Ecommerce sustainability will quickly gain momentum in 2024. With over two-thirds of online shoppers now twice as likely to buy from an eco-friendly brand, it’s time for online stores to step up their sustainability game and hope on the trend.
As ecommerce brands deal with a surge in online shopping, they now have to deal with increasing packaging and shipping-based emissions. A recent study by Statista found that 28% of consumers now consider the environmental impacts of ecommerce shipping when buying a product.
This means that more online businesses than ever before must prioritize sustainable shipping practices, environmentally friendly manufacturing, and ethical transparency when crafting their ecommerce selling strategies.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of eight game-changing tactics to adopt in 2024 to stay in line with sustainable shopping trends.
Carbon-Neutral Shipping
First up, let’s talk about carbon-neutral shipping. For ecommerce businesses, especially those that operate worldwide, shipping is quite possibly the most harmful contributor to a brand’s carbon footprint.
Adopting carbon-neutral shipping, however, helps offset any emissions generated during the shipping process.
You can do this by investing in renewable projects or reforestation charities to offset your emissions, improving the sustainability of your shipping process by swapping air-based transportation for a greener alternative, or sourcing products locally to reduce shipping distance.
Ethical Transparency
Did you know that 94% of online customers are likelier to be loyal to a brand that is transparent about its manufacturing and supply chain practices?
Not only do transparency and traceability help build consumer trust in your brand, but remaining open about your efforts to maintain ethical practices as a business forces you to remain responsible in a fast-paced e-commerce world.
More online businesses than ever are creating content for their audience that speaks directly about their sustainable movements, their impacts on the environment, and the steps they are taking toward a more eco-friendly future.
Take online coffee retailer Pangaia, for instance. This is a brilliant example of an ecommerce store that knows how to be upfront with their target consumers. They continue to release stats about their environmental impacts as a business and the positive effects of their sustainable missions.
Panagia also celebrates its customers’ achievements, such as the amount of waste diverted by purchasing one of its recycled coffee blends. This encourages customers to keep purchasing sustainable products and contributes to a more sustainable future for the brand.
Eco-Friendly Product Sourcing
Eco-friendly product sourcing is another sustainable trend to jump on as a sustainable seller. Ecommerce businesses are known for sourcing products from warehouses all over the globe for cheaper bulk deals and speedy shipping.
However, you can change the narrative by sourcing your store products ethically.
Whether you choose a local manufacturer to reduce shipping emissions or source ethical materials such as recycled rubber and bamboo, every sustainable swap you make creates a greener result for eco-conscious consumers.
Sustainable Packaging
Sustainable packaging is a no-brainer in 2024. With over 81% of customers now adamant that they want their favorite brands to use eco-friendly packaging, those that don’t are likely to lose a loyal customer base.
One way to introduce sustainable packaging initiatives to your e-commerce strategy is to swap harmful plastic packaging for biodegradable, recyclable alternatives that can be either used again or disposed of without an environmental impact.
Zara is a great example of a brand that is doing this well with its disposable shipping packaging. Their famous brown bag initiative reduces plastic waste but each bag can be returned to the store with unwanted items to be repurposed.
Using this initiative alone, the company aims to be 100% landfill-free by 2025.
Green Warehousing
Ecommerce businesses often serve a greater number of customers than brick-and-mortar alternatives.
This means that warehousing operations are often large, energy-inefficient, and contribute to harmful emissions.
Sustainable warehousing is a great process to adopt as an e-commerce seller. Adopting greener inventory practices, such as a simple warehouse layout optimization, can help improve energy efficiency, reduce picking times, and contribute to less unrecyclable waste as an online business.
Carbon Offset Programs
There are some emissions you can’t avoid as an online business. For example, if you’re a global e-commerce retailer, you will have to adapt to having a larger carbon footprint due to countless trips across the globe during shipping.
This said, global ecommerce sellers can still be committed to sustainability while releasing some unavoidable emissions. This can be done by investing in a carbon offsetting program.
These include charities such as Climate Action Reserve and Gold Standard, which all foster projects supporting reforestation, renewable energy projects, solar initiatives, wind farms, and more.
Source: LEAF Coalition
Brand giants are leading the way with carbon offsetting. Take H&M, for example. They have chosen to offset their carbon emissions to the LEAF Coalition, which aims to support charities protecting tropical forests financially.
Environmental Charity Partnerships
If you want to take your carbon offsetting one step further, why not partner with some environmental charities dedicated to making the environment shine again?
Consider releasing product ranges that raise profits directly for partnering organizations or raise awareness on your social platforms of the work these charities do for the natural world.
These partnerships promote your sustainable practices and financially support a charity’s efforts to rebuild the environment, which is a great way to offset any other emissions you produce going forward.
Sustainable Consumption Promotion
Last but not least, let’s talk about your consumers. While managing your sustainable practices as an online business is essential, you can take this one step further by educating your target audience, too.
As a brand with an online platform, you have the ability to influence your consumers.
By creating social content on the impacts of environmental purchases and even releasing sustainable offers that encourage customers to shop your ethically sourced products, you contribute positively to a more sustainable future of shopping.
The Future Of Sustainable Shopping
As we step into a greener landscape for ecommerce sellers, sustainability initiatives are no longer a choice but a crucial component of any successful online business.
From eco-friendly packaging to carbon offsetting, there are plenty of ways to support sustainability in 2024. The question is, where will you start?
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