa muuzaji tangu mwanzo? Inakuwaje kama kungekuwa na njia mbadala, inayofaidisha pande zote? Inakuwaje kama mtu anajaribu kurudisha kitu fulani, kiende kwa mnunuzi anayefuata mwenye uhitaji nacho, na siyo muuzaji? Inakuwaje kama, badala ya kurudisha, wangeweza kufanya ninachokiita "kona kijani"? Watumaiji wanaweza kutumia programu kupiga picha ya bidhaa na kuhakikisha hali ya bidhaa wakati wa kurudisha. Mifumo ya akili bandia itaweza kupanga nguo hizi kutokana na hali -- hali ifananayo na upya au iliyotumika kidogo -- na kupeleka kwa mtu mwingine ambaye anafaa. Nguo zenye hali nzuri zitaenda moja kwa moja kwa mnunuzi anayefuata, na wakati zilizotumika kidogo zitawekewa alama na kutolewa ofa mtandaoni tena. Muuzaji anaweza kuamua sheria za biashara katika mara ngapi bidhaa husika inaweza kuuzwa tena. Mnunuzi atatakiwa tu kupata tarakimu maalumu, kuzipeleka sehemu ya usafirishaji iliyo karibu kwa kupakiwa na kusafirishwa, na inatoka kuanzia mnunuzi mmoja kwenda mwingine,' sio jalalani.
Now you will ask, "Would people really go through all this trouble?" I think they would if they had incentives, like loyalty points or cash back. Let's call it "green cash." There would be a whole new opportunity to make money from this new customer base looking to buy these returns. This system would make a fun thing like shopping a spiritual experience that helps save our planet.
Sasa utauliza, "Kweli watu watataka shida hii yote?" Nadhani wanaweza kufanya kama wangepata motisha, kama alama za uaminifu na kurudishiwa fedha. Tuiite "pesa ya kijani." Kutakuwa na nafasi pana mpya ya kupata pesa kutoka kwa hawa wateja wanaohitaji kununua hizi bidhaa zinazorudishwa. Mfumo huu utatengeneza jambo la kufurahisha kama ununuzi jaribu la kiroho ambalo linasaidia kuokoa sayari yetu.
(Applause)
(Makofi)
This is doable and would probably take six months to weave some of our existing systems and run a pilot. Even before any of these logistical systems are in place, each of us shoppers can act now, if every single adult in the US made a few small changes to our shopping behavior. Take the extra time to research and think -- Do I really need this item? No: Do I really want this item? -- before making a purchase. And if every one of us adults in the US returned five less items this year, we would keep 240 million pounds of clothes out of the landfill. Six percent reduction, just like that. This environmental problem that we have created is not thousands of years away; it's happening today, and must stop now to prevent growing landfills across the globe.
Hili linawezekana na angalau itachukua miezi sita kusuka baadhi ya mifumo yetu ambayo ipo na kufanya majaribio. Hata kabla ya mifumo hii ya miamala kuwa katika mahala husika, kila mnunuzi anaweza chukua hatua sasa, kama kila mtu mzima Marekani afanye mabadiliko kidogo kwenye tabia yetu ya ununuzi. Chukua muda wa ziada kutafiti na kuwaza -- Nahitaji bidhaa hii? Hapana: Kweli naitaka bidhaa hii? -- kabla ya kufanya manunuzi. Na kama kila mtu mzima nchini Marekani angerudisha chini ya bidhaa tano mwaka huu, tungeepusha paundi milioni 240 za nguo kuwepo katika jalala. Pungufu kwa asilimia sitini, hivyo tu. Hili tatizo la kimazingira ambalo tumelitengeneza halipo mbali miaka elfu moja; linatokea leo, na linatakiwa kukoma sasa ili kuzuia majalala yanayokua ulimwenguni.
I want to leave my daughter and my daughter's daughter a better and cleaner place than I found it, so I have not only stopped overordering, I recycle religiously as well. And you can, too. It's not difficult. Before we fill our shopping carts and our landfills with extra items that we don't want, let's pause next time we are shopping online and think twice about what we all hopefully really do want: a beautiful Earth to call home.
Ninataka kuwaachia binti yangu na binti wa binti yangu sehemu bora na safi kuliko nilivyoikuta mimi, kwa siyo tu kwamba nimeacha kuagiza kuliko kawaida, Ninarejeleza kiimani vile vile. Na unaweza, pia. Sio ngumu. Kabla hatujajaza toroli zetu za manunuzi na jalala zetu na bidhaa ambazo hatuna uhitaji nazo, tusite kwanza tukiwa tunafanya manunuzi mtandaoni na kuwaza mara mbili kuhusu kile ambacho kweli tunakitaka: dunia maridhawa tunayoweza kuita nyumbani.
Thank you.
Asante.
(Applause)
(Makofi na shangwe)