Embracing A More Sustainable Future with Onport

Industry conferences offer excellent opportunities to network within different organisations, gain valuable contacts and discover thought-provoking new ideas about the changing nature of commerce and the world around us. This year Onport was fortunate to participate in the annual “Retail Without Borders” conference and over the course of two days, a number of industry experts spoke about a wide range of eCommerce related topics.

A reoccurring theme throughout the different panels discussions was the important topic of sustainability and supporting the green economy. One discussion in particular featured representatives from the likes Greenr, Vivobarefoot, and also Cirqular. Each offered a different perspective on this increasingly important topic.

Key Takeaways

• Definition of Sustainability - There is more to it than we may think.
• Regeneration - Is this a more appropriate term?
• Emotion behind each purchase.
• How Onport empowers its customers in their sustainability initiatives.

Sustainability

Sustainability is often seen as synonymous with being eco-friendly. Although that is true, there is a great deal more to the meaning. We are all aware of the major eco-credentials such as materials, labor, supply chain, packaging, distribution, and how we quantify the overall impact this process has on the planet. We often forget the importance of asking the question, “Is the brand sustainable with it’s economics?” Meaning, can the brand survive today, to make an even bigger impact on ethical consumerism tomorrow?

It is important to make sure the infrastructure of the business is strong and continuously viable. The more profitable a brand can be, the more they will reinvest in delivering a more sustainable economy and therefore, offer further visibility to their overall ethical initiative.

Regeneration

Have we been looking at this the wrong way all along? It’s easy to get stuck in a standard linear system with finite resources, but decoupling from this and rethinking the design entirely may be the answer.

Rather than sustaining the level of damage already done, building an evolving regenerative business that does not get grouped together with any potential greenwashed trends is a much better mindset to have. If we think more about true regeneration and have a marginal gains mindset, a difference can and will be made slowly over time.

Emotions Behind Each Purchase

Not only is it key to have a strong vetting process for your products, but you also must market them in a way that makes the consumer feel great about their purchase and that they are making a net positive impact on people and the planet. A sustainable business should strive to establish an emotion connection with its customer base.

Many who purchase a Tesla for example do not do so purely based on a sustainable or regenerative reason. But it is those sustainable components that will get the buyer to spend extra on that product. From a brand perspective, it is important that you are creating a customer journey that includes impactful story telling through imagery and brand articulation, and leaves the consumer feeling that they weren’t told or coerced into buying something, but that they made that choice on their own for the betterment of the planet.

Onport and the Sustainable Marketplace

Onport is a multi-vendor marketplace and dropshipping platform. Onport enables product marketplaces to streamline and automate their inventory, orders, payments, and shipping operations. Designed to be flexible, Onport can accommodate both those seeking an out-the-box solution and through our API, those who require a more bespoke implementation. From growing SMEs to well-established Enterprises, Onport’s infrastructure is designed to be a reliable partner for growth.

With Onport, our customers can scale with confidence, streamline their daily operations as well as create truly unique marketplaces. Onport is trusted by brands such as Project N95, Ad Hoc Atelier, and Naduvi as well as over a hundred other companies.