Five Socially Conscious Online Shopping Sites
Online shoppers are becoming more conscientious of where their purchases originate from. They want personalized shopping experiences, unique products they can’t find anywhere else, and they prefer to shop on sites that are environmentally-friendly.
There are a variety of options when it comes time to shop online. This article will highlight our favorite non Amazon websites that offer a carefully curated selection, eco-friendly and fair trade practices.
Rakuten
Rakuten is the biggest eCommerce marketplace in Japan. The gross merchandise sales it made in 2019 exceeded $37 billion. This is a massive online marketplace, even by global standards. Rakuten is most well-known to Americans through its Ebates brand. The Ebates shopping rewards platform gives cash back on more than 2,500 brands and stores. The majority of other brands and services that Rakuten offers aren’t as well known in North America.
In addition to offering an array of products, Rakuten has many features that allow businesses to attract and retain customers. They include free shipping, return policies, and an accessible mobile website. Rakuten also offers a range of advertising options to reach potential buyers. These advertising options are available to local and national retail stores.
Rakuten’s extensive inventory is another reason why it a fantastic option for small- and medium-sized business. Its catalog contains a wide variety of items, including food, clothes, and toys. This can help companies increase their revenues and build loyalty. In addition, it has an array of payment options, including PayPal.
In order to use Rakuten, users must create an account for free on the site and then connect their credit card. Then, they can earn cash by shopping via the affiliate link on the platform. Users can also download an extension for their browser that will alert users to cash back offers as they browse the internet. The company also picks a store every day to offer double cashback throughout the day. Cash back is earned over a period of three months before being is paid out every quarter via PayPal. The site’s referral program is another method to earn referral bonuses. These bonuses are an excellent incentive to shop on the site.
Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace that connects independent small-scale artisans artists, designers and artists with customers looking to buy unique, handmade or vintage items. The site has a broad range of items that include clothing, jewelry home decor, clothing, and art. It also offers a range of shipping options and accepts a variety of payment methods, including credit cards and Etsy gift cards.
It has a huge customer base and offers a number of tools to help sellers market their products. Its emphasis on vintage and handcrafted items attracts a small group of devoted customers. The website’s secure platform and its policies for protecting buyers encourage buyers to be confident in it. Sellers are also provided with access to a network of fellow sellers who can offer support and guidance.
The platform also offers an array of tools for shopping and searching to help customers locate the perfect product. Users can filter items using its search function based on location, price range, and material. Users can also save searches, items and shops to visit in the future. Etsy also offers a variety of educational resources to help its sellers grow their businesses.
Scammers profit from the Etsy platform in order to steal money and information. They can create fake listings or shop names and often provide inaccurate or incorrect descriptions of their products. They might also use fake shipping addresses or offer non-reversible payment methods to deceive people.
While Etsy is an excellent option for small, indie sellers, it has a few disadvantages. The platform’s algorithm is complex and can have a huge impact on search results and sales. Modifications to the algorithm are usually implemented without warning. The limited customization and layout options can also be limiting for some sellers.
Made Trade
Made Trade is an online store that offers a variety of eco-friendly and sustainable household items and fashion items. Made Trade offers only top-quality ethically-made products and gives a description of how each product is sustainable. They provide a wide range of vegan and heritage clothing and accessories and accessories for your home.
Made Trade was founded in 2018 by Cayley Pater and Andy Ives, two entrepreneurs who share a passion for sustainability and innovative wireless Speaker fair trade. They wanted to establish a shop that offered products that were ethically and sustainably sourced, as well as exquisitely created.
The goal of the company is to make shopping mindfully simple, and their beautiful online store allows for customers to find the best sustainable home items as well as wardrobe staples and accessories for their lifestyles. The products they sell are made of earth-friendly materials and they strive to ensure that their designers earn a decent wage and have Microwave Safe Ceramic Ramekins working conditions.
Made Trade supports social enterprises and women-owned businesses in addition to ethical and sustainable products. In fact, the majority of their suppliers are owned by women. The company is also certified to be climate neutral. This demonstrates its commitment to environmental responsibility.
Made Trade only carries products made in the USA This means that they adhere to the highest standards of ethics and ethical methods of sourcing. They are committed to ensuring that their makers receive an adequate and reasonable wage, work under safe and healthy conditions, and focus on sustainable growth for their business. They also use recycled and upcycled materials as well as mineral and plant dyes that are better for the environment than chemical dyes. Made Trade is committed to protecting animals and does not sell any products that have been tested on animals.
Better World Books
Better World Books is a socially conscious online bookstore that acquires used books from bookstores, libraries, and other community members and sells them to raise funds for literacy initiatives. The company also donates books that cannot be sold to literacy initiatives and other causes. Better World Books is an for-profit Certified B Corporation that creates value for its customers in terms of economic, social and environmental impact.
The company has a global presence, offering various payment options and shipping options. Customers can choose between millions of used and new titles. The company also offers regular sitewide promotions. These are displayed on the Deals & Offers page of the website. They are also sent to customers via email or text.
In addition to being a socially conscious book retailer, Better World Books also promotes sustainability and literacy initiatives. The company has partnerships with nonprofit organizations, like the Internet Archive, to digitise and preserve books that would otherwise be lost or destroyed. It is also one of the very few online bookstores that offers a wide selection of audiobooks and ebooks.
Better World Books offers several programs that help students and libraries find the best books and to purchase them. Its library collection program offers free shipping and returns. And its textbook collection lets students borrow textbooks or purchase them at affordable prices. It also provides a range of educational tools for students, including its guide to learning. Better World Books is an excellent alternative to Amazon particularly for librarians and students who want top-quality books at a reasonable price. It also offers a variety of international titles that will be a hit with readers all over the globe.
Overstock
Overstock is an online retailer of closeout furniture, home decor and other items. Its inventory comes from big-box retailers that can no longer sell their products, or from suppliers who are trying to sell off surplus stock. It also purchases directly from manufacturers. Customers can buy high-quality products at a low cost.
Overstock offers a variety of ways to shop and shop on the go, including a mobile application that allows shoppers to imagine how furniture would look in their homes. It also comes with an Augmented Reality feature that lets shoppers view 3D renderings of thousands of things, such as sectional sofas and memory foam mattresses. This way, customers can be confident they’ve chosen the right product for their needs, and avoid the hassle of returning.
The right inventory level is crucial to an online business. A low inventory level could cause sales to be lost. On the other the other hand, a high inventory level can stifle new product development and impede access to markets. Tyco Retail Solutions conducted a recent study that revealed that the overstocking of retailers results in billions of dollars in lost revenue every year.
Overstocks are common, but there are ways to avoid them. A warehouse management system lets you manage inventory and order at the appropriate time. A ship-to-customer program can help you reduce storage and warehouse costs while also allowing faster shipping and returns.
Another way to prevent overstock is to use an inventory tool that can automatically sync inventory across different marketplace channels. Shopping Cart Elite’s multichannel listing software, for example, can manage listings across Overstock and other marketplaces from a single dashboard. This tool will reduce time by eliminating the need to manually enter each listing option.
