Return & Refund PolicyUpdated 14 hours ago

Last updated: August 27, 2026

We want you to love what you carry. If something isn't right, we've made returns straightforward and fair — for you and for the next customer. This policy explains what can be returned, how to start, what's refunded, and how long it takes. It sits alongside our Shipping Policy and our Limited Lifetime Warranty; where a shipment or a manufacturing defect is involved, those documents are the fuller reference. If you have a question this page doesn't answer, we're always glad to help at [email protected].

Return Window

• We accept returns within 30 days of the date your order ships.
• Holiday extension: orders placed on or after November 1 may be returned as long as they are shipped back to us by January 5 of the following year. All standard condition requirements below still apply.
• To be eligible, your return must be handed to the carrier within the return window — the window is based on when your return is sent, not when it reaches us.

Condition Requirements

• Items must be returned unused, in brand-new condition, with all original tags attached and in their original packaging — inclusive of any wrapping and filler paper.
• Once tags are removed or an item has been used, we're no longer able to restock it in sellable condition, so it becomes ineligible for return. This requirement is standard across the industry and is shown at multiple points before you open or use your item — on our website, in your order confirmation email, on the product hang tags, and in the materials inside the box. If it feels like we mention this everywhere you look, that's rather the point — we'd honestly rather risk being a touch annoying about it now than have you discover it after the tags are already off.
• Please do not fold or compress your return into a smaller box. Doing so can damage the item and make it ineligible for a refund. Pack your return securely in appropriately sized packaging.
• We inspect every return on arrival. We reserve the right to issue a partial refund, or to decline a refund, for any item returned used, worn, damaged, missing tags or packaging, or otherwise not in the condition in which it was shipped. Where an item can be returned to sellable condition, the cost of doing so may be deducted from the refund.

How to Start a Return

• Start your return at stuartandlau.com/returns. Have your order number and the shipping address ZIP/postal code ready.
• Once your request is approved, US customers receive a prepaid return label linked to your order; international customers arrange their own shipping (see below).
• We're not able to accept customer-provided return labels. Our returns are fully integrated with our tracking, routing, and warehouse-intake systems: when a return is approved, a label is generated and linked to your order and RMA so the package is properly tracked, received, and processed. An outside label breaks that chain and can cause delays, lost packages, or a return our system can't recognize. If you need help generating your label, we're happy to assist.

U.S. Returns

• For U.S. orders, we provide a prepaid return shipping label through our returns portal. The cost of this label is covered by the restocking fee below.

International Returns (including Canada)

• For orders shipped outside the U.S., we ask that you arrange your own return shipping with a reliable, trackable carrier, at your cost, and send your return to our international return center in Hong Kong.
• Please return within 30 days of your order's original ship date, securely packaged and in original condition with all tags attached.
• You are responsible for the package until it reaches us. We can't be held liable for loss or damage in transit, and we're not able to refund a return that never arrives. We recommend a tracked, insured service.
• Canada: returns from Canada also go to our Hong Kong return center. Even if your order shipped from our Canadian fulfillment partner in Windsor, ON, that facility sits in a bonded Free Trade Zone that can only send outbound shipments — it cannot receive returns.

Restocking Fee

• Rather than blend the cost of returns into our retail prices for everyone, we apply a modest US$20 restocking fee per item (per bag) returned, charged only when a return actually occurs. On a multi-item return, the fee applies to each item returned.
• The fee covers the true, end-to-end cost of a return: for U.S. orders, the prepaid return label; and for all returns, receiving, inspection, repacking, and restocking the item into inventory. For international returns, it also helps offset importation and customs-clearance costs when the item re-enters our warehouse.
• Keeping this cost separate — rather than built into product prices — lets us keep pricing as competitive as possible and address return costs only where they occur. International returns are still subject to the fee, even though we don't provide a prepaid label for them, because the receiving and customs-clearance costs still apply on our end.

What Is and Isn't Refunded

• Refunded: the price of the returned product, once it's received and confirmed to meet the condition requirements above, less the applicable restocking fee.
• Origin/outbound shipping is not refunded. The shipping fee paid at checkout covers the actual delivery of your order — postage, handling, and carrier fees — and for many destinations, import-related costs. These services are completed once your order ships and can't be reversed, so they aren't returned when you make a return.
• U.S. orders specifically: the shipping figure also covers a portion of the current tariff and import costs of bringing your order into the United States, blended into a single figure rather than itemized. This, too, is not refundable once an order has shipped.
• Payment processing fees are not refundable. These are charged by the card networks to facilitate the original transaction and are not returned to the retailer or the customer when a transaction is refunded.
• Order cancellations: the same is true when an order is canceled. The payment processing fee our provider charges to run the original transaction is not returned to us when we issue the refund — so it's simply not something we hold and are able to pass back. You're fully refunded for the product; only that third-party processing fee, which never stays with us in the first place, sits outside what we're able to return.

Refund Timing & Method

• Once your return is received and inspected, we process your refund within approximately 7–12 business days, back to your original payment method.
• After we process it, please allow a further 3–7 business days for the funds to clear back into the account associated with your original form of payment. Exact posting times are set by your bank or card issuer.

Exchanges

• Rather than traditional exchanges, we handle them in two simple steps so your preferred item ships right away and doesn't sell out while a return is in transit:
  1. Place a new order for the item you'd like. This ships immediately.
  2. Start a return for your original item at stuartandlau.com/returns. Our standard return policy and restocking fee apply.
• A note on fees: an exchange handled this way involves a restocking fee on the returned item and standard shipping on the new order, and — as with any return — the original order's shipping is non-refundable. We aren't able to waive these, and that applies consistently for all customers. If you'd like a hand before you order, reach out and we'll walk you through it.

Comparison Orders

• We understand the appeal of ordering more than one color or size to compare in person. Before you place an order like this, please note our comparison-order policy: when multiple items are ordered together to compare, only one item per order is eligible for return — regardless of how many are ordered.
• In practice: order two, return one (keep one); order three, return one (keep two). Standard return conditions and the restocking fee apply to the eligible return item.
• As a small, independent brand with consistently high demand, limiting comparison returns is one of the ways we keep our operations lean, our pricing competitive, and stock available for customers who want a specific color or size. If we reach out about a comparison order before it ships, you can either let everything ship and return one item, or remove items before shipping — your card is only ever charged for what ships (we place an authorization hold, not a charge). And we're always glad to help you choose the right bag up front, which often removes the need to compare in person at all.

Gifts

• Our relationship is with the original purchaser of the product. If you received an item as a gift and would like to return or exchange it, we kindly ask that you coordinate with the gift giver, who can arrange the return or exchange on your behalf.

Shipping-Protection Claim Replacements

• If you receive a replacement item through an approved Shipping Protection (insurance) claim for a lost, stolen, or damaged shipment, that replacement is final — it is not eligible for return, refund, or exchange. Full details of the protection program are in our Shipping Policy.

Statutory Rights (EU/EEA & UK)

• Nothing in this policy limits any statutory rights you may have. Consumers in the EU/EEA and the UK may have a legal right to cancel a distance purchase within a set period that applies in addition to the voluntary return terms above. If you believe a statutory right applies to your order, contact us at [email protected] and we'll help you through it.

Questions

• We're a small team and we genuinely like hearing from our customers. If anything about a return or refund is unclear, email us at [email protected] and a real person will get back to you.