PORTLAND, Maine — It’s that time of the year when we start to shop for holiday gifts. Whether that’s in person or online, the increased amount of transit increases greenhouse gases and affects climate change.
We're all going to buy gifts for our friends and family, but what is the most environmentally friendly way to shop?
A lot of us choose to shop online and have those gifts shipped. The proof is in the numbers.
The U.S. Postal Service has shipped more packages in the past few years than ever before. In 2021, USPS shipped 7.6 billion packages. There was a small dip last year.
The postal service said that’s because of the big surge in online orders during COVID.
You might think having packages delivered would emit the most greenhouse gases, but that’s only partly true.
It all comes down to the type of shipping you choose at checkout.
According to a study done by the University of California, online orders with regular shipping are the best option for the environment. It has a smaller carbon footprint than in person shopping.
But that’s only if you choose regular shipping which takes about a week to arrive.
While that free two-day shipping may be tempting, it's the worst option for the environment.
The same study shows "express shipping" releases more of these gases than both regular shipping and in person shopping.
Simply put, it’s less efficient to ship packages quickly.
When we place a rush order, each piece of that shipment may need to come from a different location. That’s why your order may get sent in a bunch of different boxes, some with only one item inside.
Trucks also end up going out half full to make their delivery windows. That means more trucks are needed on the road to deliver those packages.
When you choose regular shipping, that extra flexibility allows the company to find the most efficient path to you. Those individual items can be consolidated into fewer packages. Plus, the extra time allows them to pack trucks more efficiently which means more full trucks on the roads, and fewer of them overall.
The good news is that to do our part, all we need to do is plan for a longer delivery window. If we choose regular shipping, it may take a bit longer for your package to arrive, but it also gives our planet a little help, which is a gift in and of itself.