Refund policy
Last updated: 11/09/2026
We sell things that are put on the skin, brewed and drunk, burned, and eaten from. What can come back to us depends on which of those a thing is, so this policy is set out by kind of product. We have marked plainly which parts are the law and which are our own choice.
Your right to change your mind
If you are a consumer in Ireland or the European Union, you have 14 days to cancel your order, without giving any reason. This is the cooling off period set out in the Consumer Rights Act 2022 and the EU Consumer Rights Directive.
The 14 days run from the day you, or someone you name, physically receive the goods. If your order arrives in more than one parcel, they run from the day the last parcel arrives.
To cancel, write to hello@makotocollective.com with your order number before those 14 days are up. A message is enough. You do not need to explain. You may use the model withdrawal form at the end of this page if you prefer, but you are not obliged to.
Once you have told us, you then have a further 14 days to send the goods back to us.
We will refund you within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of receiving proof that you have sent them, whichever comes first. Until one of those two things happens we may hold the refund. It goes to the same payment method you used.
What you can send back if you change your mind
| What it is | Unopened and unused | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| Skincare, haircare and other cosmetics | Yes, while the hygiene seal is intact | No |
| A cosmetic that reaches you without a seal | Yes | Yes |
| Tea, matcha and other food | Yes, while sealed and in date | No |
| Incense | Yes, while the inner bag is unopened | Not usually — see below |
| Ceramics and other homeware | Yes | Yes, there is nothing to unseal |
Anything that is faulty, damaged or not as described can come back whatever its condition and whether or not it has been opened. That is a separate and stronger right, and it is set out further down this page.
Why some things cannot come back opened
The law allows a seller to refuse a change of mind return on sealed goods which are not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons, once they have been unsealed after delivery, and on goods which deteriorate or expire quickly.
- Cosmetics. A shampoo, a serum, a sunscreen or a sheet mask pack that has had its seal broken cannot be resold, and we will not resell it.
- Tea and food. Both exceptions apply. A sealed pouch that comes back in date can be returned; an opened one cannot.
- Incense. Incense is supplied in a sealed inner bag because it takes up the scent of whatever sits near it. Once that bag is open the sticks or cones cannot go to anyone else. Please return incense in the sealed bag it arrived in, unopened. Where we do accept an opened box back, we will reduce the refund to reflect what the opened part is worth, and tell you the figure before we process it.
- Ceramics and homeware. No exception applies. A cup, a bowl, a plate or an incense holder can be returned within the cooling off period whether or not you have taken it out of the box, as long as you have not used it.
We do not apply any exception the law does not give us. If an item reaches you without a seal, it is returnable in the ordinary way. We are stating all of this before you buy, which is what the law requires of us. If you are unsure whether something suits you, write to us first and we will help you decide.
If something is wrong with the product
This is separate from changing your mind, and it is a stronger right. It covers every range we sell.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022, if a product is faulty, damaged, past its date, or not as we described it, you can cancel the purchase and ask for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it. After 30 days you are still entitled to a repair, a replacement, a price reduction or a refund.
For the first 12 months after delivery, if a fault appears it is for us to show the goods were sound when they reached you, not for you to show they were not.
Opening the product does not affect this right. Write to hello@makotocollective.com with your order number and a photograph, and we will sort it out. We pay the return postage in these cases.
If something arrives broken
Ceramics travel a long way before they reach you, and we pack them to survive it. When a piece does not:
- Photograph the outer box before you unpack any further, then the packing inside it, then the piece.
- Keep the box and the packing material until the matter is settled. A carrier will not look at a claim without them.
- Write to us within 7 days of delivery at hello@makotocollective.com, with your order number and the photographs.
We will replace the piece if we have another, or refund you in full, whichever you prefer. We pay for anything that has to come back to us, and more often than not we will ask you to keep or dispose of a broken piece rather than post it.
Until a parcel is delivered to the address you gave us, it is at our risk. Breakage in transit is ours, not yours, and you do not have to take it up with the carrier. That is our job.
Pieces made by hand
Ceramics are made one at a time. Colour, glaze, weight and dimensions vary from piece to piece, a glaze may pool or break differently, and small marks left by the kiln or the maker's hand are part of the object rather than damage to it. The photograph on a product page shows a representative piece, not the exact one you will receive, unless we say otherwise.
Variation of that kind is not a fault and is not grounds for a faulty-goods return. It is, of course, grounds for changing your mind, and ceramics can be returned on that basis whether or not they have been unboxed.
If what arrives is outside what we described — a different size, a different form, a crack, a chip, a glaze flaw that makes it unusable — that is not variation, and it is covered in full by the section above.
Tea and other food
We will not send you food with less than two months of its shelf life remaining.
Every food product page carries the information the law requires before you buy: what it is, the ingredients, the allergens, the net quantity, the storage conditions and the best before date. Please read the storage line. Matcha in particular keeps its colour and flavour only if it is kept cool, dark and sealed, and it is best refrigerated once opened.
A food that has passed its best before date, or that has lost condition because it was stored otherwise than as the packaging says, is not a fault. A food that arrives already out of date, or close enough to its date that you cannot reasonably use it, is, and we will replace or refund it.
If a product does not suit your skin
This is not a legal right, it is our own policy.
If you have a reaction to something you bought from us, stop using it and write to us. We will refund the item even if it is open, once, per customer. We would rather do that than have you keep a bottle you cannot use.
We ask you to tell us what happened, because it helps us decide what to keep on the shelf.
How to send something back
- Write to hello@makotocollective.com with your order number.
- We reply with the return address and a reference to write on the parcel.
- Post it back, packed well enough to survive the trip.
- Keep your proof of postage until the refund lands.
Return address:
Makoto Collective Ltd
65 Willow, Trimbleston
Dublin, D14 FX36
Ireland
Please contact us before sending anything back. Parcels that arrive without a reference are hard to match to an order and slow everything down. This is a request that helps us, not a condition of your right to cancel.
Returning something fragile. Pack it as it arrived, in the same box if you still have it, with the same padding. A ceramic piece that comes back to us broken because it travelled loose in a bag has lost its value, and we may reduce the refund accordingly. If you no longer have the original packing, tell us and we will say how to pack it.
Who pays return postage
- Change of mind: customer.
- Faulty, damaged, or not as described: we do.
- Broken in transit: we do, and usually we will not ask for it back at all.
- Wrong item sent by us: we do.
- Reaction to a product: we do.
Use a service with tracking where you can. Until the parcel reaches us it is in your care.
Condition of returned goods
You may handle a product as you would in a shop, to see what it is. You may pick up a cup, feel its weight and look inside the box. You may not use it, brew it, burn it or put it on your skin. If a returned item comes back with more wear than that, we may reduce the refund to reflect the loss in value, which the law permits, and we will tell you plainly why.
Refunds
Refunds go back to the original payment method. Card refunds usually appear within 3 to 5 working days once we have processed them, though the exact timing is your bank's, not ours.
When you return a complete order we refund the goods and the standard delivery cost of sending them to you. If you chose a faster or more expensive delivery option, we refund the standard cost and not the difference. If you keep part of the order, we refund the goods but not the delivery.
Cancelling before dispatch
If your order has not been packed yet, write to us and we will cancel it and refund you in full, same day where we can.
Model withdrawal form
You do not have to use this form. It is here because the law requires us to make it available.
To Makoto Collective Ltd, 65 Willow, Trimbleston, Dublin, D14 FX36, Ireland
I hereby give notice that I withdraw from my contract of sale of the
following goods:
Ordered on / received on:
Order number:
Name of consumer:
Address of consumer:
Signature (only if this form is sent on paper):
Date:
If we cannot agree
Write to us first, at hello@makotocollective.com. Most things are settled in one exchange.
If we cannot resolve it between us, you can contact the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland at ccpc.ie, or, if you are shopping from another EU country, the European Consumer Centre Ireland at eccireland.ie. The Small Claims procedure of the Irish courts is also open to consumers for claims up to 2,000 euro.