SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, today announced the launch of the eBay Green Team Challenge, a program that translates green shopping into tangible environmental impact. For the first 250,000 people that pledge to reuse on eBay, the company will protect an acre of rainforest in their name through a new collaboration with Team Earth, a unique coalition of NGOs, private sector companies and individuals convened by Conservation International (CI).
“This year, through our collaborations with Hearst and Team Earth, we have the opportunity to not only educate millions of consumers about the green value of shopping used, but translate that action into tangible environmental impact.”
In tandem with the launch of the Green Team Challenge, eBay will unveil its new green shopping hub, designed to help consumers access the millions of green products available on the marketplace. Products featured on the new hub align with eBay’s distinct green shopping framework, encouraging consumers to follow three simple guidelines: first, choosing items that are pre-owned, vintage or refurbished; second, checking whether an item is made from sustainable materials, such as those featured on WorldofGood.com by eBay; and third, choosing energy and other resource saving products.
The new shopping hub comes as a response to the requests of eBay Green Team members, a passionate community of nearly 150,000 individuals committed to making greener lifestyle choices. Consumers can take the challenge and access the shopping hub at ebay.com/greenteam.
To promote the challenge and extend the reach of the campaign, eBay will, for the second year in a row, team up with Hearst Magazines for their month-long “30 Days of Green” program. The collaboration features a three-page ad insert that will run the April issues of all 15 Hearst magazines, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan and Esquire, reaching more than 74 million readers. This year’s ads will feature a variety of eBay products and educate consumers about the green attributes of buying used, highlighting eBay’s core sustainability principle: that the greenest product is often the one that already exists.
“We at eBay are constantly looking for ways to show our community of 90 million users that their shopping decisions can have real environmental impact,” said Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of the eBay Green Team. “This year, through our collaborations with Hearst and Team Earth, we have the opportunity to not only educate millions of consumers about the green value of shopping used, but translate that action into tangible environmental impact.”
“We are delighted that eBay continues to demonstrate their strong support for the environment by becoming a member of Team Earth,” said Julie Blackwell, Senior Director of Team Earth at Conservation International. “eBay’s passionate community has changed the way we shop and we have no doubt that they can change the way we consume. They are a perfect partner to rally collective action around some of the most pressing environmental issues of our day.”
eBay worked with Cooler, Inc., a company that specializes in carbon footprint calculations using financial data, to determine the carbon footprint of reusing products found on eBay in comparison with that of comparable items purchased new.
Some of the findings include:
- Choosing a previously-loved leather handbag saves as much energy as a flight from London to Paris
- Selecting a new-to-you watch saves the energy equivalent of 39 days of refrigerator use
- Choosing previously-worn leather shoes saves more energy than an average household uses in a day
Throughout March and April, eBay will additionally leverage its powerful eBay Giving Works program to generate funds for a variety of environmental organizations in an effort to extend the impact of the campaign further. A series of high-profile charity auctions will offer consumers the opportunity to bid on a variety of one-of-a-kind items and experiences that will benefit green nonprofits and causes, including The Nature Conservancy, Make it Right, and The Uniform Project’s beneficiary organization, the Akanksha Fund.
To find out more about eBay’s Green Team efforts and the campaign, please visit us on our Web site at eBay Green Team, visit us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About eBay
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
About Team Earth
Announced in September of 2009, Team Earth couples the power of Conservation International’s cross-sector partnerships and the credibility of science with mechanisms to inspire and enable individual behavioral change. Uniting businesses, non-profits, scientists, educators, individuals and children around collective action, Team Earth focuses on five core issues: climate, waste, water, food and health. For more information about Team Earth, visit www.teamearth.com