Positive Impact

Mercari’s Positive Impact (Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions)

This section highlights the positive impact of Mercari's business activities (avoided greenhouse gas emissions).

Greenhouse gases avoided through Mercari transactions

Annual Total of 530,000 Tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Avoided in Japan and the US Through Mercari’s Business Activities

greenhousegas_emisions

According to the results3 of calculating the reduction contribution across five categories, researchers discovered that through Mercari transactions in both Japan and the US, we avoided approximately 530,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The categories examined were “Apparel” (Women’s Fashion, Men’s Fashion, and Babies & Kids); “Sneakers” (Women’s Fashion, Men’s Fashion, and Kids); “Electronics” (Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets); “Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Magazines;” and “CDs, DVDs, and BDs (Blu-ray Discs)”2. This is equivalent to approximately 220 covered baseball stadiums.4

In a breakdown by category, annual transactions on Mercari for “Apparel” made the greatest contribution, avoiding 430,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. On a per-unit basis, the reduction contribution resulting from a single apparel category transaction avoided the equivalent of approximately 9.3 kg of greenhouse gases.
The positive impact of our Mercari marketplace business on the environment increases the more users use our service. As a result, the growth of our business itself helps solve environmental issues.

 

Breakdown of greenhouse gas reduction contributions through Mercari transactions by category

greenhousegas_emisions

  • Apparel: 426,952 tons (Japan: 360,472 tons; US: 66,481 tons)   
  • Sneakers: 50,902 tons (Japan: 40,283 tons; US: 10,619 tons)  
  • Electronics (Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets): 32,580 tons (Japan: 23,166 tons; US: 9,415 tons)  
  • Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Magazines: 16,418 tons (Japan: 15,985 tons; US: 433 tons)  
  • CDs, DVDs, and BDs: 3,007 tons (Japan: 2,915 tons; US: 92 tons) 

 

Breakdown of contributions to avoiding greenhouse gases (per transaction) through Mercari transactions by category

  • Apparel: Approx. 9.3 kg
  • Sneakers: Approx. 14.9 kg
  • Electronics (Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets): Approx. 27 kg
  • Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Magazines: Approx. 0.7 kg
  • CDs, DVDs, and BDs: Approx. 0.3 kg

Researchers calculated greenhouse gas reduction contributions under the assumption that the items bought and sold for each category were used instead of new products, thereby avoiding greenhouse gas emissions. Taking into account product lifecycle, such as item production, distribution, usage, and disposal, researchers estimated the contributions to avoiding greenhouse gas emissions by calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated in the shipping of items between Mercari users as well as based on the frequency of use of Mercari and the product use life (in years) calculated from the results of a Mercari user survey.5, 6

 

Weight of apparel waste avoided thanks to its listing on Mercari

In Japan alone, users avoided approximately 43,000 tons of apparel waste (by weight) by listing items they no longer needed on Mercari. This is equivalent to approximately 9% of the total 480,000 tons of apparel thrown away annually in Japan.7
By buying and selling no-longer-worn apparel on Mercari instead of throwing it away, users can reduce the burden on the environment and move closer to creating a circular economy.


1. US numbers were calculated independently for Mercari US by referencing the calculations used as the basis for analyzing data for the Mercari app in Japan.
2. The calculation includes secondhand items purchased on the Japan and US Mercari marketplace apps for which transactions were completed from April 2022 to March 2023 in the following categories: Women’s Fashion, Men’s Fashion, Babies & Kids (the preceding three categories include the Sneakers category); Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets; Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Magazines; CDs, DVDs, and BDs.
3. See below.
– The amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided by reusing items in place of buying new items = Amount of GHGs generated by using new items – Amount of GHGs generated by reusing items = (Number of new items equivalent to secondhand items x GHG emissions generated by new items) – (Number of secondhand items x GHG emissions generated by secondhand items)
– The effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided by reusing electronics (extending their product use life) = Amount of GHGs generated by using only new items – Amount of GHGs generated by reusing items = (Number of devices when only using new items x GHG emissions generated by new items) – (Number of devices when using both new and secondhand items and extending the product use life x GHG emissions generated through using new and secondhand items)
4. Volume of CO2 equivalent to one covered baseball stadium: Approx. 2,436 t -CO2 (Volume of Tokyo Dome: 1.24M m3 = 1.24M kL, 1 mol = 22.4 L = 44 g – CO2, Source: Tokyo Dome webpage https://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/faq/dome/)
5. Summary of Mercari user survey
Apparel and Sneakers categories
– Period: January 30 to February 3, 2023
– Target: Users who listed or purchased items on the Mercari marketplace app in the apparel categories
– Method: Mercari app survey
– Number of respondents: Listers: 18,137, Buyers: 13,696
Electronics category—period: January 19 to January 25, 2023
– Target: Users who listed or purchased an item on the Mercari marketplace app in an electronics category
– Method: Mercari app survey
– Number of respondents: Listers: 16,174, Buyers: 10,699
Books & Music category
– Period: June 26 to July 2, 2023
Target: Users who listed or purchased an item on the Mercari marketplace app in a books or music category
– Method: Mercari app survey
– Number of respondents: Listers: 4,264, Buyers: 2,812
6. The amount of GHG emissions generated from materials and energy used to calculate the amount of GHG emissions cited in this release were based on figures referenced mainly from the “IDEA v3.2” LCI database.
7. Calculated based on the number of items listed in the Women’s, Men’s, and Kids’ categories for Mercari in Japan from April 2022 to March 2023 Figures for weight of apparel were referenced from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data (Source: Weight of apparel taken from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s data. (Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry “Survey on Measures to Revitalize the Textile and Clothing Industry” https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/collections/info:ndljp/pid/1621320/www.meti.go.jp/report/downloadfiles/g20523b01j.pdf)