Banning the sale of disposable plastic products! New developments on eBay UK

On May 23, eBay UK announced that from June 1, 2022, it will ban sellers from selling disposable plastic products on the platform .

It is reported that this decision was made because Scotland passed a new law on environmental protection, which explicitly prohibits the sale of disposable plastic items that may cause damage to the environment through online and offline channels .

eBay said that the new ban will officially take effect in the UK on June 1, 2022. After that, if the relevant disposable plastic products are sold on the eBay UK site , the seller will not only be blocked by eBay, but will also face penalties under British law .

According to the relevant notice of eBay UK site, the disposable plastic products that are banned from sale after June 1 include:

1. Plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks , plates, straws, drink stirrers ) and balloon sticks

2. Food containers made of expanded polystyrene foam

3. Cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene foam , including container lids

eBay UK has issued a formal notice to all sellers, requiring all sellers on the UK site to comply with the new regulations and reminding sellers to review their inventory before June 1 and delete product listings that do not comply with the regulations.

In fact, it is not only the relevant government departments that have noticed the importance of environmental protection, but consumers are also paying more and more attention to the sustainability of products. According to the consumer insight research report of Think with Google , 78% of consumers believe that brands have a responsibility to make efforts to address climate change.

Environmental protection is prevalent in Europe and the United States, and disposable plastic products have long been blacklisted by many European and American consumers. Products with characteristics such as "environmental protection", "sustainable" and "recyclable" are favored by consumers, as can be seen from the keyword searches of consumers on major e-commerce platforms.

In the past 90 days, searches for keywords related to environmental awareness have skyrocketed on Amazon , including an 82% increase in searches for “sustainable product , ” a 77% increase in searches for “eco-friendly , ” a 47% increase in searches for “renewed product,” and a 35% increase in searches for the keyword “used . ”

Additionally, demand for reusable kitchen products continues to grow . On Amazon, searches for “reusable snack bags” have increased 321 % in the past three months , searches for “reusable paper towels” have increased 136% , and sales of “ reusable straws ” have increased 297% overall .

For sellers selling disposable plastic products in the UK, the current product transformation is a must. Whether to completely abandon this related category market or choose to make its packaging into a compliant and environmentally friendly product requires careful consideration.

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