Bringing circularity to e-commerce | POLITICO Live

Supply of and demand for secondhand goods – from clothes to books, and upcycled homeware – is booming, spurred by increased consumer demand for sustainability and more than a year of pandemic. The global market value for secondhand apparel for example is expected to double in the next 4 or 5 years. Online resale has become one of the common and easily accessible ways to sell or buy secondhand goods, especially as people worldwide were facing successive lockdowns.
E-commerce offers the possibility for anyone to easily sell or buy circular products that are being reused, refurbished, or upcycled, but as its market grows, so does its impact on the environment. For e-commerce to really contribute to the circular economy, all the supply chain needs to be carefully considered.

Questions to be discussed include:
- What role can e-commerce play in developing the circular economy through – for example – easy access to second-hand products, refurbished or upcycled goods or even spare parts?
- On the other hand, how can policymakers, sellers and consumers ensure that going for more circular products is not offset by unsustainable practices like over-packaging, impulse buys, and express deliveries with high carbon footprints?
- Is it possible to have sustainable 24h delivery? If not, what can be the alternative?
- Does e-commerce follow enforceable reuse and recycling programs? Are return policies sustainable? If not, what needs to change?
- What solutions will the upcoming textile strategy, sustainable products directive and the revision of the PPWD concretely bring to make e-commerce more circular?
- Are new business models such as rental schemes a good solution to the circularity of online commerce?
With the circular economy being one of the key priorities of the European Commission’s Green Deal, this POLITICO Live panel discussion is a timely opportunity to debate the role of e-commerce in the circular economy and the solutions to ensure the full supply chain is sustainable.

Program:
Introductory remarks by our partner, eBay:
- Jamie Iannone, president and CEO, eBay
Panel Discussion:
- Thibaud Hug de Larauze, co-founder and CEO, Back Market
- Paul Jonas, co-founder and CEO, Revive
- Rozalina Petrova, cabinet member of Commissioner Sinkevičius, responsible for the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan, European Commission
- Joan Marc Simon, executive director, Zero Waste Europe

Visit our website: https://www.politico.eu/event/bringing-circularity-to-e-commerce/

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