What is the most environmentally friendly way to shop?

Question

Is getting your products/clothes/groceries purchased online and shipped to you more earth friendly? Or, is going to the store better?

Answer 1

know what? am not against enviro friendly people and the work they're trying to do to help the environment.

but if you are only one who is thinking on doing it.. do you think it would at all make any difference? well for yourself.. yes.. because you know you did good and you contributed.. but why not think of something else.. not only what you can do, but what you can influence the people of your community to do to help the environment instead.. that would make a difference.

just an opinion..

Answer 2

Walking or taking the bus or train/subway, etc., is best.  Bring your own reusable bags instead of plastic or paper ones that stores provide.  Get your produce at the local farmers' market or try to buy locally.  Buy environmentally friendly products that don't have excessive packaging.

Answer 3

Interesting question.

First on food.  My husband and I live on a permaculture farm, and grow/produce as much of our own food as possible.  Right down to raising goats and rabbits for our meat, which we slaughter ourselves, right here on our farm (I completely realize butchering an  animal is not for everyone).

I go to our local farmers market as much as possible during the summer (its only open Saterday mornings) for other fresh locally grown produce that we do not yet have (like apples).

Other than that, we do food storage.  We have over a years worth of food in our pantry.  We only make one or two major restocking trips to the grocery store a year.  That saves a titanic amount on fuel usage for us.  I also of course cook mostly from scratch, and freeze, can, dehydrate our own foods.

Also milk our goats, for milk, cheese and butter.  Chickens for fresh eggs too.

So by buying in bulk and cooking from scratch I'm very environmentally friendly.  My bread for the year costs $10.40 to make (that's right, a YEAR).  That's two loaves of  homemade bread a week.  My non-recycalble waste?  One plastic foil pouch the bulk yeast comes in.  Everything else is completely recyled.

Or I could spend at least $3.50 a loaf on bread at the store.  Two loaves a week is $364 a year...plus the used fuel to drive to the store, AND for the delivery truck to deliver the bread to the store...and of course all those plastic bags to toss out from the store bread!!

In my opinion food storage, and cooking from scratch are THE most environmentally friendly way to grocery shop.

Clothing.  First off, I never every buy anything in "fashion, or style."

I buy it because I like it and will wear it years and years from now.  My one and only bit of  "in style" clothing was a pair of those silly goucho style pants that came just below your knees (hey it was the 1980's!).  Apparently I finally got mind the day AFTER they went out of style.  I wore them to school exactly once.  ~lol~

My style is commonly called "Grunge."  Go figure...I grew up in Western Washington, where the "grunge" style started, with the music.  However I was apparently years, and years ahead of my peers, since flannel shirts, over a Tshirt, with old jeans and hiking boots seemed to me a very comfy outfit to ride my horses in.  Immagine my suprise when "Grunge" came into style, and the clothes I liked became outragously expensive!  

Fortunatly "Grunge" is no longer in style and my clothes are once again reasonably priced.

I shop a mixture of new (usually WalMart) especially for bra's, undies, and sometimes socks.  Wool socks and hats all come from the Army surplus store.  As many jeans and shirts as I can lay my hands on come from garage sales, and thrift stores...a second life for them, and why pay new prices?

All of our coats, lined bib overalls, boots, and some jeans come from the feed store (where you buy animal feed, saddles, hardware, guns, tractor paint, ect).  You wouldn't get the idea I'm just a little bit country, and possibly live on a farm, now would you?  

When I need something fancy, for a special occasion, I usually hit Ebay.  Again I'm buying used clothes at rock bottom prices.  The last fancy dress I purchased was a Gunne Sax evening dress.  Never before worn, still had the tags on.  Original price was $250.  I got it for $5 on Ebay.

For clothing I'll buy as much used (except the bra's, underwear, and socks) used as I possibly can.  

My husband and I are frugal people, but NOT cheap.  Fashion, or style is a zero priority for my husband and I.  So we save the money on clothing, and spend lavishly at the library book sales, and at used book stores, as well as quality wood for my husband to build bookshelves out of.  

I'll go to the thrift store, and spend $30 on clothes, and come out with several sackfuls...jeans and flannel shirts!  

I'll go to a used bookstore, and spend $300 and come out with boxes of books, and I'm happy as a clam.  

For clothing don't buy "fashion, style, or trend.  Buy what YOU like, and what is made to last.

Products.  Well "products" covers an unusual range when you live on a farm.  This is where "living frugal, but NOT cheaply" really comes into play.

My husband just spent $45 on a hammer.  We could pick on up at WalMart for $5.  However this hammer will last my husbands entire life, and the life of any child we have.  How do we know?  Husband's best friend is a Master Carpenter.  He has the same brand of hammer....he inherited his from his grandpa!  (and no they have not changed the quality over the years)

We buy only very old tractors, John Deere, and Olivers.  Why?  Because they are built to last.  Some of the ones we have were built in the 1930's.  Oh yes, they also run on "all fuel."  That means we can dump gas, deisel, kerosine, alchohol, or our biofuel into the tank....these old tractors do not care, they run on "all fuel."

Generally for our "products" we will spend money (and seek out) items that are built to withstand years of use.  We look for quality, not cheap prices for long term investment items (hammers are investment items in our eyes).  Yet we are certainly not above picking up a name brand, quality chainsaw in great shape at a moving sale for $35, when it normally sells for $300 new.

Long lasting, quality items you like.  Again, not stylish, trendy, or fadish, especially when it comes to your furniture.   We buy what we like in furniture, but quality, well made.  I try to buy in neutral colors.  That way I can completely change the look of a room with different colored pillows, lab blankets, and few few accessories.

Also shopping at thrift stores, I have collected quiet a collection of very nice artwork.  Usually original watercolor paintings.  I completely change the artwork on my walls every so often.  People always think I've totally redone the room.

The couch in our livingroom is about 30 years old.  It's color is taupe, with oak claw wood legs.  I wish I had a nickel for every time someone says, "You got a new couch!" just because I put different colored toss pillows on it, and changed pictures on the wall.

That's what quality items will do for you.  Couch was about $1700, 30 years ago.  An investement that had paid off.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 4

Having a credit or debit card.

I seem to be an enemy.

Answer 5

By keeping small plants all around your shop.

Answer 6

probably walking or taking the bus is better, cause then the delivery trucks would have to come to ur house. it also depends what you buy, for example, i live in canada, and in the winter, and if i buy an orange that was grown in florida, i'm not doing anything good for the enviornment cause lots of fuel was burnt in order to get the orange from florida, to my local supermarket...btw we dont' live in igloos lol

Answer 7

Doesn't matter because you can't change anything that never had any significant influence by the human race. But shopping helps our economy. Keep it up! =)

Answer 8

I think you should bring your reusable environmentally friendly shopping bag with you every time. Try to shop as little as you really needed, particularly groceries because over-bought will make fruits and vegetables go rotten and eventually more garbage will pile up to conteminate the environment. Buy less newly arrived dresses as it always a temptation to young girls like myself and you, too. Purchased on line is okay, if you have already pre-deposited your environmental shopping bags in the store then can bring the bags to you full of groceries and bring back empty bag to the store ready for the next on-line purchase. If your on-line purchased are deliver to your home with new plastic bags each time, it is not really environmental concerned shopping.

Answer 9

There is no such thing as environmentally friendly shopping.  But if you're going to do it, you might as well do it in the least bad way possible.  The most environmentally friendly way to shop would be to only shop at local stores that sell local products and not use a car to get to and from the store.  Local is always best because things are often shipped by plane which is very inefficient as far as carbon output goes.  Shipping by truck is pretty bad as well.  Then there's how YOU get to and from the store.  If you ride a bike or walk, this is good for you and doesn't do a whole lot to the earth.  If you ride a bus, it's not as bad as a car.  If you have it shipped to you, it's bad for the earth.