Alibaba puts bigger focus on environment and inclusivity for Single's Day sale

Alibaba has kicked off this year's Single's Day campaign with pre-sales on Wednesday, but this year the company has a stronger focus on the environment and inclusivity amid the Chinese government's request for boosting social responsibility and demand for common prosperity. The tech giant said it will roll out measures to help slash order-related carbon emissions. For example, from 1 November onwards, more than 60,000 package pickup stations operated by Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Network will provide recycling services. The logistics service will also leverage its self-developed sorting algorithm to match products with the right parcel size. Currently, Alibaba said it has processed more than 510 million cardboard boxes and cut packing waste by 15%.

The tech giant will also encourage customers to go green. It will launch a dedicated vertical to highlight eco-friendly brands and products, offering ¥100 million (US$15.6) worth of green-shopping vouchers to encourage consumers to shop sustainably. Shoppers can earn “energy points” on Alipay Ant Forest for each green purchase. After purchasing, the Alipay eWallet will translate these virtual points into real trees planted in China’s most arid regions in need of reforestation. Apart from producing green air, Alibaba said these trees will protect soil from erosion and prevent farmland from turning into desert.

The company will also leverage its used-goods marketplace "Xianyu” to launch a service, encouraging users to recycle unwanted gadgets and electronic appliances by rewarding them with deals on energy-efficient products.

Alibaba's CMO Chris Tung said, "This year’s festival marks a new chapter for the Single's Day. We must leverage the power of it to encourage sustainable development and promote inclusiveness to consumers, merchants and partners across our ecosystem.”

In addition to protecting the environment, Alibaba will also help China's underprivileged by promoting accessibility and charitable giving, encouraging consumers to share their purchases made through the company’s Goods for Good programme with each other. The programme was launched in 2006 with the aim to raise funds for a terminally ill Taobao merchant. The company said the Goods for Good programme allows merchants to pledge a portion of their sales to a charity of their choice.

To further encourage merchants to participate, merchants who meet a donation threshold will be awarded special standing and added to a daily ranking showing the 100 most generous merchants, making them more visible to shoppers during the festival. Alibaba will then donate ¥1 for every interaction on a post by consumers on social media during the shopping festival. Donations will go towards charities supporting underprivileged communities, including the elderly living alone, low-income workers and minors whose parents work in cities far from home.

“We want to use our capabilities and technological innovations to create value for society by taking the long view as to what consumers need and what society will need as it develops,” said Tung.

The Chinese government is calling for its people and companies to work on common prosperity. Previously, president Xi Jinping said that by promoting common prosperity, improving human capital, increasing the income of urban and rural residents, China can increase overall productivity and consolidate the foundations for high-quality development. After that, Alibaba announced that it will invest ¥100 billion (US$15.5 billion) by 2025 to support common prosperity.

In addition, Xi announced plans last year, saying that China is hoping to achieve neutrality before 2060. In April 2021, to help the ageing population in the country, the Chinese government asked businesses to redesign their websites and apps for easier navigation.

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