Circular economy on your eCommerce: how to educate and build loyalty with values

The sale of second-hand, refurbished, reused or reusable products has been gaining popularity rapidly among a fairly broad type of audience.

If you have also spotted the business opportunity in this, this post is written directly for you. We are going to tell you some key points to help you achieve your goal of building customer loyalty, by educating or, better yet, spreading the values you share with your audience.

And you might wonder: is this going to be a theoretical article or are you going to include interesting examples? Of course, we are going to illustrate everything we say with real-world cases that give a clear picture of how to apply these ideas, so it does not just stay in the realm of good intentions.

Let’s get started.

Many people may think it’s not a company’s role to educate anyone, that we are here to sell. If you are one of those people, allow me to make a few points.

First of all, a company made up of specialists in its niche knows what it is talking about. An user who has little knowledge needs guidance, but even more so, a user who knows their stuff will distrust a brand that knows less than they do.

It is absolutely essential to build a sense of authority, and that is achieved through education (among other things).

In the case of the circular economy, we find many people in both groups: sustainability experts with solid principles and other conscious individuals who need guidance and a lot of trust when it comes to buying.

For both segments, educating is a way to build a strong bond and a competitive value proposition for our products.

This is especially interesting when we talk about second-hand online stores. If you sell refurbished or recovered products, you can create a two-way relationship in which both parties (store and customer) become buyers and sellers.

The best examples in these cases are usually online fashion and accessory stores. If we buy from our users the clothes they no longer wear, we are sending the message that the circular economy is a model that benefits everyone.

That buying and selling cycle that never stops is a great way to ensure customer loyalty while also increasing purchase frequency in a sustainable way.

In other words: same clothes that are not discarded and return to the market until the end of their useful life. This is the complete opposite of fast fashion, which is so harmful to the environment.

Here is an example from a clothing brand, since we are on the topic.

Patagonia has an entire store dedicated to selling used products. Their purpose is clear, and they express it directly on their homepage:

“One of the best things we can do for the planet is to keep stuff in use longer and reduce consumption. That means buying less (or used when necessary), repairing more, and selling what you do not use.”

In addition to being a clear expression of their principles, they back it up with data, stating that 85% of clothing ends up being destroyed.

To prevent this, once they have carried out that educational work, they link us to their buy-back and resale platform.

We love it because:

Shopping experience is increasingly multichannel. We have long talked about the importance of creating an omnichannel sales strategy where all touchpoints are aligned and working together toward the final goal: conversion.

Where does that lead to? When it comes to education, this job cannot rest solely on the online store, we need all the help we can get. A blog, newsletters, our social media profiles… even physical stores, if we have them.

Here is a quick example where all of this is used to teach people how to preserve, reuse, and ultimately recycle products.

I am talking about Everlane, a brand widely recognized for its commitment to building a cleaner fashion industry with less environmental impact.

Just like Patagonia, they have a second-hand product section where they buy back clothing from customers. But here I want to focus on a very educational part of their website, which conveys authority and commitment.

Any user with a bit of interest can learn a lot about the sustainable fashion industry in general, and about Everlane’s role in it. You will find impact reports, detailed explanations of their processes, the materials they use…

But they do not stop at the website. On their social media, they share plenty of deep, well-researched, and informative content about the circular economy.

We love it because:

This example is a bit more specific, super interesting, but more niche in terms of application.

Some products, like cosmetics, have the ecological downside of requiring packaging that is not necessarily eco-friendly.

This sector tends to be on the cutting edge of everything, so it is been years since people started talking about a zero waste policy.

This is not always possible, but even so, you can implement a sustainable circular economy policy that also supports repeat purchasing and builds loyalty.

If you are wondering how, take a look at what Lush does. For every reusable container you return to their store, you get a discount on your next purchase. A simple way to encourage repeat buying and reduce container use.