Is Shipping Items Environmentally Friendly?

With the temperature of the Earth rising, and global warming becoming an increasingly more talked about topic, the mind of the consumer is changing. People are actively looking for ways to help combat global warming as well as looking for products and solutions that are more environmentally friendly.

Becoming more environmentally conscious has a lot of people wondering what they can do to reduce the amount of waste that they produce. Big companies and firms have made the decision to recycle, reduce and reduce, as well as use materials that are either from recycled materials or are recyclable themselves.

Even shipping companies such as Unival Logistics have started implementing greener solutions to their operations. Some companies have even recorded significant losses due to the fact that they don’t offer services that are eco-friendly and socially responsible. Consumers are looking for sustainable and greener options; even when it comes to shipping.

Green(er) Shipping

Sadly, we often can’t always buy or get everything that we need or want locally. Sometimes, even sustainable products and solutions, such as your favorite organic body wash or eco-friendly toothpaste come from a seller that you need to order from since they are not located anywhere near you.

Shipping items does leave its trace on the environment due to the carbon emissions, but luckily – a lot of companies are going green, even with their shipping practices. The more companies and eCommerce businesses adapt to greener and more environmentally conscious solutions, the less the percentage of carbon emissions will be. What can we do?

Finding an Eco-Conscious Carrier

Firstly, do your research when it comes to choosing a shipment carrier. Not all eCommerce shops or online businesses have the same stance on the environment like you do. Some don’t even have the option for greener solutions due to different reasons, like for example, financial reasons.

High sulfur oil costs less than low sulfur oil. The same is true of boxes made from recycled materials than those that aren’t. As you might have noticed yourself, a lot of companies have taken notice of the growing worry of their customers. Like any good company that cares about the planet and its customers, they want to be able to accommodate them.

The Right Size

Let’s paint a picture. You order an item that is pocket-sized at best, yet when it arrives, you are greeted with a box. Not just a box; a big box. Inside of the box is, you guessed it, another box, surrounded by packing peanuts. Inside of that box is an even smaller box, which is the box that holds your ordered item.

This is something that happens often in the shipping world. You, your friends, and your family have probably had this happen to you a bunch of times. By the time that you get to your item, you are surrounded by a pile of various boxes, and way too many packing peanuts. Seems like a lot of waste, doesn’t it?

This is a part of why shipping can be damaging to the environment. The heavier the item is, the more it takes to ship it. The heavier the packaging is, or in other words, the more packaging material used – the more expensive and less environmentally friendly the shipping of said item will be.

What you can do as a consumer is sticking to the right size for the package. This way, you are getting what you need in a safe, yet environmentally conscious way.

The Right Material

Another way for you to reduce any extra emissions is by choosing eco-friendly materials. You might want to double-check if your shipping company of choice uses biodegradable materials.

At times, using more eco-friendly materials can be a bit more costly for the customer, or in this case – you. Paying a little extra for an item to be shipped isn’t too bad of a bargain to help slow down the effects that global warming has on the world, isn’t it?

Eco-Friendly Solutions Are Possible

To fully answer the question about whether or not shipping items is environmentally friendly – alas, it’s not. However, you can take steps in the right direction. By doing things like sticking to the right box size, choosing shipping materials that are biodegradable or recyclable, and choosing a shipping carrier that offers greener solutions for shipping, such as using low sulfur oil, you are helping the environment as much as you can.

Sometimes, this might mean settling for a shipping company that has slower delivery times. Vehicles that function with low sulfur oil tend to go a bit slower than those that don’t. If you want to go a mile further, you can email or contact shipping companies that don’t offer environment-friendly solutions.

You shouldn’t feel silly or weird for asking for more environment-friendly solutions since feedback is crucial and highly valuable. Feedback from customers has the power to jumpstart a company’s transition towards greener solutions. Together, companies, businesses, and customers can work towards lowering the carbon footprint of shipping.