Shopping Green

carbon footprint: a measure of the impact human activities have
on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases
produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

It’s a challenge to stay green when shopping. Take cereal, for example: It comes in a box. And there’s a bag in the box. And when you buy it, they take the bag and the box and put it in another bag. The result? Waste.

Carry re-usable cloth bags with you so that when the cashier says, “Paper or plastic?” you can say, “Neither, thanks.”

Or take bananas: by the time they make it to the store from South America, they’ve traveled by boat and truck—wrapped in plastic and cardboard and stored in refrigerated containers. That’s a huge carbon footprint for one little bunch of fruit!
Here are some ways to start limiting your carbon footprint.

Shopping Green: The Activity

  • Combine your shopping and other errands to take fewer trips in your car. Even better, walk or bike.
  • When possible, shop at stores close to where you live or work.

Shopping Green: The Packaging

  • Carry re-usable cloth bags with you so that when the cashier says, “Paper or plastic?” you can say, “Neither, thanks.”
  • Buy in bulk to use less packaging.
  • If you have a choice between two items and one has more packaging, buy the other (or choose the one whose packaging is more recyclable).
  • If the store over-packages its items, complain to the manager. More likely, however, the over-packaging will have been done by the manufacturer or the company that markets the product. Email a complaint; it will make a difference.

Shopping Green: The Purchases

  • Buy recycled products, particularly recycled paper and notebooks, which are very high quality and save a lot of trees. The higher the percentage of “post-consumer waste,” the better.
  • Where possible, buy things that have been made closer to where you live and therefore required less transport.
  • When buying electronics, look for the Energy Star logo; this means that the appliance is more energy-efficient than similar items.
  • Choose rechargeable batteries over disposable ones, mugs and glasses over paper cups, non-disposable over disposable cameras, etc.
  • Buy green cleaning products such as chlorine-free bleach and biodegradable household cleaners; many supermarkets now have a “green” or “natural” section.
  • Avoid bottled water. It uses millions of plastic bottles a day, which are energy intensive to make and end up in our landfills. Also, bottling water causes water shortages in areas near bottling plants. Fill a reusable bottle from your tap. If your tap water doesn’t taste good, pitcher and faucet filters are available that can remove bacteria and chemicals. (And some brands of bottled water are just filtered tap water!)

Shopping Green: The Philosophy

It is likely that it will take you a while to adjust your shopping habits, but don’t let that stop you from doing what you can today. Cut bottled water out today; start carrying canvas bags next week; switch to green cleaning products next month. Don’t give up—the changes that you make matter.

Web Resources

  • ECOBAGS (www.ecobags.com): This site sells string bags, canvas bags, lunch bags, and more.
  • green (http://green.msn.com/): This MSN site includes information and tips on living and shopping green, including a directory of green products.