The Road to Sustainability

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Super Saturday—these are some of the days of the year that most of us, shopaholics, await. Unfortunately, I myself have been victimized by such sales, and you will find me among the thousands of people awaiting the 12 am mark that begins the sale period. Although these sales become addictive to most of us, they are extremely detrimental to the environment.

Sales have encouraged me to purchase products that I do not actually need. As a result, I myself rarely use the sale products. Sadly, the goods just get disposed of in landfills after years of being unused. More waste is generated from online sales, with the packaging, shipping, and returning of products. Nevertheless, consumers are also the ones who continue to demand sustainable products with a report revealing that 81% of consumers would rather purchase from sustainable sellers.

With the demand for sustainability, companies like Amazon have begun shifting to more sustainable practices. Although Amazon is notorious for generating millions of waste each year, it replaced almost 70% of its mixed material bubble mailers with recyclable paper-padded mailers in 2021. They have also reduced their use of corrugated boxes by 35% with a new algorithm that optimizes the number and size of packaging boxes.

Start-ups are also helping companies become more sustainable. An example is Greener, an Australian cleantech startup. They launched an application that tracks the carbon footprint of their consumers by acquiring data from their linked bank accounts. Aside from this, Greener also partners with businesses like Microsoft to provide tailored solutions to remove their carbon footprint.

As companies and startups work together towards sustainability, annual sale periods can become less detrimental to the environment. We can join them in promoting sustainability by being more mindful when shopping, especially on the upcoming Black Friday Sale this November 25. As a previously impulsive shopper, I have started thinking twice before purchasing products. I ask myself, “Do I really need the product? Will I use it in the long run?” I have also started bringing my own reusable bag around to lessen the use of plastics and paper bags. If each one of us forms such simple habits like these, we can contribute to sustainability today.

~TAN, Cayenne

References:

1. Boudreau, C. (2021, November 18). Shopping online surged during covid. now the environmental costs are becoming clearer. Politico. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/18/covid-retail-e-commerce-environment-522786

2. Godfrey, A. (2022, November 15). Is Black Friday bad for the environment? - waste facts. Waste Managed. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.wastemanaged.co.uk/black-friday-waste/#:~:text=Logisitcs%20company%20Optoro%20found%20that,just%20in%20the%20US%20alone

3. Haanaes, K. O. (2022, November 10). Why all businesses should embrace sustainability & how they can do it. IMD business school for management and leadership courses. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/why-all-businesses-should-embrace-sustainability/

4. Igini, M. (2022, September 19). The environmental impact of online shopping. Earth.Org. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://earth.org/online-shopping-and-its-environmental-impact/#:~:text=The%20transport%20of%20goods%20across,the%20consumers%27%20appetite%20for%20convenience

5. Kim, Y., Kang, J., & Chun, H. (2022, March 2). Is online shopping packaging waste a threat to the environment? Economics Letters. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176522000684

6. Report reveals that 81% of people prefer to buy from sustainable sellers. Recycling Lives. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.recyclinglives.com/news/general/report-reveals-81-people-prefer-buy-sustainable-sellers

7. Sustainability (US). (n.d.). Improving our packaging. Sustainability (US). Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/environment/packaging