Clicks>Consumption>Consequences
Forget everything you know about online shopping; eCommerce is changing. New online retail brands like TikTok Shop, Shein, and Temu have seemingly sprung out of nowhere (China) and are shaking the ground beneath the feet of more familiar faces like eBay and Amazon. These new kids on the eCommerce block have set out their stalls primarily on our smartphones and harnessed the power of social influence and gamification to offer deals that look so good that you’d be crazy not to buy.
According to ChannelX, the UK-based eCommerce industry blog, Temu and Shein are flying between 4,000 to 5,000 tons of goods worldwide daily. That’s the equivalent of 100 Boeing 777 freight flights, carrying a lot of low-value impulse purchases and delivering them directly to our homes for less than the cost of a first-class stamp. While there are bargains to be found on these sites, it’s also fair to say there’s a lot of cheap rubbish and products destined for landfill faster than you can say ‘TikTok made me buy it’.
The good news is that conscious consumption is on the rise. Second-hand platforms like Vinted and Back Market are tapping into demand for sustainable alternatives, while smaller retailers offer ethical choices with a community focus. With Gibraltar’s economy closely tied to global retail trends, how we buy matters — for our wallets, our businesses, and the planet.
Rebranding the preloved segment
While every purchase you make online or on the high street will have an environmental impact, there are brands offering a more sustainable choice. A big part of this sustainable eCommerce revolution is the re-imaging of the second-hand market.
The fashion industry is leading the charge, with eCommerce brands like Vinted and Depop successfully rebranding second-hand clothing as pre-loved or vintage. Meanwhile, eBay, with a little help from stars from reality TV’s Love Island, has made second-hand clothing aspirational.
This is having a significant impact on consumers’ buying habits. According to a recent survey by the eCommerce technology company Linnworks, 68% of consumers have made a second-hand purchase in the last year, with 40% of those shoppers buying second-hand clothing. While the cost-of-living crisis is clearly a driving force behind this trend, there is also a growing movement to more sustainable shopping practices, particularly amongst Gen X consumers.
According to Keep Britain Tidy, 10,000 items of clothing are sent to landfill in the UK every five minutes of the day. When you consider the massive scale of the problem, anything that can be done to reduce this incredible waste is essential.
Distressed Inventory
While any efforts to extend the lifespan of clothing through the second-hand market should be applauded, the fashion industry has a more significant problem. In an industry recognised for short sales seasons and high numbers of returns, the industry manages millions of items of overstock and distressed inventory that it cannot or will not sell. Reports suggest that upwards of 40% of clothes made every year go unsold. Sadly, much of this waste material is destined for landfill.
While many traditional retail brands’ business models are not equipped to effectively manage these overstocks, a new breed of online marketplaces has emerged to help liquidate stock and prevent unsold inventory from going to landfills. eCommerce sites like Secret Sales manage overstocks from thousands of European retailers, including many luxury brands.
Alongside the obvious environmental impact sites like Secret Sales aim to redress, they also solve a significant economic problem referencing £140 million worth of stock going to landfills in markets like the UK every year.
Technology and e-waste
But it’s not just the fashion industry embracing a more conscious approach to ecommerce. Technology and consumer electronics is another sector making strides to improve its environmental impact.
Online marketplaces like Back Market and MusicMagpie are promoting second-hand and refurbished tech as an affordable, reliable and sustainable alternative to buying brand new.
They also encourage individuals and corporations to reconsider what they do with their old tech. You might see that old phone in your junk drawer (we’ve all got one) as an insignificant problem. But when you dig a little deeper into how that smartphone was made, it really makes you think.
Back Market offers a compelling reason to consider recycling old devices and buying refurbished tech by highlighting the environmental impact of manufacturing a new smartphone. This process includes the excavation of 246 kg of raw materials, 89,000 litres of fresh water, and 84 kg of CO2e (the equivalent of 600 miles of driving).
Gibraltar Opportunity
The data used for this article largely references UK trends and information, but this doesn’t mean that Gibraltar can bury its head in the sand and think these challenges don’t exist here. There are problems to solve when it comes to handling e-waste and unsold inventory, but there could be opportunities too. Could there be space for local versions of Backmarket, Vinted and Wallapop? It has certainly worked for the food delivery sector…
While global e-commerce giants like Amazon, Shein and Temu dominate online shopping, there’s an ethical alternative much closer to home – the small businesses. In a world where sustainability is becoming more than just a buzzword, supporting local enterprises offers a more environmentally conscious option. Our homegrown retailers also bring a personal touch and accountability to their practices, ensuring that every purchase supports a business committed to ethical standards, quality, and the local economy. In doing so, we not only make more responsible consumer choices but also contribute to strengthening our community.
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Thrive Editor's Letter |
Editor’s Welcome
Welcome to the fifth edition of Thrive magazine. Too often the narrative around business focuses on success and, in my view, we forget to talk about failure. That’s why we lead this edition with EPIC FAILS by Katie Buller—because understanding what doesn’t work is just as important as what does.
My name is John Hayes, and I'm a really busy guy. Busy procrastinating most of the time. You wouldn't believe how many unessential tasks I had to complete before sitting down and writing this article. Those sales reports and emails don't check themselves. Yep, I've been busy. Busy doing nothing. We've all had one of those days where we feel like we've been incredibly "busy" - but can't quite put our finger on what we actually accomplished. Maybe we spent three hours answering emails, another two fiddling with a spreadsheet no one asked for, and another hour in a meeting that could have been an email or WhatsApp message. At the end of it all, the to-do list somehow got longer, not shorter.
With its largely service-based economy, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Gibraltar didn't have to deal with the problem of toxic waste, perhaps more commonly seen in countries reliant on manufacturing, mining and even agriculture. However, every gaming company, insurance firm, fintech organisation, retailer, restaurant, and literally every other business on the Rock is potentially responsible for producing a particularly nasty waste byproduct - e-waste.
Technology is having a major effect on every aspect of our lives, and the retail environment is not immune to these changes. Not only has online shopping revolutionised the way we think about buying and consuming, but it has also dramatically changed how we shop in physical stores.
One of the most dangerous things anyone can say in business is, "We've always done it this way." This phrase doesn't age well and puts businesses at risk. "We've always done it this way" can quickly look like "flogging a dead horse." This doesn't always mean that businesses need to change everything. Some things, like great service, never go out of fashion. But when sales start to slow down, it's always a good idea to consider taking a new approach. Rebranding a product, service, or entire enterprise can be part of this process. But rebranding should never be taken lightly.
After teaching in schools for 18 years I decided to take the plunge and embark on a self-employed life. Driven by my passion for teaching children with special educational needs I set out to discover alternative ways to make education accessible to all. My vision was to have the individual in mind, with their own strengths and challenges, and with that came the birth of ‘edYOUcation Clare Francis’; bringing the YOU into learning.
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During a recent and very long overdue catch up with my friend Trina, I had one of those ‘Aha moments’. To be fair, as someone who spends a lot of time interviewing experts, these moments happen to me a lot, but this one was different. In the 20 years Trina and I have been friends, she’s developed marketing strategies for global brands including Coca Cola, Virgin Atlantic, Nestlé and IKEA . Impressive stuff, but it’s what she’s working on now that really got me thinking…Taking inspiration from the military and politics, Trina and her business partners set up The Competitive Wargaming Team and now deliver secret, scenario-based ‘corporate war rooms’ for senior leaders designed to predict and outmaneuver competitor moves.
Love is big business. According to official statistics, 1,745 weddings took place in Gibraltar in 2021 followed by another 1,761 weddings in 2022 and a further 1640 in 2023. That’s around 33 weddings each week or 6 every single day. With an estimated population of around 33,000, it’s safe to say that, no, we aren’t all marrying each other, but that Gibraltar is a very popular place for many people to come and say ‘I do’. In fact, in all three years, non-residents outnumbered residents by an average of 90% to 10%. The stats point to a healthy wedding sector, one that our Minister for Tourism, Christian Santos is keen to develop. In an interview with the Gibraltar Chronicle he recently said he wanted; “Gibraltar to be the Las Vegas of Europe” when it comes to weddings. Unlike Vegas, we don’t have Elvis. But we do have John. Music legend John Lennon famously married Yoko Ono here in 1969 and put the Rock on the map for ‘Fast Track’ weddings. If music’s not your thing, acting legend Sean Connery (AKA James Bond) also tied the knot here (twice)!
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