How to e-shop sustainably

The impact of the pandemic has been strongly felt by the ecommerce industry which is predicted to grow by 84 per cent to touch 111 billion by 2024 as per a 2021 report A large part of this growth has been fuelled by homebound lifestyles and the rising popularity of mobile shopping While the ease of ecommerce is undeniable so is its impact on the environment mdash from transportation emissions to packaging materials without timely interventions the environmental costs of our online shopping can add upChange the way you consume ldquoThe first and most important step is to learn to differentiate between a want and a need The immediate gratification of having everything we want at our fingertips can often lead us to purchase mindlessly The ideal way to make this distinction is to wait for at least 24 hours before confirming purchasesrdquo says freelance writer Prerna SinghShe adds that this step can prevent the impulsive buying that is triggered by sales and discounts In terms of kitchen and household goods she emphasises on finishing what you have before replenishing your stock to avoid hoarding and resultant spoilage of perishable items Kunal Khanna cofounder of The Odd Gumnut a permaculture farm says that this is a great opportunity for people to embrace selfreliance ldquoFrom household cleaners to simply stitching old clothes and reusing them instead of buying new replacements we have the time and opportunity to reshape our consumption choicesrdquo he explainsTania and Sujata BiswasAccount for distance Being reliant on largescale delivery services such as Amazon for instance means that we often end up buying things that travel several kilometres to get to us when we could have sourced them locally Khanna says The further goods travel the more emissions they generate and the more packaging they useldquoFor fresh produce I opt for local vendors who can cycle to my home I also make meal plans so that we know exactly what we need at the start of the month and donrsquot have to make multiple ordersrdquo says Sujata Biswas cofounder of Suta The labelrsquos cofounder Tania Biswas observes that purchasing products that use only local ingredients can contribute towards minimising environmental impactPackaging matters On websites such as Amazon you can choose to opt out of plastic packaging while confirming your order says Anamika Sengupta cofounder of Almitra Sustainables Choose brands that are mindful about their packaging ldquoCardboard boxes can be composted or used as the bottom layer of your vegetable beds Alternative packaging made of starch can be directly added to your compost In case you donrsquot compost use social media to reach out to someone who doesPratha Narang Prerna Singh and Anamika SenguptaDispose of plastic wastes responsibly mdash our housing society for instance collects plastics for polyfuelrdquo she suggests Pratha Narang a photographer says she DIYs storage and decorative items from packaging materials ldquoIrsquove used plastic bottles to make food and water bowls for stray animals and boxes for plantersrdquo she shares Sujata says that certain vendors supply household cleaning materials in recyclable bottles that they collect and reuse every monthBeware of false advertisingSingh cautions ldquoBuzzwords such as allnatural or ecofriendly donrsquot mean much because there are no standards about what constitutes them Do your research to understand what tangible measures the companies are taking Most ethical brands will be transparent about their ethics and practices and will share these on their website and social mediardquo