Shopping online has become an everyday habit for many people. In today’s digital age, it has caused some negative consequences that may not be apparent. An issue of sustainability is becoming more and more prevalent within the context of online shopping. There are lots of ways for shoppers to be more eco-friendly and considerate when shopping online. Whether individuals go shopping online in stores or have businesses that sell their products online, it is important to consider how we can minimize our environmental impact and increase environmental sustainability.
One of the more common complaints about shopping online is the excessive amount of packaging used. The trend today is towards individual packaging, which uses more resources than bulk packaging because people do not buy in large quantities. Some smaller stores may offer free shipping but will use a lot more packaging to protect the product. This increases the carbon footprint that would otherwise be non-existent with bulk packaging. On the other hand, larger stores tend to deliver packages in bulk and require less packing materials, but more trucks are required to deliver these packages.
Some ways to make your online shopping sustainable include:
- Shopping for products that are made locally or that use local materials. This ensures that transportation of the product is short and does not require miles of plastic in packaging. Locally produced goods reduce the environmental impact that would have occurred if the item had been produced overseas.
- Make sure your retailer uses eco friendly packaging. Don’t accept poor packaging design that requires excessive amounts of plastic or other materials.
- Make sure you aren’t using disposable items that are unnecessary for your purchase. Plastic bags and wrapping can be avoided with some forethought, and if you do end up using them, make sure they can be recycled.
- Support local businesses that are eco friendly and sustainable in their own practices, if possible. Creating a demand for better packaging from online retailers helps spur the change that needs to occur to keep the planet healthy and happy. Without a demand for sustainable practices from retailers, these changes will never come about.
- Look for products that are reusable and can be used over again instead of packaged items that need to be thrown away. Recycling is important but should not be the only option because it still consumes a lot of energy and creates pollution along the way, usually through burning plastics or using toxic chemicals to create new packaging materials. Economically speaking, recycling is not always beneficial, so reducing packaging as much as possible is always better for the environment than recycling only when necessary.
- If you’re ordering online frequently and want to save on shipping costs, it is better to order all items at once rather than several times in one month or over two months. You can combine everything into one box and pay less because of bulk shipping discounts.
Shopping online has many benefits. The ability to order things anywhere in the world and have them delivered right to your doorstep is convenient. However, we must all be aware of the environmental impacts that may not be visible to us. Sustainability is something we should all consider before making our online purchases.