India, April 8 -- American outdoor apparel brand Patagonia is facing backlash online after introducing an "earth usage fee" on online orders in China.

According to a report by South China Morning Post, the fee, announced on March 30, applies only to purchases made through Patagonia's store on Tmall, a premium online marketplace operated by Alibaba. The initiative comes amid concerns about high return rates and the carbon footprint of shipping.

According to the company, during last year's Double 11 shopping festival, its Tmall store shipped 16,179 packages, of which 11,277 were returned. Patagonia said this resulted in nearly 200 tonnes of carbon emissions from deliveries and an additional 40 tonnes from returns.

As part of its Earth Mo...