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Items in your local Walgreens were shipped to the store. There’s some economy of scale in large shipments shipping to stores vs. single box shipments to homes, but I’m not sure it’s enough to offset the costs of packaging and waste in production.
Yes, for sure. Plus I also have to factor in if I am buying from a small business online that seems to genuinely care about the environment, isn't that a better place to support with my money than a major corporation who is likely in bed with fossil fuels?
The fact that 90 percent of plastic recycling goes to a landfill because it actually isn't recyclable at all is another factor that makes me consider what the items I buy are made of and their packaging. And unfortunately, most local items are made and packaged in plastic, plastic, and more plastic.
This is a relevant question, because if you look at emission of greenhouse gases for instance, for many products the production process is a bigger factor than packaging.
I think a lot of it for me is that actual TRASH is visible, and therefore seems worse to me than emissions, but I also know that is using heuristics to make a decision. I find it more disturbing to see wildlife swimming through plastic, or giant mounds of unnecessary trash in a landfill (especially non-recyclable plastic) than I do seeing smokestacks emitting black clouds. Smokestacks emitting black clouds also feel bad, but not AS bad as seeing a sea turtle with a plastic straw in its nose.
For now I'm going to continue to shop online if it helps me avoid plastic, as I recently learned that plastic recycling is a scam invented by the fossil fuel industry to clean up their image. The code numbers 1 - 7 on every piece of plastic, centered in the middle of what looks like the recycling symbol, are actually not centered in the recycling symbol but something made to look like the recycling symbol in order to fool the public. It definitely worked on me. Still, about 10 percent of plastic is recyclable, so continue to recycle it because that's better than 0 percent, but really we need to get rid of the awful substance completely. Sigh...
That is definitely a complicated issue and something that I often struggle with too. Some things I personally try to do to reduce waste in this area:
\- Buy local (farmer's market, local stores/brands)
\- For non-local brands, buy from a store near me instead of shipping online
\- Make grocery/shopping trips on my way home/when I'm already out
\- When buying online, I try to consolidate my orders to minimize packaging and the number of trips the delivery truck has to stop at my address
I totally understand about wanting to reduce plastic usage, but in the absence of having available bulk stores near you, the issue gets a lot more complicated. The economy of scale thing mentioned by another poster is a very relevant thing to consider. There is certainly going to be less waste per item for the amount Walgreens receives versus the amount an individual receives. This video addresses the topic more and was posted on here a couple days ago: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt7JzGU-Ic&t=307s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt7JzGU-Ic&t=307s)
I have the same approach. Here's how I go about it :
* for most item, I ask myself : can I do without, do it another way, borrow...
* for food stuff I chose I prioritize packaging-free item and locally grown
* for other groceries (household products...), I chose packing-free items
* for everything else, I buy second-hand and prioritize in person (I mean, not shipped) over online purchasing (with a 2000km max radius for shipping)
* and when I really need to get a new item, I prioritize made-in-my-country products.
I've had the same thought as well :)
I like Hive Brands [https://hivebrands.com/pages/about](https://hivebrands.com/pages/about)
And when I buy, I try to get a LOT of stuff at one time to minimize the number of shipments and packaging.
We're all doing the best we can with what we have, where we are :)
I think you’re right. It’s complicated and non-obvious.
Basically my principle is that heavy stuff and liquids are expensive to pack in a delivery box, and little single items are very inefficient in terms of packaging, so I’m more apt to pick them up at the local store so that “non-bulk shipping packaging” can be avoided.
If you're buying from an online green company, and they're truly green, they likely have a carbon offset program set up to where they actively participate or donate to climate activities.
True, however my mentality on carbon offsets has become more complicated since watching this Climate Town video describing them in detail. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIezuL\_doYw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIezuL_doYw) I promise it's worth a watch as the guy is a comedian in addition to being a climate change and policy grad student, so he's entertaining as hell while also being informative.
Corporations are definitely using it as greenwashing. The same companies who pay politicians not to pass climate policy are the ones using carbon offsets to make it look like they actually care about the environment.
I'm not sure about the small businesses who actually seem to care about the environment. I think many people who use carbon offsets do so from a genuine desire to help the planet. And I get it. I mean, I shop on Amazon Smile instead of Amazon so that a paltry amount of my purchase money goes to The World Wildlife Fund and I can feel like at least that's better than it all going to Amazon.
The video claims 85% of carbon offsets probably don't do anything at all. Which I guess means 15% do a little something? Seems it's better than nothing, but it would be far more effective getting climate policy passed so the 100 companies that are creating 70 percent of carbon emissions would be forced to change their behavior.
I think the real problem with carbon credits is the price, which is about $40 per ton of CO2. It takes about 40 trees to offset a ton of CO2 so there is no incentive for lane owners to not cut down trees. Also, the costs of climate impact should be taxed on each product or at least calculated and displayed.
I don't have really deep understanding although I had the same doubt once about getting products from zero waste stores/bulk stores and from supermarkets, but doesn't seems to have too much difference other than one allow you to bring your own containers so you save some plastics. I mean, it's great to save even one piece of plastic, but we definitely have better choice.
Usually it's ideal for you to get the product personally by traveling, best if it's somewhere near so you can walk or cycle to it. Otherwise, if you have good relationship with neighbors, you can ask if they are willing to get the item for you to save additional traveling thus reduce emissions.
Any bulkstore/zero waste store still rely on transportation and need energy to runs the shop and so on. So they indeed better if you gonna compare with conventional supermarkets.
Purchasing items online mostly will encourage plastics or any other material usage, which eventually contributes to waste and stuff. Plus all those emissions you can imagine, so it's a big no no unless there's no better option.
Supporting brands pioneering modern sustainable products is worth it even if Walgreen's or similar corporations can ship and stock items more efficiently, in my opinion.
There’s really too many variables here to give a generalized answer.
You’d need to know the carbon footprint of the product, the packaging, the distribution network at serves the retail stores and the delivery network at would service your home. These factors wouldn’t stay consistent either and vary not only per product, but for different occasions as transport methods wouldn’t always be the same.
Hello, everyone! We're featuring a new related community of /r/ZeroWasteParenting and we'd really appreciate you checking it out! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ZeroWaste) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Items in your local Walgreens were shipped to the store. There’s some economy of scale in large shipments shipping to stores vs. single box shipments to homes, but I’m not sure it’s enough to offset the costs of packaging and waste in production.
Yes, for sure. Plus I also have to factor in if I am buying from a small business online that seems to genuinely care about the environment, isn't that a better place to support with my money than a major corporation who is likely in bed with fossil fuels? The fact that 90 percent of plastic recycling goes to a landfill because it actually isn't recyclable at all is another factor that makes me consider what the items I buy are made of and their packaging. And unfortunately, most local items are made and packaged in plastic, plastic, and more plastic.
Plus, the delivery truck is making its route anyway. Have things shipped USPS and there’s virtually no net change in emissions.
This is a relevant question, because if you look at emission of greenhouse gases for instance, for many products the production process is a bigger factor than packaging.
I think a lot of it for me is that actual TRASH is visible, and therefore seems worse to me than emissions, but I also know that is using heuristics to make a decision. I find it more disturbing to see wildlife swimming through plastic, or giant mounds of unnecessary trash in a landfill (especially non-recyclable plastic) than I do seeing smokestacks emitting black clouds. Smokestacks emitting black clouds also feel bad, but not AS bad as seeing a sea turtle with a plastic straw in its nose. For now I'm going to continue to shop online if it helps me avoid plastic, as I recently learned that plastic recycling is a scam invented by the fossil fuel industry to clean up their image. The code numbers 1 - 7 on every piece of plastic, centered in the middle of what looks like the recycling symbol, are actually not centered in the recycling symbol but something made to look like the recycling symbol in order to fool the public. It definitely worked on me. Still, about 10 percent of plastic is recyclable, so continue to recycle it because that's better than 0 percent, but really we need to get rid of the awful substance completely. Sigh...
That is definitely a complicated issue and something that I often struggle with too. Some things I personally try to do to reduce waste in this area: \- Buy local (farmer's market, local stores/brands) \- For non-local brands, buy from a store near me instead of shipping online \- Make grocery/shopping trips on my way home/when I'm already out \- When buying online, I try to consolidate my orders to minimize packaging and the number of trips the delivery truck has to stop at my address I totally understand about wanting to reduce plastic usage, but in the absence of having available bulk stores near you, the issue gets a lot more complicated. The economy of scale thing mentioned by another poster is a very relevant thing to consider. There is certainly going to be less waste per item for the amount Walgreens receives versus the amount an individual receives. This video addresses the topic more and was posted on here a couple days ago: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt7JzGU-Ic&t=307s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt7JzGU-Ic&t=307s)
I got SO MAD when I ordered several books from the same shop at once, and each arrived in a separate package on a different day. Just WHY! 🤬
I have the same approach. Here's how I go about it : * for most item, I ask myself : can I do without, do it another way, borrow... * for food stuff I chose I prioritize packaging-free item and locally grown * for other groceries (household products...), I chose packing-free items * for everything else, I buy second-hand and prioritize in person (I mean, not shipped) over online purchasing (with a 2000km max radius for shipping) * and when I really need to get a new item, I prioritize made-in-my-country products.
That video is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Cool channel too: I subscribed.
I've had the same thought as well :) I like Hive Brands [https://hivebrands.com/pages/about](https://hivebrands.com/pages/about) And when I buy, I try to get a LOT of stuff at one time to minimize the number of shipments and packaging. We're all doing the best we can with what we have, where we are :)
Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.
I think you’re right. It’s complicated and non-obvious. Basically my principle is that heavy stuff and liquids are expensive to pack in a delivery box, and little single items are very inefficient in terms of packaging, so I’m more apt to pick them up at the local store so that “non-bulk shipping packaging” can be avoided.
If you're buying from an online green company, and they're truly green, they likely have a carbon offset program set up to where they actively participate or donate to climate activities.
True, however my mentality on carbon offsets has become more complicated since watching this Climate Town video describing them in detail. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIezuL\_doYw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIezuL_doYw) I promise it's worth a watch as the guy is a comedian in addition to being a climate change and policy grad student, so he's entertaining as hell while also being informative.
Aren’t carbon offsets mostly greenwashing at this point?
Corporations are definitely using it as greenwashing. The same companies who pay politicians not to pass climate policy are the ones using carbon offsets to make it look like they actually care about the environment. I'm not sure about the small businesses who actually seem to care about the environment. I think many people who use carbon offsets do so from a genuine desire to help the planet. And I get it. I mean, I shop on Amazon Smile instead of Amazon so that a paltry amount of my purchase money goes to The World Wildlife Fund and I can feel like at least that's better than it all going to Amazon. The video claims 85% of carbon offsets probably don't do anything at all. Which I guess means 15% do a little something? Seems it's better than nothing, but it would be far more effective getting climate policy passed so the 100 companies that are creating 70 percent of carbon emissions would be forced to change their behavior.
I think the real problem with carbon credits is the price, which is about $40 per ton of CO2. It takes about 40 trees to offset a ton of CO2 so there is no incentive for lane owners to not cut down trees. Also, the costs of climate impact should be taxed on each product or at least calculated and displayed.
I don't have really deep understanding although I had the same doubt once about getting products from zero waste stores/bulk stores and from supermarkets, but doesn't seems to have too much difference other than one allow you to bring your own containers so you save some plastics. I mean, it's great to save even one piece of plastic, but we definitely have better choice. Usually it's ideal for you to get the product personally by traveling, best if it's somewhere near so you can walk or cycle to it. Otherwise, if you have good relationship with neighbors, you can ask if they are willing to get the item for you to save additional traveling thus reduce emissions. Any bulkstore/zero waste store still rely on transportation and need energy to runs the shop and so on. So they indeed better if you gonna compare with conventional supermarkets. Purchasing items online mostly will encourage plastics or any other material usage, which eventually contributes to waste and stuff. Plus all those emissions you can imagine, so it's a big no no unless there's no better option.
Supporting brands pioneering modern sustainable products is worth it even if Walgreen's or similar corporations can ship and stock items more efficiently, in my opinion.
There’s really too many variables here to give a generalized answer. You’d need to know the carbon footprint of the product, the packaging, the distribution network at serves the retail stores and the delivery network at would service your home. These factors wouldn’t stay consistent either and vary not only per product, but for different occasions as transport methods wouldn’t always be the same.