Sustainable commerce movement. Why should you join?

Our spending patterns and behaviors have been revolutionized due to digitalization and increased access to technology. According to Statista, with Covid-19, global lockdowns, and growth in working from home, internet sales will climb by 28 percent to $4,280 billion globally in 2020.

And we’re having a great time with it.

Food, clothing, and home furnishings… all delivered to our door in record time with only a few clicks. While this expanding tendency has aided the formation of new digital business models, broadened the number of items available online, and increased transparency in supply chains and product composition, it also negatively influences the environment. For the first time, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, recognized its significant co₂ emissions in 2018. According to reports, the corporation “emitted 44.4 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide that year, a figure comparable to the pollution rates of several small nations.”

Consumers are more likely than ever to ask shops for sustainable solutions and the usage of renewable energy or even more sustainable modes of transportation and to hunt for sustainable e-commerce firms.

Therefore, brands are increasingly striving to decrease the environmental effect of online commerce – investing in technology and analytics now might result in cheaper costs later. Other factors to consider here may include assessing the return rate and the work required to restock returned merchandise. The more information a brand collects, the better.

Some of these practices include eco-friendly packaging and shipping, which may assist their bottom line while ensuring that items are safe in transportation and do not linger in landfills for thousands of years. So we guarantee sustainability in delivery, but we are also offering more sustainable items, allowing customers the option to purchase ecological and fair products in e-commerce.

With solutions ranging from automatic robotics to hydrogen-powered vehicles, CO2 emissions and traffic congestion can be reduced. For example, the firm Starship provides delivery robots. Their system is cost-effective and clean, seamlessly delivering medication, food, and other supplies to users. These self-driving robots, which were contactless, electronically powered, and secure, boosted business throughout the epidemic.

Circular business models will no longer be an option.

“Sustainability” is one word to explain how younger generations will impact the fashion industry. They will have very different expectations of what it means to be an end-to-end sustainable brand. The new industry is already about brand attachment, loyalty, and passion. And we are confident that, in the future, brand love and brand loyalty will be heavily influenced by the sustainability traits that a brand facilitates or establishes with its customers.

There will be a significant increase in many forms of sustainable fashion consumption. One clear example is products created from more sustainable resources, such as recycled materials or lower-CO2-impact materials, such as organic cotton instead of conventional cotton. However, it might also be what we call circular business models, which include resale, renting, and, to a lesser extent, repair and refurbishing.

This leads us to another e-commerce success story that has received considerably less attention: the emergence of C2C markets. Millions of individuals spent time cleaning out closets, lofts, and garden sheds during lockdowns and selling their unwanted items online, fueling the increase. However, this is not a passing phase. Consumers’ increased awareness about sustainability will drive trade to expand further.

An average of 30% of respondents said they were buying more used fashion products online than before the pandemic to save money, while the remaining 38% did so to minimize waste levels.

Imagine a platform that notified you: ‘You haven’t been wearing this green jacket for a while! Do you want to resell them?’. The algorithm will generate an ideal description and images in seconds to accelerate the process. Then, all you will have to do is press ‘OK’. Just like that, your item will be on the platform and simultaneously recommended to another user who might want to purchase it. The reselling process will be so seamless that the concept of ownership will start to blur on a large scale.
​​Approximately 55% of the emission-cutting devices at our access save money for the industry. Up to 40% of clothing is sold at a discount, rather than at total price. And other items are never sold at all. Cutting overproduction in half from where it is now would significantly contribute to the industry’s lower carbon footprint.

Since then, many new C2C platforms have sprouted, each with its economic strategy. Most of them, such as eBay Kleinanzeigen, Facebook Marketplace, and Gumtree, primarily target transactions between individuals in the same local neighborhood and are completely free for sellers. They rely on revenue from third-party ads drawn to high-traffic sites. Some, such as eBay, impose a listing fee based on the value of the products sold. But one thing they all have in common is that the platform has been entirely free to buyers—until lately.

Many platforms now arise that charge buyers a fee, while providing free listing to the seller. Counter tactic creates a greater variety of goods, driving more customers in and making buyers more considerable with their purchases.

Excited to join us on the movement for sustainability? Read How to make your business more sustainable article. 

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