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EBay is perhaps the ultimate online destination for used goods, so it only makes sense that the site is taking its hand-me-down sensibilities a step further with the eBay Box: a shipping container designed to be sent from sellers to buyers and back until the container becomes a soggy heap of post-recycled mud. The box, which is made out of 100% FSC-certified material, features water-based inks and requires minimal tape to close.

The box idea was the grand prize winner at eBay’s annual Innovation Expo, a celebration of creative ideas from eBay employees. Designed for “simple green shipping,” eBay believes that a single box reused five times could save nearly 4,000 trees, 2.4 million gallons of water, and conserve enough energy to juice up 49 homes for a year.

EBay will send out a pilot run of 100,000 boxes in October to all sellers who request them. Recipients can log on to a special website to report on the status of their boxes (and track them as they move from place to place), and after a few months, eBay will evaluate the program and figure out how to proceed.

from http://www.fastcompany.com/1686645/ebay-launches-reusable-box-shipping-program

UPDATE : The green box has been getting a bunch of press

Reuters > http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS207497499520100902

USA Today > http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/ebay-100k-green-shipping-boxes/1

Springwise > http://springwise.com/eco_sustainability/ebaybox/

Green Team Press Release > http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/projects/the-ebay-box

Living Principles Critique > http://www.livingprinciples.org/ebays-reusable-box-not-perfect-but-a-timely-idea/

Triple Pundit Article Featuring the eBay box and me