Most of us are, relatively speaking, more aware of the environment and our impact on it these days. Even so, it seems unlikely that we are going to transform into a nation of eco-warriors overnight – but the majority of us are more than happy to put in some effort to be kinder to the environment. In fact it’s a lot of relatively small changes by a large number of people that will produce the biggest difference. The good news is that you can save both time and money whilst still being more environmentally friendly!
For example, a study undertaken by Carnegie Melon University recently concluded that shopping on the internet has a reduced environmental impact when compared to the traditional method of using traditional retail outlets. One example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick. The environmental impact of the traditional retail method was found to be 35% greater than making a similar purchase online.
A parallel study – carried out by CleanTech – found that the carbon footprint of a standard printed book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. However, this figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer got into their car, drove to the store, purchased their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered in the mail.
Roughly 65% of the emissions produced by traditional shopping methods come about as a direct result of the customer’s transportation to and from the store.
Shopping online is not only better from an environmental perspective – it can save you time and you will frequently find what you’re looking for at a lower price. You can maximize the environmental benefits further just by choosing the right product type.
If, for example, you decide to buy e-books instead of the traditional paper type, you will save on ink, paper and the energy consumed in the printing and binding process. Generally speaking, electronic books cost less than the printed versions – plus you save on gas. You can even take out subscriptions to get newspapers and magazines electronically delivered to e-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle reader on a daily basis.
In a similar manner, if you choose to download music to your PC or mp3 player, you will save on CDs, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies, which you can now do from iTunes, Amazon and a number of other sites also has both cost and environmental benefits.
So when it comes to shopping on the internet, consider adopting a twin pronged strategy. First of all, if you can save a car journey to the store by buying online then that will generally be the best option. Secondly, if you can replace physical products with downloadable ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the planet – but you will save yourself time and money as well.
Check out the Amazon Kindle ebook reader and find out how to save money by getting free Kindle books.
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