Earth day, observed on April 22, is a great excuse to focus on the environmental issues facing our world. Millions of people across the planet take part in the celebration, often planting trees, holding electronics recycling days, or picking up litter.
(Pixabay / inkflo)
Though there is always room for improvement, many people are doing a better job of caring for the environment. Practices that create pollutants are being replaced with environmentally friendly ones. Even in the way people shop, there is a greater focus on reducing carbon footprints.
This raises an interesting question about which shopping methods are the most environmentally friendly. Consumers today are often more conscientious about assessing the amount of greenhouse gasses that we add to the environment as we shop for everyday items, such as clothes, shoes, and electronic gadgets. Online shopping and brick-and-mortar shopping can impact the environment in different ways. There is an ongoing discussion about which is easier on the planet.
The main argument favoring online shopping is that it does not require the use of lights, air-conditioning, water, etc. that you find in actual physical stores. Physical shopping also requires people to drive to the store of their choice, then drive back home.
Overall, most experts agree that online shopping is more environmentally friendly than store shopping, but customers can minimize their carbon footprint even more by doing the following:
- Consolidate your orders by buying multiple items from single providers of diverse inventory, like Amazon.
- Take advantage of Amazon Prime to get products that are located closer to your location for fast shipping while minimizing how far your product has to go to reach you, minimizing the fuel used for delivery.
- Avoid multiple delivery attempts on missed deliveries by specifying that your product can be left on your doorstep or received by a neighbor.
These environmentally friendly practices for online shopping may seem small, but they can go a long way in bringing about a cleaner environment.
