Celebrating sustainable sellers and buyers

In 2015, we asked a random sample of Etsy sellers and buyers to share their sustainability aspirations, motivations, priorities and practices through our first Sustainability Marketplace Survey. We found that Etsy members report higher rates of sustainable practices across a range of behaviours when compared to the general population. We’ve summarised those results below and have included comparisons across each audience in the areas of energy and water conservation, waste reduction and materials reuse.

Energy and water conservation

A significantly greater percentage of Etsy sellers and buyers report practicing water and energy conservation behaviours - like using LED light bulbs and only running the washing machine and dishwasher when they are at full capacity - than does the general population. These may seem like small changes to everyday behaviour, but they do add up. In fact, Etsy is taking very similar steps in these areas, including installing LED lighting at our new office headquarters and conserving water use by collecting rainwater on our rooftop for irrigating office greenery. You can read more about these kinds of efforts here.

Waste and recycling

Based on our 2015 survey, a greater percentage of our members are recycling and reusing materials, as compared to the general population. Recycling and reusing materials is an important way each of us can all reduce our environmental impact and at Etsy we are doing our part as well. We currently recycle in all of our offices globally and have strong composting programmes in seven offices. To learn more about our waste reduction and diversion efforts click here.

Material selection

Material selection can be a huge driver of the overall sustainability of a given product. Using reclaimed or reused materials has the potential to eliminate many of the negative impacts of making a new item because fewer additional resources were used in the creation of the item (i.e. coal for electricity or trees to make paper). Hand-making materials can also result in a more sustainable item, for example using natural pigments to hand dye fibres or textiles.

The results of this research, as shared here, give us a lot to celebrate. Our members are leading by example and practicing sustainability in many aspects of their businesses and daily lives. In particular, we applaud the dedication of our seller community to running values-aligned, regenerative businesses and acknowledge this is not always an easy endeavour. 53% of sellers told us they were extremely or very committed to running an environmentally responsible business and 67% indicated the same level of commitment to running a socially responsible business. As our sustainability initiatives advance, we’ll continue finding ways to support our sellers’ commitments to environmental and social sustainability with resources and tools to help their businesses thrive while making a positive impact.

We plan to conduct this survey in future years and in new markets to continue quantifying and understanding our members’ sustainability practices, as well as their personal and business goals around sustainability and social impact. We’re excited to uncover new opportunities for us to work together to make a lasting impact in our marketplace and beyond.

Methodology

2,383 U.S. Etsy sellers, 1,030 buyers and 1,023 members of the general population participated in an online survey between 6th and 23rd August 2015. The seller sample was taken from a database of U.S. sellers who had at least one active listing and had sold at least one item in the previous 12 months. Sellers from our database were randomly contacted and invited to take part in the survey via email. While our overall sample size was approximately 2,400, we randomly assigned sellers to evaluate 3 of the 6 sections of the survey. Therefore each section was seen by 1,400+ sellers. The buyer sample was taken from a database of U.S. buyers who had made at least one purchase in the last 12 months. A subset of the buyer survey questions were fielded by a sample of the U.S. general population. Age, gender, region, income, race and ethnicity were weighted to be representative of the population. The study was developed, conducted and analysed by Etsy.

Spotlight: Valerie Nethery | LilyEmme Jewelry | Seattle, WA

Valerie Nethery of LilyEmme Jewelry quit her day job in 2014 to run her Etsy shop full-time. Her Seattle business has had more than 1,800 sales to date. Demand around the Christmas season was so high last year, she hired a seasonal assistant to help keep up. Despite her shop’s fast growth, Valerie is devoted to keeping the business sustainable and eco-friendly. An environmental science major in college, she uses only recycled metals and conflict-free stones in her jewellery. She’s committed to sourcing materials from reputable, high-quality sources, working with local businesses whenever possible. If she can’t source a material in an environmentally-friendly way, Valerie says, she doesn’t use it in her designs. “These are my core values, and I’m not going to change that.”