Sweden-based online fashion retailer Boozt AB said it has blocked 42,000 customers for returning too many items they had purchased, calling their actions too costly for the company and the environment.

Ask Kirkeskov Riis, a spokesman for multi-brand online store selling clothes and beauty products, said on Thursday that customers who were indefinitely blocked had sent back items either because they don’t fit or because they regretted the purchase.

He said these customers “repeatedly exploit the high service levels of free shipping and returns at the expense of our business, other customers and the environment”.

In an email to The Associated Press, he said they represented less than two per cent of “the more than 3 million customers on Boozt” but around 25 per cent of the total return volume.

“By pausing these accounts and reducing unnecessary returns, Boozt saved approximately 791 tons of CO2 in 2022 which has eliminated the need for approximately 600 delivery trucks during one year,” he said.

The e-commerce company is listed on NASDAQ and has more than 1,200 employees. Boozt AB operates in several European countries.