Five Socially Conscious Online Shopping Sites

Online customers are becoming more aware of where their purchases come 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.

Thankfully, there are plenty of options to pick from when you shop online. This article will discuss some of our most-loved non-Amazon sites that offer a carefully curated selection of products and environmentally friendly fair trade practices.

Rakuten

Rakuten is the most favored eCommerce marketplace in Japan. The sales of its gross merchandise in 2019 exceeded $37 billion. It's a huge online marketplace in the international sense. Most Americans are familiar with Rakuten from its Ebates brand which is a rewards platform for shopping that offers cash back at more than 250 brands and stores. The majority of the other brands and services offered by Rakuten are not as well-known in North America.

In addition to providing a wide range of products, Rakuten has many features that allow businesses to keep customers. Free shipping and return policies as well as a mobile-friendly site are among the features. In addition, Rakuten offers a variety of advertising options to get potential buyers to consider purchasing. These advertising options are available to both national and local retailers.

Rakuten's extensive inventory is a further reason that makes it an excellent option for small- and medium-sized businesses. Its catalog includes a large variety of items, including clothing, food and toys. This assists businesses in increasing their revenues and also builds loyalty. Additionally, it provides an array of payment options which include PayPal.

In order to utilize Rakuten users need to create a free account on the website and connect their credit card. Then, they can earn cash when they shop using the affiliate link on the platform. Users can download an add-on to their browser that informs them when cash back opportunities are available when they browse the internet. The company also picks one store every day to give double cash back for all hours of the day. Cash back is accumulated over three months, and then paid out quarterly through PayPal. Referring friends to the website is another way to earn referral bonuses. These bonuses are an excellent incentive to shop on the site.

Etsy

Etsy is a global marketplace that lets small-scale, independent crafters, designers, and artists meet with customers looking to purchase unique, handcrafted, or vintage items. The site offers a variety of products, including jewelry clothing and home decor. It also offers a range of shipping options and accepts a variety of payment methods including credit cards as well as Etsy gift cards.

It has a significant customer base and offers a variety of tools to help vendors sell their goods. Its focus on hand-crafted and vintage goods attracts a small group of committed buyers. Its secure platform and buyer protection policies encourage buyers to trust the site. Sellers are also provided with access to a network of fellow sellers who are able to provide support and advice.

The platform has a range of shopping and search options to assist customers in finding their ideal product. Its search function lets users sort products by price material, location, and price. It allows users to save items, shops and searches to return to later. Etsy also provides a range of educational resources to aid sellers in growing their businesses.

Scammers utilize the Etsy platform to steal customer information and money. They may 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 payments methods to deceive people.

While Etsy is a great option for small-scale, independent sellers, there are some drawbacks. The complex algorithm used by the platform can have a significant impact on search results and sales and the modifications to the algorithm are frequently made without warning. Some sellers may also find the limited customization and layout options to be limiting.

Made Trade

Made Trade is a store online that offers a variety of eco-friendly and sustainable products for the home and fashion. The company curates high-quality, ethically produced products and explains how each item is sustainable. They offer an assortment of traditional and vegan clothes footwear, durable bath fan air King accessories, and home décor pieces.

Cayley Pater is a passionate environmentalist, and Andy Ives founded Made Trade in 2018. Both entrepreneurs are committed to fair trade and sustainability. They wanted to create a store that sold products that were sustainable and ethically produced, and beautiful designed.

The company's goal is to make conscious shopping easy. Their well-curated online store makes it possible for customers to find the best sustainable home items clothing staples, accessories and wardrobe essentials for their lifestyles. The company's products are constructed from earth-friendly materials and they ensure that their makers earn a decent living, as well as secure working conditions.

Made Trade supports social enterprises and women-owned businesses, in addition to sustainable and ethical products. In fact the majority of their suppliers are women-owned. The company is also certified as climate neutral. This demonstrates its commitment to environmental responsibility.

Made Trade only sells products that are made in the USA which means they adhere to the highest standards of ethics and follow responsible sourcing practices. They're committed to ensuring their employees earn a decent salary and work in safe and healthy conditions. They also prioritize sustainable growth. They also use upcycled and recycled materials, as well as mineral and plant dyes that are more beneficial to the planet than chemical dyes. Made Trade is committed to protecting animals and does not sell products that have been tested on animals.

Better World Books

Better World Books is a socially conscious online bookshop that acquires used books from libraries, bookstores, as well as other community members, and sells them to raise money for literacy initiatives. The company also donates books that can't be sold to literacy initiatives and other causes. Better World Books is a not-for-profit, Certified B Corporation business that creates economic, social, and environmental value for its shareholders.

The company has an international presence, and offers various payment options and shipping options. Customers can choose from millions of used and new titles, and the company often offers special promotions on its website. These are listed 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 seller, Better World Books also supports sustainability and literacy initiatives. It has partnerships with nonprofit organizations, such as the Internet Archive, to digitise and preserve books that could otherwise be lost or destroyed. It is also one of the few online bookstores to offer an extensive range of audiobooks and ebooks.

Better World Books offers several programs to help students and libraries locate the most popular books and purchase them. Its library collection program provides free shipping and returns, and its textbook collection program lets students to rent or purchase textbooks at a low cost. It also offers a variety of educational resources for students, including its guide to studying. Better World Books is a popular alternative to Amazon for students and librarians looking for high-quality books at an affordable price. It also offers a broad selection of international titles that will attract readers from all over the world.

Overstock

Overstock is a retailer of closeout items such as furniture, home décor, and other products. The inventory is sourced from big-box stores that no longer sell the items they used to or from suppliers who want to clear out excess inventory. It also buys directly from manufacturers. Customers can purchase high-quality products at low costs.

Overstock offers many ways to shop, including a mobile app that lets shoppers visualize how furnishings will appear in their homes. It also has an enhanced reality feature that lets customers see 3D renderings of a variety of things, such as sectional sofas and memory foam mattresses. Customers can be confident that they've chosen the best product for their requirements, and avoid the problems of returning it.

Inventory management is crucial to the success of an online business. Insufficient stock can lead to lost sales, while excessive stock can bind capital and can prevent new products from reaching the market. A recent study conducted by Tyco Retail Solutions found that overstock costs retailers billions of dollars every year in lost revenue.

Overstocks are commonplace, Industrial Nitrile Gloves but there are ways to avoid them. A warehouse management system allows you to keep track of inventory and place orders at the appropriate time. A ship-to-customer system can help you reduce warehouse and storage costs, as well as allowing faster delivery and returns.

A listing tool that can automatically sync inventory across multiple channels is another option to avoid having an overstock. For instance, the multichannel listing tool from Shopping Cart Elite can manage listings on Overstock and other marketplaces in one dashboard. This tool can reduce time by eliminating the requirement to manually enter each listing option.