Alibaba brings sustainability into limelight for Singles’ Day festival

It is planning to slash order-related carbon emissions by 30%.

Alibaba Group seeks a stronger focus on the environment and inclusivity to set apart its upcoming 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which it expects to bring a record-breaking 290,000 merchants on the platform, the company said in a press release.

The annual shopping event kicked off with pre-sales on 20 October, with another sales window early next month preceding the 11 November main event. At least 900 million shoppers are expected to take part in 11.11 this year.

The company has expressed plans to slash order-related carbon emissions by 30% YoY, through technological advancements, such as providing recycling services in more than 60,000 package pickup stations operated by Cainiao Network by the start of November.

The logistics service will also leverage its self-developed sorting algorithm to match products with the right parcel size. So far, the tool has processed more than 510 million cardboard boxes and cut packing waste by 15%.

Alibaba will also launch a dedicated vertical to shine a spotlight on eco-friendly brands and products, offering $15.6m (RMB100m) worth of “green-shopping vouchers” to encourage consumers to shop sustainably.

Shoppers also earn “energy points” on Alipay Ant Forest for each green purchase they make. The Alipay e-wallet translates these virtual points into real trees planted in China’s most arid regions in need of reforestation.

Meanwhile, used-goods marketplace Idle Fish – “Xianyu” in Mandarin – will launch a service that encourages users to recycle unwanted gadgets and electronic appliances by rewarding them with deals on energy-efficient products.