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Alibaba.com Helps Consumers Go Green and Save Some Green

Published: 21 Apr 2009 02:48:08 PST

Oil price hike drove strong demand for solar energy in 2008

Hong Kong (21 April 2009) – The global trade in green products is increasing dramatically, according to popular searches on Alibaba.com, the world's leading B2B e-commerce company.

Analysts had forecast that the multibillion-dollar green products market would lose momentum as consumers worldwide curtail their spending due to the economic downturn, but this trend is not supported by data collected by Alibaba.com. In fact, searches for alternative energy resources such as solar and wind, electric cars, bio-diesel and organic products increased steadily on Alibaba.com over the past two years, driven by growing mainstream environmental awareness, especially in developed countries along with large-scale government initiatives towards clean energy.

Historic rises in oil prices, which peaked at a record US$147 per barrel in the third quarter of 2008, further intensified global attention on the need for alternative energy. This is clearly reflected in the 67 percent increase in searches, particularly for solar energy products, on Alibaba.com during the same period compared to the third quarter of 2007, when oil prices were just US$77 per barrel.

Solar-powered energy and organic products are the fastest growing green sectors on Alibaba.com, increasing 71 percent and 68 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first quarter of 2009. Solar lights are among the hottest green items sold online as some countries in Europe as well as the US move to replace traditional street lights with sun-powered alternatives. This trend is not just at a governmental level, as businesses and factories also move towards solar power for their outdoor lighting. Power savings and consumption reduction used to be the main objective for this shift, but the recession has brought other imperatives to the forefront, such as cost cutting.

"Despite the downturn, online trade in environmentally friendly products is holding up well. This is because going green not only saves money but also creates money, especially as more entrepreneurs develop innovative products to support growing global demand. Also, many consumer-based green options, such as switching to solar lights, both make economic sense and protect the environment. Entrepreneurs and SMEs are realizing that green is good business, as long as there is a fiscal motivation as well as an environmental one,” said David Wei, the CEO of Alibaba.com.

While consumers are lured to the "feel good" and cost-saving benefits of the green sector, entrepreneurs see a new growth industry with lots of business potential. Green technology is becoming more accessible to businesses of all sizes as costs are declining, and favorable government legislation and tax subsidies make it more sustainable. All these factors have led to exponential growth of the market for green goods.

"Climate change is having a positive impact on our business. Our sales have been growing by 30 to 40 percent over the past three years thanks to strong demand for green products from customers in the US, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Solar lighting products are our most popular selling items," said Xiao Benpeng, the International Trade Manager for Huangshi Donper Mech-Electric Group Solar Energy Co., Ltd., a Hubei-based company specializing in high-tech solar energy products and a member of Alibaba.com.

According to US President Barack Obama's stimulus bill, 10 percent of the funding will be allocated to environmental projects. In his inauguration speech, Obama pledged that America “will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories," which has set the tone for the West, while China is committed to generate 16 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

"Around US$30 billion of China's huge stimulus package is to be invested in energy conservation and ecological engineering. These large scale projects are going to have a major impact in driving awareness of green power and the desire for smaller-scale eco-friendly alternatives will escalate significantly, if not exponentially. Green is one of the new opportunities for entrepreneurs around the world, and e-commerce is clearly going to be the platform through which a significant amount of that business is conducted," Wei concluded.

About Alibaba.com Limited

Alibaba.com Limited (HKSE: 1688) (HK.1688) is the global leader in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and the flagship company of Alibaba Group. Founded in 1999, Alibaba.com makes it easy for millions of buyers and suppliers around the world to do business online through three marketplaces: a global trade marketplace (www.alibaba.com) for importers and exporters, a Chinese marketplace (www.alibaba.com.cn) for domestic trade in China, and, through an associated company, a Japanese marketplace (www.alibaba.co.jp) facilitating trade to and from Japan. Together, its marketplaces form a community of 38 million registered users from over 240 countries and regions. Headquartered in Hangzhou, Alibaba.com has offices in more than 40 cities across Greater China as well as in Europe and the United States.