Mindzle

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It’s probably fair to say that most of us are more environmentally aware these days. It seems improbable that we are about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the majority of people are quite happy to make a little effort to be greener. It is a lot of relatively small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the difference. The good news is that you can be more environmentally friendly whilst saving both time and money.

For example, Carnegie Melon University recently conducted a study which concluded that shopping online is considerably better for the environment than the traditional method of shopping at 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.

A parallel study – carried out by CleanTech – found that the carbon footprint of a standard printed book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over the course of its life. However, the carbon footprint doubled if the customer used their car to drive to the store, buy the book and then return home again rather than having it delivered by mail.

Approximately 65% of the emissions generated by traditional shopping methods are a direct result of the customer’s transport to the store and back again.

Not only is shopping online better for the environment – it will save you time and you will often be able to find what you’re after at a better price. You can increase the environmental benefits even more simply by choosing the right type of product.

For example, if you choose to buy electronic books instead of the conventional printed type, you will save on paper, ink and the energy used in the printing and binding process. As a rule, electronic books are cheaper than the printed versions – plus you save on gas. You can even subscribe to get newspapers and magazines delivered to e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle reader every day.

In a similar manner, if you choose to download music to your mp3 player or PC, 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 purchasing goods on the internet, why not use a twin pronged attack. Firstly, if you can avoid a trip to the store in your car by buying online then that will generally be a good option. Secondly, if you can substitute downloadable products for physical ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the environment – but you will save time and money into the bargain.