eBay Champions Smart Ways to Shop Green

eBay Champions Smart Ways to Shop Green
New eBay Green Team Initiative Promotes More Sustainable Consumer Choices and Shopping Habits That Can Help Save Money—and the Planet

SAN JOSE, Calif.-- March 4 2009 eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY), the world’s leading online marketplace, today 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.”

Buying green products designed with sustainable materials or that help reduce energy and resource use is only one way to shop green. Many eBay sellers offer eco-friendly merchandise such as organic cotton clothing and solar-powered mobile chargers, and ship with Cradle-to-Cradle™ certified packaging available through USPS on eBay.com. But buying new is not the only way to buy green. Buying more products that already exist also has a positive impact on the environment by keeping materials out of landfills, preventing new manufacturing, and reducing waste.

The Green Team initiative leverages eBay’s reach to invite people to participate in a broader conversation and community around sustainable shopping. The eBay.com/greenteam web site offers rich content, tips and suggestions for everyday buying decisions and seller operations, as well as resources from the environmental community. Most importantly, the site serves as a go-to destination for consumers interested in sharing and hearing from others about why and how they are shopping greener. Team members also are invited to take “eBay Green Team Challenges” to learn how small, everyday changes can have a large, positive impact on the environment.

To extend Green Team awareness offline, eBay is working with Hearst Magazines to launch “30 Days of Green,” which is an extension of Hearst’s successful “30 Days” franchise and is designed to raise visibility among Hearst readers around the issue of sustainable consumption. 30 Days of Green is a month-long, multi- and cross-platform celebration featured in the April issues of all 14 Hearst magazines, including Cosmopolitan; O, the Oprah Magazine; Good Housekeeping; Marie Claire; and Harper’s Bazaar. “30 Days of Green” offers tips and resources from eBay Style Squad members Constance White, Shawn Henderson and Cat Schwartz, with a goal of inspiring more than 70 million readers and 100 million online visitors to take action. The campaign represents the first time that Hearst magazines has ever run an integrated program across every title in its portfolio, and is the first time a program of this scale was driven by original editorial content customized for each title.

Additional extensions of the eBay Green Team initiative include a social media campaign in Facebook and in the blogosphere that will showcase employees who are personally committed to a green way of living, and celebrity auction tie-ins on eBay.com that will generate additional awareness for sustainable consumption issues. eBay also is developing an environmental advisory council comprised of thought-leaders in the academic, NGO, and policymaking community that will help to guide eBay’s activities in the space and support the company’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility.

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.

About eBay

Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Building on this positive foundation, eBay Global Citizenship was formed to harness the capabilities that underlie our core businesses to further our ability to be a "force for good." Our citizenship portfolio includes the eBay Green Team, the eBay Foundation, and our ventures for social good - eBay GivingWorks, MicroPlace, and WorldofGood.com by eBay.



Contacts eBay Inc.Annie Lescroart, 408-376-7703anlescroart@ebay.com





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