OCU weighs up which online retailers use most environmentally-friendly packaging

WITH the sharp rise in online shopping in 2020 due to lockdown and restrictions on high-street retail, a leading consumer organisation has recently researched which companies use the most environmentally-friendly packaging methods.

Customers may not have realised that deliveries of goods bought via websites involve considerably more wrappings than those purchased directly from a physical shop – where items are likely to just come in a bag, sometimes with a bit of tissue paper as extra protection – and that the type and amount of packaging may have an impact on the planet, as do the emissions from delivery vehicles.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), online purchases rose from 58% in 2019 to 63% in 2020 – not apparently a large increase in percentage terms, but frequency and expenditure went up notably.

As at the beginning of 2021, a total of 72% of internet-users in Spain aged between 16 and 70 make regular online purchases.

The typical profile of a cyber-shopper is aged 42, spends an average of €68 per purchase, and does so seven times in two months.

But the age group which buys the most online is 25 to 34 inclusive.

Consumer watchdog OCU carried out a study of which firms made the best use of packaging – those which used too much, and the type of wrappings involved, such as envelopes, boxes, bags and 'stuffing' material like polystyrene loops and bubble-wrap, how easily or otherwise these materials are to recycle, and whether they are made from recycled material initially.

Investigators ordered two very different types of product – one small, a USB stick, and one large, a frying pan – from each company, under its campaign which carries the hashtag #cambiatealverde ('switch to green').

Amazon, and the Spanish supermarket Alcampo and hypermarket Eroski gained the best scores for environmentally-friendly packaging, tending not to use more than necessary to protect the goods ordered, keeping them light in weight – since the heavier packages are, the more fuel they use to transport – and were more likely to use recycled paper or cardboard and less plastic.

It named Ikea, Carrefour, eBay, Conforama, Claudia&Julia, Spanish department store El Corte Inglés, and electronics chain MediaMarkt as those which 'needed to improve sustainability' in their packaging. 

This said, eBay sellers are private individuals or retailers who provide their own individual packaging rather than following a standard set by the website, as is also the case with Amazon Marketplace sellers, so sustainability can vary.

For textiles, Ikea merely uses a cardboard box, made from responsibly-sourced materials, and has earned a thumbs-up in Spain for its Musselbomma collection: Cushion and pillow cases, tablecloths and tote bags created by Valencia-based interior designer Inma Bermúdez and made entirely from recycled plastic waste which fishermen off the Spanish Mediterranean coast are paid to catch from the sea.

Also, retailers in Spain are consciously using more recycled material, including recycled plastic, for their packaging, with supermarkets providing paper bags and polythene carriers ranging from 50-70% to 80% or more recycled plastic, and disposable, lightweight bags and wrapping in biodegradable film made from vegetable fibre, which is suitable for converting into compost.

Less emphasis has been given on urging Spanish retail and grocery chains to cut down on plastic and polystyrene in disposable consumer packaging, since this can all be recycled in the 'yellow bin' – transparent film used for fruit and vegetables, sweet wrappers, biscuit and crisp packets, carrier bags, plastic bottles, and milk and juice cartons should all be deposited in the 'yellow bank', where they are turned back into more of the same or into other consumer goods such as polyester-based textiles, furniture, and even bar chairs and traffic cones.