Are You an Online Shopaholic?

Are you an online shopaholic?  GUILTY!

Then is it safe to say you’re like me and helping to create a mountain of waste? Online shoppers anonymous should also be called garbage makers anonymous.

I am guilty of enjoying:

• Shopping online at 1:00 a.m. in the morning
• Getting presents in the mail every other day
• NEVER having to wait in line
• Imagining that I am getting “better deals”

While all of these things matter, I can’t help but notice the mountain of cardboard that I am creating. I do my best to recycle, but I am not going to lie that the recycling bin is often overflowing with air pillows and boxes.

Recently the New York Times published an article that discusses how our instant gratification society is contributing to a viral packaging waste problem. I am a frequent shopper at Costco, HauteLook, Nordstrom, and Amazon to name a few, and it always amazes me that my tiny calendar or baby changing pad comes in a box large enough to contain an average-sized person. Cue the environmental guilt I feel every time I see one of these packages on my doorstep.

But can’t we have our cake and eat it too? Why can’t I buy modern conveniences and not impact the environment? Guy Kawasaki says that he is an evangelist for products that just make sense—“duh” product—”why-wouldn’t-you-use-it” products. That is how I feel about Packsize. Kawasaki also says “Great companies start because the founders want to change the world…not make a fast buck.” Packsize International LLC started because Hanko Kiessner realized there was a problem with packaging waste that would only grow as the world became more “e” focused. His mission is to create “Smarter Packaging for a Healthy Planet^™.”

With technology like Packsize available why would any company still choose to ship items the old-fashioned way? It costs extra money to buy a large box and air pillows and ship a large package, so why aren’t more companies saying “duh”?

In addition to the physical waste we create with our Ecommerce shopping habits, we are also creating CO₂ waste from the four delivery trucks that show up at our homes daily and additional emissions from recycling the pile of packaging we’ve made. It is an endless cycle.

Shopping online is easy, so why can’t the way companies package their items be just as easy? On Demand Packaging^® + Ecommerce = Duh.

Packsize, the provider of On Demand Packaging^®, essentially allows all of my favorite e-retailers to make boxes on demand, in real time and sized perfectly for each shipment going out the door. Staples joined the bandwagon years ago and I think it would say, “That Was Easy”. With the rise of online shopping and the ability to get everything online—even your groceries—why aren’t all of my favorite brands saying “duh?”