As the holiday season begins to come into its prime, one thing for sure is that holiday shopping is about to get very intense. On Cyber Monday alone about $6B was spent and this represents a growth from last year as more and more Americans shop online and use services like Amazon. Additionally, more retailers are offering free shipping as a way to attract customers which has also led to a boom in people buying products online.

Overall it has become more convenient to scroll and click than physically go to the stores, deal with lines, rude or obnoxious shoppers, and other annoyances that may pose a damper on your holiday spirit. Despite all the benefits of 2-day shipping, it is time to understand the environmental effects it can have.

When an order is placed 2-day shipping is usually free and this motivates more people to go ahead and select that option, because why wouldn’t you want to get your package sooner, however it leads to a larger carbon footprint.

Usually, the items that are ordered arrive in half full trucks or delivery vehicles since there is a time constraint placed on the workers operating in the delivery side of the business and the company has to meet that 2-day deadline, therefore they allow trucks to leave earlier and make more rounds of deliveries to save time.

Sometimes when multiple item orders are placed, each item will get its own packaging and packaging packets or bubble wrap type blanketing since those various items may be coming from separate facilities, cities, states, or even countries, which creates more package and paper waste.

Although globally there has been an increase in greenhouse gases in part due to more shipments being made and more trucks on the road conducting more trips, there are ways to help reduce and minimize these negative effects. One thing that is already being done is implementing real-time wifi enabled traffic lights notifying truckers when the light will turn red, this allows them to make adjustments to pass the light.

Additionally, truckers are able to do something called truck platooning where they drive close to each other and minimize drag and match speed. Companies are also developing mechanisms that foster incentives in reducing emissions costs which have been found to be near 15-20% through these practices.

In conclusion, it might be a good idea as an environmentally conscious consumer to go ahead and select the 5-day or longer shipping option, as this allows your package to be stacked and organized onto a fully loaded truck which is inherently more efficient.

Although we might sometimes really need an item as soon as possible, in most cases the item can probably wait and we get the extra benefit of doing our small part in creating a cleaner environment. In the future, companies might help advertise greener or more efficient options of delivering and may even start charging a green tax for faster shipping, however it is a small price to pay in the long scheme of things.

Regardless, it's high-time to think about how we as customers and consumers can give back to our planet, especially this holiday season. After all, do you really need that late night impulse purchase to be shipped overnight?