In a world increasingly oriented towards e-commerce, many are wondering what to do Online shopping is more or less sustainable than in-store shopping. An investigation Altroconsumoconducted on over 1,000 participants through the ACmakers platform and which falls within the ‘Choose Bulk or Recyclable’ project, with the aim of promoting information and training of consumers and raising their awareness regarding the reduction of packaging through reuse, recycling, ease of disposal and understanding of labels, it has explored this topic in depth, exploring and quantifying the real environmental impacts of digital purchases.
Using a pair of Bluetooth earphones as an example, the entire life cycle of the product was covered, from factory to delivery, analyzing CO2 emissions and the packaging used. “When asked ‘how much packaging does a pair of earphones come into contact with before being sold online?’, only 1 participant out of 10 chose the right one from the four available options, i.e. ‘between 9 and 11 packages’. In addition to the packaging necessary for transport from the factory to the relevant warehouse. In fact, earphones sold online require single or personalized packaging also for shipping from the warehouse to the final recipient. The sale of the same product in a store requires a number of packaging components lower, around 6-8”, explains Altroconsumo in a note.
Continuing with the example of earphones, when asked ‘which type of purchase produces the most CO2?’, most responded that online purchases are the most harmful to the environment. “While – says Altroconsumo – the answer to indicate was another, ‘the outlet outside the city’. This is because the large extra-urban sales points, in addition to being the cause of high CO2 emissions (due to heating, cooling and outlet lighting), are a source of further pollution, since customers have to travel long distances to reach them, mostly with their own private vehicle”.
Some recent studies highlight the key role that consumer behavior plays in favor or otherwise of environmental sustainability, first of all the way in which people travel to reach the store or the point of collection of the purchased good. “It has emerged that the automated warehouses that make up the online purchasing chain are generally more efficient in terms of energy per unit of product. In fact, more and more logistics companies are investing in electric delivery fleets and high-powered warehouses. low emissions”, notes the consumer organisation.
The Altroconsumo survey highlights that “consumers also have an active role in reducing their impact, for example by avoiding returns, preferring collection in a physical point close to home and correctly differentiating packaging. To reduce the environmental impact it is It is essential, in fact, for citizens to correctly manage packaging through separate waste collection. For example, padded paper bags usually go in the unsorted bin, but if the paper and plastic parts are easily separable, it is possible to separate them For optimal recycling, it is advisable to remove adhesive labels and other elements such as tapes and staples from paper boxes before disposing of them.”
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