Five easy ways to make your online shopping more sustainable this festive season
- Written by Felippa Amanta, PhD Candidate, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Throughout the holiday season, the urgent need for sustainable consumption is clear. Some 300,000 tonnes of clothing[1] and 471 million small electrical everyday items[2] end up in household waste in the UK in a year, with the number of unwanted items increasing significantly just after Black Friday[3]. The current trend of overconsumption is fuelling climate change, nature loss and pollution.
Meanwhile, the appetite for sustainability in our shopping is increasing. More than half of people in the UK[4] are willing to spend more on environmentally friendly products. While the best thing for our planet is still to buy nothing or consume less, gift giving is a big part of our social and cultural life. The challenge is to balance showing our care to family and friends with leaving the least impact on the environment.
Online shopping, now making up 28% of the UK’s total retail sales[5], has changed our shopping experience with so many ads and options. As part of my research into consumption, I have interviewed 14 households in Oxfordshire who considered online shopping convenient, but also flagged that it resulted in “choice overload”.
Online shopping can indeed be a double-edged sword[6]. On one hand, it can promote eco-friendly solutions and help eco-conscious shoppers make more sustainable choices. On the other, shopping websites often overwhelm or induce unnecessary consumption, especially with endless advertisements and promotions on social media.
So, here are five eco-conscious ways to improve your online shopping:
1. Buy less
A key principle is to reduce the amount being bought, used and wasted. You can reduce your material footprint[7] by substituting physical goods, such as books, CDs and DVDs, with virtual ones – known as “dematerialisation”. These substitutions have the potential for energy savings mainly by eliminating the production of physical items. A review of studies on replacing paper publications with e-books suggests a lifetime energy saving of 70-80%[8]. Consider buying an e-book or audiobook instead of hard copies for your bookworm friends and relatives.
2. Share more
The internet has made it easier to shift from ownership to sharing resources with the community. Membership of a car-sharing club, for example, reduces the overall number of vehicles and increases occupancy[9]. An industry report estimates that each shared car can replace approximately 9-13 private vehicles[10]. In clothing, the most popular online shopping category[11] in the UK, digital platforms also offer rentals for clothes and accessories.
For other items that only get used occasionally, such as party kits or DIY tools, many places in the UK offer a library of things[12], where people can browse online and borrow locally. Before buying a new pasta maker, why not check the library to borrow it for a day of fun? By reducing ownership and sharing resources, you can limit your resource consumption while also decluttering your home.
Read more: A beginner's guide to greenwash and four ways to avoid falling for it[13]
3. Search for sustainable products
Online shopping makes it easier to compare information about different products across different stores. Some websites have conveniently summarised companies’ sustainability scorecards that highlight a brand’s track record, such as the Chocolate Scorecard[14] and Good on You[15] for the fashion and beauty industries. Some platforms filter and curate eco-friendly and Fairtrade products from other sellers on one website[16].
However, be mindful of greenwashing attempts[17] when shopping online, and try to verify a brand’s credibility before buying. Digital platforms such as Provenance[18] help various brands verify and prove their eco claims, enabling shoppers to avoid greenwashing.
4. Join secondhand marketplaces
Digitalisation allows items to be resold more easily. There are now various digital secondhand platforms that give things a new lease of life, from Gumtree to Vinted. Many of the items in secondhand marketplaces are brand new or high-quality items being resold for various reasons. Buying secondhand reduces your material footprint[19] and prevents items going to waste.
Beyond these marketplaces, community-based networks like Freecycle offer free sharing of secondhand goods. After the holiday season, these platforms can be a great way to repurpose any unwanted gifts.
5. Rethink delivery
Shipping and returns of products account for 38% of e-commerce’s total greenhouse gas emissions[21], while packaging accounts for 45%. On Black Friday, the carbon emissions from home delivery orders in the UK were estimated at 429,000 metric tons[22]. The convenient, and often free, delivery hides the distance between us and the product – and the environmental cost of the logistics. Further, product returns increase emissions from additional transport, packaging and processing, and even more so from the products not reaching a secondary consumer and going to waste[23].
Instead of ordering from another country, why not use online shopping to find local businesses? Also, choosing to click-and-collect in stores or using a pick-up point, especially if you walk, cycle or combine the trip with your commute, can reduce emissions from delivery[24].
Another eco-strategy is buying multiple things in one transaction to reduce delivery trips and packaging. And check the product descriptions and reviews carefully before buying, to help avoid returns.
Online shopping often leads to excessive overconsumption. Holiday promotions and online conveniences are designed to encourage shoppers to buy more[25], while ignoring the adverse environmental impacts. Your online shopping does not have to be detrimental to the planet – this holiday season, it’s possible to be thoughtful about your loved ones and the environment.
