Making Sustainable And Climate-Friendly Choices When Online Shopping
The internet is a vast resource that has created easy ways for us to purchase essentials. Clothing, furniture, electronics, groceries, and more are all available with the click of a button. The growth of technology and the conversation surrounding climate change has occurred simultaneously. With so many ways to shop online, the number of products labeled as “sustainable” has also increased.
However, it can become difficult to distinguish how sustainable certain online shopping habits actually are. The term “sustainability” is so vast that it’s hard to determine if our actions are actually helping the environment. So what can we look out for to make the best choices before clicking purchase?
Third-party nonprofit organizations, study manufacturers, and government programs such as the Agriculture Department’s organic certification and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star efficiency standard all offer easy ways to find sustainable digital shopping options.
Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who leads a nonprofit that certifies product sustainability, told the Associated Press that “there also isn’t a single clearinghouse that tracks which third-party certifications are the most credible.”
“Therein lies an issue and a challenge. What we haven’t seen so far is a third-third party step in and be the information portal on what a good certification is,” said Grainger-Jones, CEO of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
According to a study recently published in Environmental Science and Technology, there are cases where a person shopping online may emit less emissions than they would if they went to the store. Of course, this depends on which site they’re on, the shipping speed they choose, and how close they live to a brick-and-mortar alternative.
Third-party certification generally is meant to show that an independent group studied sustainability factors. Some focus on certain specific issues while others look at a more general holistic picture.
Certification labels are also widely varied. Some retailers place them directly on the product and others have them listed on the manufacturer’s website. Larger retail bodies typically list them in their product descriptions.
“Ideally you want to look for some certifying bodies because they’ve removed some of that up-front labor that as a consumer you otherwise might have to do,” said Clementina Consens who works for B-Lab, which certifies companies that meet environmental and social standards.
Grainger-Jones said “some companies create their own self-certifications that look convincing but don’t mean much. You can go and buy a self-declared certificate for a couple of thousand dollars.”
Consens stated that companies that are serious about sustainability need to not only have their manufacturing and shipping practices properly assessed, but need to make that information easily accessible to their customers. This builds a foundation of trust between the company and consumer.
Specifically, Consens looks to see if a given company has completed an environmental impact assessment, if they make that information public, and whether or not they have data on the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, water, or energy use.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
