Extending the life of 50million fashion products by 2023 | Ep. #43

<p>1.5 - A small number with big consequences; Can you guess why?</p> <p>We all need to join hands to keep average global temperatures below 1.5 deg and we at the <a href="https://www.circularbusinesspodcastindia.com/podcast">Circular Business Podcast</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecircularcollective/">The Circular Collective</a> are doing our part to create awareness &amp; discuss solutions to accelerate environmental sustainability through a circular economy.</p> <p>Today we are going to talk about a Germany based e-commerce company called <a href="https://corporate.zalando.com/en/newsroom/news-stories/zalando-joins-ellen-macarthur-foundation-network-accelerate-circular-economy">Zalando</a>.</p> <p>The online fashion and beauty platform that caters to 28 million customers in 17 markets. So in no terms a small company.</p> <p>They have committed to carbon neutrality in their own operations and all of their deliveries and returns. They recently switched to renewable energy to power 90% of its energy needs globally &amp; carbon emissions that are not eliminated by operational improvements or green delivery options are set to be rolled out via offset.</p> <p>One of the focus area in Zalando’s sustainability strategy is sustainable packaging. Zalando boxes are made from 100 percent recycled cardboard, and “beauty bags” consist of 100 percent recycled paper. Much needed right?</p> <p>In 2019, Zalando extended the life of 1 million fashion items through <a href="https://corporate.zalando.com/en/sustainability/extending-life-fashion">Zalando Zircle</a>. It is a digital application for selling and buying pre-owned clothes. So the way it works is as follows:</p> <ul> <li>User uploads photos of pre-owned products and enters information. Zalando accepts items across all price points from over 2,500 brands. Zalando checks the photos and immediately shows a total purchase price as well as the prices for each item.<br> </li> <li>User packs their pre-owned items and sends them to Zalando free of charg