Germany Plans Rules on Product Returns for Online Retailers

(Bloomberg) -- The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to regulate product returns at online retailers, a spokesman for the environment ministry said on Wednesday.

A proposal designed to reduce the number of returned products that are destroyed by retailers is to be presented this month, said Spokesman Stephan Haufe at a press conference in Berlin.

"The goal is very clear: return goods must be either be resold or donated," Haufe said. Destruction should be "the absolute last option."

The environment ministry is visiting several online retailers to get a better idea of the extent of the disposal of returned goods.

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