Etsy reduce the impact of packaging this Earth Month

This April, to celebrate earth month Etsy have pledged to offset 100% of carbon emissions from packaging. This means Etsy will offset the carbon emissions from shipping, packaging, and materials at no additional cost to buyers or sellers.

One of the most common sustainability challenges with online shopping is the number of packaging materials used and the type of packaging materials chosen. Items delivered in packaging seeming a little overkill is a common occurrence. Although 86% of Etsy sellers say they reuse packaging this earth month the company wants to ensure they are doing all they can to reduce their carbon footprint further.

Sustainability is important to Consumers and 87% of Etsy sellers believe it’s important to run an environmentally responsible business. In the last year, Etsy have seen an 88% increase in searches for eco-friendly items and searches for reusable items more than doubled. If you run an Etsy business it could be interesting to see how offering sustainable products and/or packaging could benefit you, your customers and the environment.

In 2020, Etsy offset 404,439 metric tons of carbon. They have funded projects that are protecting trees that improve air quality and absorb carbon, sponsoring wind and solar farms that generate clean energy and replace fossil fuels, and developing greener methods for producing auto parts. With the addition of packaging, Etsy are bringing an exciting new project into their portfolio that conserves natural habitat and repatriates indigenous lands.

Long term measures:

While offsets are an important way to immediately address the carbon impact of packaging from purchases on Etsy, they’re also committed to longer term reduction measures, including:

• Seller engagement. Etsy will continue to encourage our 4.4 million Etsy and Reverb sellers to use more sustainable packaging materials and offer opportunities to learn about how they can reduce their business’ footprint.

• Cleaner materials. Etsy are exploring ways to connect sellers with vendors that can provide more sustainable packing materials, which could include circular packaging options.

• Advocacy. As always, they’ll keep pushing for public policies that will drive the decarbonization of the logistics sector and we will continue to set a strong example for our industry peers.