Etsy, the global marketplace for unique and creative items, is the first major online shopping destination to offset 100% of carbon emissions from delivery. Every time a customer purchases an item, Etsy balances out the carbon emissions by investing in environmental projects.
While talking to India CSR Network, Himanshu Wardhan, MD, Etsy India, said, “At Etsy, we recognize that we run our business within a complex global system. We rely on energy to run our operations, and many of our sellers depend on an abundant supply of materials to produce their unique and special items. In the face of a changing climate, we need to be proactive in how we manage our resources.”
“Etsy is committed to being a good environmental steward, and that’s why one of our key impact goals is to build long-term resilience by eliminating our carbon impacts and fostering responsible resource use. Globally, we’re committed to reducing the intensity of our energy use by 25% by 2025, in offices and our computing infrastructure.”
He said, “Etsy has set a goal of running zero waste operations by 2020.”
Etsy promotes sellers of unique products made from recycled items and those promoting environmental protection.
Take an example of Niharika Rajput. She is a practising wildlife artist based in New Delhi, which makes her the ideal advocate for this day. She uses sculpture and installation as her medium to investigate the damage and dissociation caused by the urban intellect and the urgency to restore nostalgia, within the deconstructed realms of the urban society.
She specializes in creating intricate paper sculptures of birds and animals, especially species that are on the verge of extinction. She has an intriguing eye for nature’s most sophisticated mechanisms but her love for birds is unmatched. Her ongoing projects are dealing with the subject of Bird Conservation in India and all over the world, likewise. She has a wonderful eye for detail, an innate sensitivity to texture, colour and material and a love of playful juxtapositions.
From being an environmentalist to creating awareness about nature as a seller, she encourages fellow creators to be mindful of the environment and create a positive impact for a sustainable future and using an Etsy shop to their advantage.
“We live in a society where people are wearing and buying the same mass-produced products. But Etsy is like a refuge in the sea of sameness. The products are unique and the buyer and seller connect in a real human way”, Niharika says.
