Germans Discovering the Ecological Benefits of Buying Used

The coronavirus pandemic has made German consumers more environmentally conscious – and that’s led to an increased appreciation of used products. Those are two of the conclusions of a study carried out by the Wuppertal Institute on behalf of the Berlin State Administration for the Environment, Transportation and Climate Protection and the online shopping platform Ebay.

71 percent of respondents said that environmental protection was becoming more important in their everyday lives, and 62 percent agreed that the pandemic had encouraged them to act more ecologically.

Significantly, this group of respondents was also more likely than others to purchase used goods. 70 percent of those asked in this category said that used products represented an alternative to new ones, compared with 40 percent among the rest. Almost half of the respondents (47 percent) said they could imagine buying used things for the environmental benefits.

That’s good news for the many platforms springing up that offer refurbished consumers products such as mobile phones. It also reflects the orientation of local authorities.

“This study shows how gigantic the potential is for the reuse of quality, functioning items,” Berlin State Secretary for the Environment and Climate Protection told the Internet portal onlinemarktplatz. “Berlin is pursuing a zero waste strategy intended to close ecological circles through recycling and reuse. Everyone can do something in this regard. It starts with not throwing away old things but repairing or selling them.”