As a global pioneer of recommerce (buying and selling pre‑owned goods), eBay is proud to celebrate Earth Day 2022 (21 April).
The theme of Earth Day this year is Invest in our Planet. Recommerce is unique in that it not only allows products to take on a new life by keeping them out of landfills but enables pathways for people to maintain their livelihoods and pursue entrepreneurship, inspire passions and fuel hobbies. It encourages people to not only invest in the planet, but to invest in themselves and their communities.
Our latest Recommerce Report shows that in 2021, through the facilitation of item reselling globally, eBay helped reduce carbon emissions by 540,000 metric tonnes. That’s the equivalent of meeting the annual CO2 output of ALL residents of the City of Sydney from power use, transport, travel, and food and drink.
eBay is proud of the role it plays in supporting the circular economy. Our platform is where products can continuously find renewed life and value. When packing items, we encourage sellers to try to use an environmentally friendly option such as sustainable, recycled or clean reused packaging materials. A recent survey of pre-owned sellers on eBay indicates 63% of these sellers reuse packaging wherever possible.
In addition, through our work with our delivery partner Sendle, eBay sellers have access to carbon neutral shipping services as well as printer-free delivery options on eBay. Printer-free delivery eliminates the need for sellers to use paper and printer ink each time an item is sent.
Our support of these initiatives builds on eBay’s strong commitments to climate action including our joining of the Science Based Targets initiative, an effort by CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) that aims to raise corporate ambition and help businesses pursue bolder climate change solutions.