Shop Green From Home
by: Pat Herron
With the growth of online shopping and the demand for green,
sustainable products, how can you buy the environmentally friendly
products you want and be sure they meet standards that fit your
lifestyle? While not just getting a slick PR campaign to make them
look, and you feel, good?
There is no overall rating system for products to show what they are
made of, how they are manufactured, whether they improve the
environment by being a substitute for less green products and how they
can be recycled. There are so many factors and different types of
consumer goods that it might not be practical to develop such a system.
One program being used by BuyGreen.com, an online store that publishes
their BuyGreen Standards. They look at the overall lifecycle of a
product from cradle to grave.
The four elements they research is
1) Source Material: What is the product made from?
2) Manufacturing: How is it manufactured?
3) Usage, How is it used and what is its effect on the environment?
Finally,
4) Disposal: How is it disposed of and what is the environmental
impact? This information is translated into a number between 1
& 100. The higher the score, the better the product's positive
impact on your life, and on the environment.
Online shopping can offer other benefits to your environment, including
energy saved by not driving around looking for that special gift. You
will also enjoy less time stuck in traffic. By shopping from home you
can look at more sources and take the time to learn about the company
you are buying from. Do they have their own version of product
standards? Do they employ fair trade practices and support local
artisans and manufacturers?
Shopping online means your purchases have to be shipped to you via the
post office, UPS or another shipping company. If possible, ask that
multiple items bought at the same online outlet be shipped together to
cut down on shipping containers. Some companies use recyclable
materials. If your online store is close to you, ask if they will hold
your item until you can come and pick it up. If the item has to be
shipped across country (or from another country), consider your carbon
impact on the environment. Look at stores closer to home for your
goods, or consider buying carbon credits to offset the emissions of
long distance shipping.
It can be tempting to print all of your receipts when you shop online,
but try to reduce your paper use by saving your receipts
electronically. If the online store you're purchasing from does not
give you this option, copy/paste your confirmation page into a text
file (using a program like Microsoft Word or Notepad). Or simply write
down all of your confirmation numbers, order prices, and the website
names/URLs on a single piece of paper for future reference. Most online
stores allow you to create an account on their website, so you can log
in later and acquire all the information regarding your purchases.
When buying online remember to do your research and deal with companies
that reflect your standards. You can have an enjoyable green shopping
experience and impact the environment from home.
About The Author
Improve your environment and save money by shopping online for fair
trade products produced with recyclable materials.
http://buygreenathome.com