A Freshippo recycling station. Photo credit: Alibaba Group
This week, Alibaba Group’s tech-enhanced supermarket business Freshippo upped its commitment to sustainability by introducing in-store recycling stations for fruit and vegetable packaging.
In other news, the platform company’s philanthropic arm announced a range of environment-themed online educational portals for Chinese consumers and students ahead of Earth Day.
Freshippo Unveils Fruit, Veg Container Recycling at Stores for Earth Day
Freshippo marked Earth Day this year by debuting collection facilities for produce packaging at some stores as the grocery chain looks to cut down on plastic waste.
The stands, located near the checkout areas of three Freshippo stores in Mainland China, make it simple and efficient for consumers to return empty fruit and vegetable packaging for recycling.
Fruit and vegetable boxes are one of the most common types of daily waste, and their main material is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a form of polyester that is used in plastic bottles and more.
Despite the recyclable nature of PET, you often see this packaging in the garbage.
The annual recycling rate of fruit and vegetable boxes is far lower than the overall recycling rate of waste plastics, according to the recycled plastics branch of the China Material Recycling Association (CMRA).
“We are working with Hema to promote clean sorting, centralized collection, packaging and disposal, so that clean fruit and vegetable boxes can enter the entire material recycling system,” CMRA Secretary-General Wang Yonggang said in a statement.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, Freshippo managed to cut the weight of PET packaging in many products by up to 13%. After the event ends this week, the recycling stands will remain in place at the three stores to continue serving customers.
Alibaba Philanthropy Celebrates Earth Day with Educational Activities
This week, Alibaba Philanthropy shared the launch of Earth Day-themed portals on mobile apps across the Alibaba ecosystem.
For instance, users of travel platform Fliggy can click into an area of the app showing suggestions for green holiday ideas, while online second-hand marketplace Xianyu can learn about ocean pollution.
Alibaba Philanthropy also partnered with the Publicity and Education Center of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources to create a charity activity program for college students.
Students who participate in the three-hour public welfare initiative can earn class credits while furthering their understanding of responsible environmental stewardship.
Earth Day 2024: Explore Alibaba’s Green Initiatives Across China
This Earth Day, we take stock of the progress made towards this goal by examining sustainability efforts now underway across Alibaba’s operations in China.
From the deserts of Inner Mongolia to university campuses in Zhejiang, the platform company is supporting efforts among employees, merchants and consumers to live more sustainably.
Explore Alibaba’s recent green achievements
Alibaba’s Dingtalk Launches AI Agent Marketplace, Upgrades AI Assistant
This week, communication app DingTalk launched a marketplace of over 200 AI-powered agents specializing in productivity tools, industry-specific services and enterprise-facing features.
The platform also upgraded its self-developed AI agent, DingTalk AI Assistant, to ingest information from a wider range of sources, including video and images.
Tmall Brings Olympic Games Paris 2024 Official Merchandise to Chinese Fans
Paris 2024 official branded products are now available on the Olympic Store on Alibaba Group’s B2C marketplace Tmall, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this week.
Items on offer include a 38cm-tall plush toy of “The Phryges,” official emblems of the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Paris 2024, in addition to figurines of the mascots at the iconic Eiffel Tower.
