On November 8th， the Weibo topic “Clothing tags are as big as A4 paper” trended， attracting significant attention.
According to media reports， during the Double 11 shopping festival， many netizens shared on social platforms photos of merchants’ oversized clothing tags. These tags are typically as large as A4 paper and are conspicuously attached to garments.
Some merchants explained that these oversized tags are specifically designed to combat malicious returns. The intention is to reduce the likelihood of consumers wearing items and then returning them， particularly for categories with historically high return rates such as women’s apparel and formal wear.
Merchants have voiced their frustration， stating that a significant portion of clothing returns are not due to quality issues but rather instances where consumers wear items for a few days， keeping the tags intact， and then return them. This practice， often referred to as “milk-chewing” or exploiting loopholes， negatively impacts the normal operations of businesses. The introduction of oversized tags is presented as a measure of last resort.
Data indicates that return rates for online women’s apparel can range from 50% to 60%. The prevalent “7-day no-questions-asked return” policy， while intended for consumer convenience， is sometimes exploited by individuals to gain an unfair advantage， thereby disrupting legitimate business activities.
Industry experts suggest that any public policy， including consumer protection measures， requires ongoing evaluation and optimization. When the ambiguity of regulations or discrepancies in their enforcement lead to one party bearing disproportionately high operational risks， market distortions become an inevitable consequence. The oversized tag phenomenon can be seen as a market’s reaction to such a perceived imbalance.
