eBay estimates that sales of used goods on the site earned $4.6 billion in 2022 and avoided sending 73,000 tons of usable products to landfills, which contributed to reducing carbon emissions by 1.6 million tons. Renee Morin, chief sustainability officer at eBay, returns to the show to discuss the findings of the 2022 eBay Recommerce Report, a survey of more than 11,000 small sellers on the marketplace. Forty-two percent of the people surveyed said they rely on eBay to earn extra cash and 56% said they participate because it is less expensive while 93% reported that they believe it is important to shop in ways that are better for the environment.
Renee discusses how sellers are changing as new generations grow into adulthood, embrace buying and selling used goods, and develop habits and income strategies that involve selling products instead of sending them to a landfill. eBay services, such as its Authenticity Guarantee and Refurbishment program, are critical to creating a trustworthy used-goods marketplace. She also reports on eBay’s waste diversion efforts and how improved insight into its GHG emissions, particularly the shipping-related Scope 3 emissions that represent 99.01% of its carbon impact, will help the company reach its 2030 sustainability goals. You can read the third eBay Recommerce Report at ebayinc.com/impact/sustainable-commerce/recommerce-report.
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This podcast originally aired on April 3, 2023.