Voula Rentzou came up with the idea of Yiuco.com while she was cleaning up her closet. Since trashing her old clothes was out of the question, she thought of recycling them. “After much research and brainstorming we realised that there were many people who preferred up-cycling, fair trade, organic and all things eco-friendly. So we thought of bringing them together at Yiuco.com,” recalls the founder. The Greece-based online platform that is almost three months old, attracts entrepreneurs and craftsmen the world over.
Welcome to the world of eco-friendly online marketplaces. The platforms range from first-time entrepreneurs (like Rentzou) to well-established marketplaces like eBay. The list includes Saffron Rouge (specialising in safe cosmetics), Blissmo (a company promoting environmentally and socially sustainable products) and eco3P.com (into organic, natural and fair trade products). Visitors to these portals are usually educated, ecology and health conscious individuals between 25 and 45.
Begun in 2007 as a partnership between World Good Inc. and eBay Inc., Worldof Good.com is a multi-seller marketplace for socially and environmentally responsible shopping. It was coincidentally founded by two Indian business school grads, Priya Haji and Siddharth Sanghvi. Drawing a great response globally, it has about 34,000 products from 210 sellers, fitting into 16 categories such as jewellery, home and garden, clothing and shoes, and accessories. “We sell a lot of beautiful and unique products, many of them handmade. Among the most popular are scarves like the eco-friendly, handcrafted, natural cotton loop scarf made in India. Bags are also very popular, such as the recycled leather clutch from Brazil and a recycled rice bag tote from Cambodia,” says Sanghvi.
The spate in the number of such portals comes from the fact that consumers, especially in mature markets now demand that the brands they love become more sustainable.
The result is that a few such marketplaces are also giving eco-friendliness that extra push. “We give back in two main ways. For every $1 spent, approximately 10 sq. ft. of rainforest is conserved via our non-profit partners. Some of our vendors also participate in their own initiatives such as 1 per cent for the planet, nature conservancy, etc. This creates an even bigger impact,” says Mikael Thakur, founder, eco3P.com.
Each of the listed eco-friendly products on such sites comes with detailed information about its origin and impact on people, animals and the planet. “It is necessary for us to be transparent and save consumers from ‘greenwashing’,” adds Thakur.
However, consumers looking out for some great deals here must read the fine print. Since many of the products sold on such portals are produced according to fair trade principles — which ensure that the producers get paid fair wages — you won’t typically find discounted items. “Being green and unique and being cheap normally do not go hand in hand. Normally an environmental trade off is made,” reasons Thakur.
The attempt is to involve more people in new patterns of use. “South Europe is going through another economic crisis due to over-consumption among other things. Maybe it’s time to rethink our lifestyles and consider an economy based on reuse and recycling. Both our pockets and the environment will be winners,” says Rentzou.