Buying stuff has never been easier. The convenience of buying virtually anything with a few clicks and having them delivered to your doorstop is something our ancestors couldn’t have even dreamed of. But online shopping opens up a whole can of worms. Do you know what you’re actually buying without seeing it? What are the labor conditions of workers involved in the supply chain, from manufacturing to delivery? Is the practice more sustainable than brick and mortar store buying?

None of these questions are easy to answer, but the last one is particularly confusing. At first glance, you’d think that buying online must be more environmentally friendly — with no shops to use a lot of energy and less infrastructure to support. That may be true sometimes, but reality is far more complex.

Over the past decade, e-commerce has surged in popularity. With giants like Amazon, Alibaba, and countless other platforms, online shopping offers unparalleled convenience. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this trend, as lockdowns and social distancing measures pushed consumers to shop online more than ever before. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global e-commerce sales reached $26.7 trillion in 2020, a significant increase from previous years — and the figure keeps rising.

This is an important trend in our society, but surprisingly, there are few studies that compare the large-scale environmental impact of online shops to brick-and-mortar shops. A research carried out by Italian researchers found that most studies highlight real-life shopping as more environmentally friendly, but only slightly. The team, which studied shopping in Italy, found similar results.

“Overall, the results indicate that e-grocery is potentially more sustainable than bricks-and-mortar shopping, with emissions ranging from 10%-30% lower, depending on the specific context.”

However, it’s not as simple as saying “online shopping is better.”

Emissions and transportation

Transportation emissions are a significant factor in the environmental impact of online shopping. The journey of a product from a warehouse to a consumer’s doorstep involves multiple stages of transportation, each contributing to the overall carbon footprint. This process includes long-distance shipping from manufacturers to distribution centers, local deliveries from warehouses to homes, and return trips for products that are sent back.

However, the type of transportation is what really makes a difference here.

Goods ordered online often travel vast distances before reaching consumers. Products manufactured in one country might be shipped to another for distribution by air, sea, or land. Air transport, while fast, is particularly carbon-intensive, emitting significantly more CO2 per ton-kilometer compared to sea or land transport. Sea freight, although more efficient, still contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

We all expect fast delivery (often same-day) delivery, but this fast delivery is what can drastically raise the emissions of our shopping. Anything that involves air travel is bound to have larger emissions.

The final leg of the journey, from a local distribution center to the consumer’s home, is typically handled by delivery vans or trucks. This stage can be especially carbon-intensive, as it often involves multiple stops and starts in urban areas. The rise of same-day and next-day delivery options exacerbates this issue, requiring more vehicles on the road and less efficient routing.

Returns further complicate the transportation emissions of online shopping — and online shoppers are far more likely to return the product (up to 3 times more likely, according to some estimates). Returned items need to be shipped back to warehouses or directly to sellers, adding another layer of transportation emissions. High return rates, particularly in the fashion industry, mean that many products effectively double their transportation footprint before reaching their final destination.

So if you want to buy something online, look at how the product is delivered and shipped — and if possible, don’t push for faster delivery.

Packaging and overpackaging

If there’s one thing that online shops do diligently, it’s packaging; perhaps they do it too diligently.

Retailers aim to protect items during transportation, often leading to the use of multiple layers of packaging and packaging aids, including boxes, bubble wrap, air pillows, and plastic fillers. While these materials provide security, they also generate a substantial amount of waste.

This produces a multifaceted problem.

Firstly, the production of packaging materials, particularly plastics and cardboard, consumes significant natural resources and energy. Plastics are derived from fossil fuels, and their production releases greenhouse gases. Cardboard production, although biodegradable, still involves deforestation and energy-intensive processes.

Secondly, the disposal of packaging waste poses a severe environmental threat. Plastic packaging often ends up in landfills or oceans, where it can persist for hundreds of years, harming wildlife and ecosystems. Even recyclable materials like cardboard can be problematic if not properly recycled, leading to increased landfill waste.

Although the packaging used can vary wildly, on average, products shipped online typically use far more packaging. The emissions and waste from packaging is typically several times higher for online products.

So if online shopping can cause so many issues, how can it be better?

The biggest advantages come from our shopping habits rather than from the inherent benefit of online shopping.

A study carried out by Deloitte concluded that when people go to the mall or other large shops, they buy three and a half products per trip. They also stop at other shops on the way and overall, buy much more than when they go online. Basically, when you shop offline, you buy more — and that creates more emissions.

Furthermore, some of the infrastructure used for brick-and-mortar is really costly in terms of energy usage. A lot of places use round-the-clock air conditioning and a lot of electricity. But when you put everything together, the difference, on average, isn’t as big as you’d expect.

The debate over whether online shopping is more sustainable than traditional retail is complex and multifaceted. Both forms of shopping have their environmental pros and cons. The key to sustainability lies in striking a balance and adopting practices that minimize environmental impact.

The first thing you should do if you want to reduce your environmental impact is simply buy less. Yes, it’s crude but also very efficient. We live in a time of prime consumerism, but we recycle very little of what we use and without a doubt, the most sustainable thing to do is to simply buy less.

The second is to invest in high-quality products that last longer, reducing the need for frequent replacements. This approach not only saves money in the long run but also reduces waste. Sure, you spend more on a quality product — but you use it more and it’s ultimately better for you or both for the environment.

Lastly, if you are buying “fast shopping”, try to support sustainable brands or those that use minimal packaging. Many consumers are okay with paying a premium for sustainability, but simply paying a premium doesn’t guarantee sustainability.

Companies can also make a difference. Advancements in technology, such as AI-driven supply chain optimization and renewable energy-powered delivery vehicles, offer promising solutions for reducing the environmental impact of e-commerce. Hybrid models like click-and-collect services can also help strike a balance between convenience and sustainability.

But ultimately, consumers drive companies to adapt, and consumers can (and should) ask for more sustainable options.

The rise of e-commerce has transformed the way we shop, offering unparalleled convenience and a wide array of products at our fingertips. However, the environmental impact of our digital shopping habits cannot be ignored. From the carbon footprint of deliveries to the waste generated by packaging, online shopping presents significant sustainability challenges.