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If you've ever wondered whether it's greener to use Amazon or head out to the nearest big box store, you're not alone. On the one hand, driving round trip to the mall to pick up a product burns fossil fuels. On the other, getting your stuff shipped to you from God-knows-where doesn't seem too green either. Of course, the greenest thing you can do is not buy new stuff. Barring that, what's the greenest way to get your goods?
In a recent This Vs That matchup, TreeHugger, dug into the impact of shopping online versus driving to the mall. And the winner is...
Well, there isn't one—not really. It's one of those many, many situations that really comes down to the variables. For instance: can you walk or take public transportation to the store in question, rather than drive? If so, going to the mall gets greener.
But that drive is actually pretty ugly, in the green shopping scheme of things, as TreeHugger Collin Dunn explains:
Shipping two 20 pound packages by overnight air—the most energy-intensive delivery mode—still uses 40 percent less fuel than driving 20 miles round-trip to the mall or store or wherever you're going; ground shipping—which is much more efficient than overnight air—checks in at just one-tenth the energy used driving yourself.
And the big box stores like those you find in malls aren't great news, either. The stuff you buy has to be shipped there, where it's stored in either in a warehouse or on the floor—and both are places that must be lit, heated and/or air conditioned. Shopping online cuts out the resource consuming middle man, so to speak—buying something from Amazon means the package has one destination: you.
But, speaking of packaging...Shopping online requires 2.5 times the packaging—bad news for Amazon. And that package.
So what does this all mean? It means that you have to make the call. If you live less than eight miles from the store where you're going to shop, or can get there by other means than driving, the big box store gets the edge. If you've got to drive 20 miles to get to Best Buy, turn to Amazon. If you hate the thought of wasting packaging, then the retail store looks better.
So try to find a green way to get to the store—(carpool, or take the bus. And when you shop online, pool your order with locals with this nifty Facebook app to cut delivery emissions and shipping costs. Green shopping is in the eye of the beholder—but we've got to make an effort.
More on Green Shopping:
Go Green Shopping at Target?
Last-Minute Green Shopping : Via Nativa Fair-Trade Store
Green Up Your Shopping Experience
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