Prospecting: eBay Goes Green to Attract Environmentally Conscious Buyers

The world's largest online marketplace has launched green.ebay.com, a microsite for conservation-minded consumers. The site is designed to help consumers access the millions of green products available on the marketplace. Products featured on the site encourage consumers to follow three guidelines: choose items that are pre-owned, vintage or refurbished; check whether an item is made from sustainable materials; and choose energy and other resource-saving products. eBay hired Cooler, a company that calculates carbon footprints, to determine how much carbon shoppers save by buying something used instead of new.
The microsite is the offshoot of the eBay Green Team, a small group of eBay employees who seek to make the company more environmentally friendly. Since its inception in 2007, the group has invited eBay's community of buyers and sellers to join its efforts. It now totals 100,000-plus members and continues to grow. eBay's not just reaping environmental benefits; the green microsite is acquiring new customers and boosting its bottom line as well.