Bol.com curates 6,500 ecologically friendly gifts

The largest marketplace in the Netherlands, Bol.com, launched a curated sustainable assortment of products in time for the Black Friday and Christmas season. Whilst it’s a relatively small selection of 6,500 products today, the marketplace aims to grow it in the future. However, it does not want to waste time in appealing to shoppers who want to buy ecologically friendly gifts this year.

Products offered will carry the quality mark of the Dutch environmental organisation "Milieu Centraal". It is the start of Bol’s sustainability credentials. Kirsten Palland of Milieu Centraal says: 'We think it is a very positive development that a large online player such as bol.com makes it more accessible to buy more sustainably produced products. Not every consumer knows his way in the current offer of sustainable products. Some are not aware of the sustainable alternatives at all. By launching a special store it becomes clear whether an article is produced with respect to humans, animals and the environment. Milieu Centraal can help people to use the products in a sustainable way.'

Bol.com aims to offer more sustainable products and ecologically friendly gifts, whilst delivering products via electric bikes to have zero CO2 emission for every package delivered by 2025. The marketplace aims to offer at least one alternative ecologically friendly gifts (and for every other product category they sell) by the year 2022.

Sustainable assortment

Bol.com already classified all sustainable products, including ecologically friendly gifts, by one or more criteria. This way, it hopes to make buying choices for consumers easier. If a product qualifies for sustainability criteria, it will appear on the product page. The criteria are 'organic', 'fair-trade', 'social enterprises', 'refurbished', and 'second-hand books'.

• Organic
  An article is organic when it largely consists of natural ingredients that are organically grown.
• Fair-trade
  A fair trade article is an article for which a fair price has been paid to the producer, whereby farmers and workers in developing countries gain a better place in the trade chain.
• Social enterprises
  A social enterprise has a social mission. It is financially independent and not dependent on donations or subsidies. In addition, the company is fair to everyone, transparent and aware of its ecological footprint.
• Refurbished
  A refurbished item is an item that consists of used parts, that has been checked and, if necessary, repaired. It aims to reduce waste.
• Second-hand books
  Second-hand books have already been purchased and used by someone else, by reselling them the lifespan of a book is extended.