The UN recently released a terrifying report that we have only a few months left to act to save the future of the planet and we can all do our bit by living more sustainably.
That doesn’t necessarily mean ditching the modern world and growing all your own food – though of course there’s nothing wrong with being self-sufficient. No, if we all make small changes it makes a big difference –and one of those ways is to buy and sell more sustainably.
Below are just a few ways you make a difference, whether you’re new to buying and selling in an online auction, or an old hand at it.
You’re in the right place with William George. Here we do our best for the planet by continuing to work to become carbon neutral, providing our team with opportunities to volunteer on local projects which benefit the environment, and not selling harmful goods such as furs and ivory. We also vet all the traders who sell through our website to ensure they adhere to the same standards that we do. So, using us to sell your goods is one step towards a greater sustainability.
It might sound daft to mention it but it would be remiss to overlook the most obvious topic of selling sustainably. Sustainability doesn’t just mean products that don’t harm the planet – it’s about people and the planet. Keep an eye on items that use ecologically sourced raw materials and that pay a fair wage to the workers. Not only are you doing a good deed but it gives you an additional string to your marketing bow. Mention it in your description and you’ll attract the sustainably minded.
Sell second-hand items, a fantastic way to boost your sustainable credentials. Giving a new life to second-hand goods are a brilliant way to cutdown on waste and it’s a growing market as more and more people turn to pre-loved items in their quest to reduce their impact on the planet.
To cut a long story short, retail returns would traditionally have been destined for landfill so buying them up with the intention of selling them on is a solid way to trade sustainably. Retail returns are products that have been taken back to a store, either an online shop or high street retailer, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are broken, sometimes they are damaged but often it’s simply a matter of a customer having a change of heart. It’s been a growing problem in recent years for many major retailers with shoppers using free returns as a way to try before they buy. William George has provided the ultimate solution to a wide range of major high street retailers so there are weekly sales of retail returns. It provides you with a perfect source of high-quality products at bargain prices which are also sustainable.
A step up the sustainability ladder from pre-loved is repaired or reconditioned items. In today’s rather wasteful society, a lot of broken items just get binned which is a huge drain on the planet’s resources.If you’re a dab hand with spanner or know your way round a soldering iron, this is a perfect way to score sustainability points. As already mentioned, palettes of retail returns may contain broken items but not always so simply search for broken goods, often billed as spares or repairs. If you can turn something broken to good working order then not only are you doing the environment a solid, you stand a good chance of making a decent profit. Win-win.
Now, head over to our live auctions and start shopping sustainably!