The toothpaste delivered within two days is convenient but not very good for the environment.
After clicking "buy", the online order will leave the warehouse on the gasoline
Jet or truck.
Returns are also a problem as these items have to be returned to the warehouse.
In addition to completely abandoning online shopping, shoppers can also make small adjustments to reduce the impact on the environment, such as slowing down shipping times and not filling up shopping carts with things you know you won't keep.
Some online retailers have announced their own plans to please customers who are worried about the impact of online shopping on the planet.
Amazon has attracted us to two.
Tianyun said it is using more electric trucks to deliver goods and working with the company to cut packaging.
Etsy, an online seller of handmade and vintage goods, is offsetting emissions per order by paying for projects such as Indian wind farms and protecting Minnesota trees.
"These days, it's hard to open the newspaper without seeing news of our climate change," said Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy . ".
What you can do is:day, next-day or two-
Delivery on the same day, choose slow shipping when you have a choice.
This will give the shipper more time to plan the route and make sure the truck is full of packages, which means that fewer trucks are needed and fuel usage is reduced.
You can even get rewards for being patient: Amazon and Walmart.
For example, com sometimes offers a $1 reward for choosing a slower shipping.
Don't order detergent on Monday, and don't order batteries on Wednesday, but stop and try to order everything together as the order is more likely to fit in a box.
This is not always the case, though, as these items may be shipped from different warehouses.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, try using the recently launched Amazon Day, which gives you the option to choose the day ahead and deliver all your orders at the same time.
Ship the parcel to the central location like a locker.
This allows shippers to deliver to one place without having to drive to various homes, saving fuel, says David Closs, professor of supply chain at Eli Broad business school at Michigan State University.
Amazon has lockers in banks, grocery stores and other places where orders can be sent.
UPS will let you redirect the package to a locker before it arrives.
Another option: Order online and pick up the goods in the store.
Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and most other big retailers offer this service.
If you're shopping online at a company that has a physical store, bring whatever you want to get back to the store yourself instead of shipping it back.
When you ship back something you don't want, it may be driven to multiple warehouses before selling it to others.
Sharon cullinner, a logistics professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said returns from stores usually stay there.
And pay more attention to what you want to buy.
"People are dissatisfied with order," says Cullinane . ".
"They bought 10 things and 9 more.