“One person’s garbage is another person’s treasures,” or so the saying goes! If recycling and reusing someone’s “gently” used products is something that tweaks your interest, you might want to check out eBay’s new green shopping hub. According to eBay the site highlights: “pre-owned, sustainably-made and resource-saving products, handpicked from eBay.com listings.” Did you know that a year ago, eBay “opened up” their eBay Green Team, from an internal company only initiative, to a program targeted at all of the millions of eBay buyers and sellers? The program gives eBay users the opportunity to purchase used products in addition to new ones advertised on their site. This concept isn’t new; in fact you can get a lot of “free stuff” on the web or from places and stores in your own neighborhood. Some of the more well know on line organizations that offer “free stuff” for you to take or trade include: “Freecycle,” Reuseitnetwork.org, and Craig’s list (under communities and “free stuff”), or in Canada try “FullCircles.org” all of these sites provide listings of products people no longer need, but feel someone else will value!
A twist in 2010 on the eBay site is that eBay has teamed up with a company called Cooler, Inc in an attempt to showcase for their shoppers the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions. Not only will you be able to find out how much you are reducing your carbon footprint by “purchasing” a gently used product instead of a new one, you will also have the opportunity to buy new products through the Cooler website, from reputable and well know retailers, and have Coolers “offset” your purchase at the same time! The new program is just in the “launch stage.” Look for eBay Green Team ads in April in many of the Hearst family magazines.
We would love to hear your feedback and comments if you “try out any of these programs.” It is important to remember that every purchase you make has implications for our environment. Help us find out more about the companies and organizations that are trying to make our decisions easier and lessen our negative impact on our world at the same time!
