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Boxing Day

Contributed By: ecofabulous

As eBay’s Eco Lifestyle Expert, we often hear ecofabulous founder Zem Joaquin spreading the good news of buying vintage or pre-owned. We’ve always known it was eco-friendly to reuse and purchase products that are already in existence rather than using virgin resources, but it’s surprising when you take a closer look and evaluate how good it really is. According to the calculations done by Cooler Inc., commissioned by The eBay Green Team, buying a pre-loved silk dress saves 95% of the CO2 needed to make a new one! Choosing a pre-loved sweater saves the energy equivalent of 68 loads of laundry, and choosing new-to-you leather shoes saves more energy than an average household uses in a day (watch Zem discuss this further in a recent video). But now, The eBay Green Team’s got another green initiative up their organic cotton sleeve: simple green shipping.

The grand prize winner of eBay’s annual Innovation Expo, “simple green shipping,” is a durable box designed to be reused over and over again. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well that’s the idea. Since so many eBay buyer are sellers and vice versa it’s common that eBay users will be receiving product one day and shipping something else out the next. According to the eBay Green Team’s calculations, if a box gets reused at least five times, it will protect nearly 4,000 trees, save 2.4 million gallons of water and conserve enough energy to power 49 homes for a year. That’s a pretty powerful piece of 100% recycled, FSC-certified corrugated cardboard, if you ask us. The bonus? Super cute graphics and space to write a personal message to the next person in the chain, giving each box its own personal life (plus you’ll be able to track the route of each box through a virtual community online).

For more info on this pilot program, visit the FAQ page on eBayGreenTeam.com.