Be Environmentally Friendly – Shop Online

These days, it’s probably fair to say that many of us are more environmentally conscious. We are not about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the most people are quite willing to make a little extra effort to be greener. And that’s fine – it is actually a broad range of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the biggest difference. The good news is that as well as being more environmentally friendly you can save both time and money at the same time.

For example, a recent study carried out by Carnegie Melon University clearly showed that online shopping has a lower environmental impact than the traditional method of buying from retail outlets. One example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick, and it was found the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% greater than making an identical purchase using the internet.

Similar research – undertaken by CleanTech – found that a standard printed book had a carbon footprint of 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. This figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer used their car to drive to the shop, bought their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered by post.

Roughly speaking, 65% of the emissions associated with traditional shopping methods are a consequence of the customer’s transport to the store and the return journey home.

Shopping online is not just a better option for the environment – it will save you time and many times you will find what you’re looking for at a lower price. You can increase the environmental benefits even further just by selecting the right type of product.

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.

Likewise, if you opt 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 Amazon, iTunes and a host of other sites also has both financial 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.

Find out more about the Amazon Kindle reader and see how you can save money by downloading free books for the Kindle.