eBay Champions Smart Ways to Shop Green

eBay announced the launch of the eBay Green Team, a new initiative that champions smart ways to shop green and encourages more sustainable buying choices that can save consumers money and help save the planet. Building on a grassroots effort started by its own employees, eBay is inviting buyers, sellers and anyone interested in new ways of thinking about being a greener consumer to join at eBay.com/greenteam.

"eBay's global community of more than 86 million active buyers and sellers supports more sustainable commerce every day," said eBay Inc. president and CEO John Donahoe. "The greenest products are often ones that already exist, and eBay creates a global market for used, refurbished, vintage and even new products from excess retail inventory. eBay buyers and sellers trade $2,000 worth of goods every second, a majority of which are used, refurbished or vintage. The eBay Green Team effort, which was inspired by our own community and employees' accomplishments, will continue to encourage these behaviors and promote new ways of thinking about shopping green."

The eBay Green Team initiative grew out of a grassroots effort begun in 2007 by a small group of passionate eBay employees who wanted to put their environmental values to work. Today, more than 1,000 eBay employees in 18 countries are Green Team members, supporting environmental causes in their local communities and championing sustainable business practices within eBay. When the company needed more office space, the Green Team led eBay to construct the first building built to LEED Gold Standards in San Jose, CA, featuring the city's largest solar panel installation. eBay has also been a carbon neutral company since 2007 through commitments to energy efficiency, alternative power, green buildings and carbon offsets, thanks to efforts by the eBay Green Team.

eBay Champions Smart Ways to Shop Green

Some eBay Inc. green actions:

• Since 1998, the eBay community has facilitated the reuse of an estimated $100 billion in goods, extending the useful life of products, keeping unwanted items out of landfills and reducing the need for the raw materials necessary to manufacture new items. 

• In the past three years, the purchase of used leather handbags on eBay reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 94,000 tons.

• In 2007, the purchase of used laptops on eBay reduced more than 69,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, because buying a used laptop avoids half of the greenhouse gases associated with making a new one, according to a study conducted by the for-profit social venture firm Cooler and commissioned by eBay.