Making Packing and Shipping More Eco Friendly
Did you know that we as a people worldwide have produced more plastic over the last ten years than we have during the entire last century? Not only that, but packaging specifically has become the largest end-use market segment, accounting for over 40% of total plastic use.
As online shopping becomes more and more popular and a way of life, so does shipping. And as companies send out more packages, they're also sending out and using more plastic packaging materials. In most cases, that plastic, along with all the other plastic we use, contributes to the roughly 150 million tons of single-use plastic produced annually, as well as the over 8 million tons of plastic that gets dumped in the ocean each year.
At Rocky Mountain Oils, we are committed to caring for the planet that gives us the remarkable plants and elements that let us live a healthy, natural lifestyle. Today, we are proud to say that we use only 100% recycled and recyclable materials for our packaging. Not only that, but we have eliminated plastic from our shipping materials, changed our ink to non-toxic algae ink, and created a recycling program for empty essential oil bottles.
But is it enough?
Being Eco-Friendly Is More Than Eliminating Plastic
While eliminating plastic, using recyclable packaging materials, and non-toxic ink are certainly steps in the right direction, we believe that there is more that we as a company can do -- and you can help!
We appreciate your support in the changes we've made to be more eco-friendly, and we recognize that many other companies across the world have made similar efforts to help care for the earth; however, even with more companies eliminating plastic, there's still a big problem that we need to address: the frequency of shipping.
The Environmental Impact of Shipping Multiple Packages
As e-commerce continues to expand, companies are competing with each other to offer the fastest shipping times. Now, waiting one to two days for a package seems too long as companies start to offer same-day delivery. The problem with this is that people are ordering multiple times, resulting in the shipment of multiple smaller packages. Yes, you may get your package on the same day or next, but in order to do so, companies send out more delivery trucks with sometimes nearly empty loads. More trucks on the road means more harmful emissions that negatively impact the environment.
In addition to more delivery trucks being on the road, online shopping has contributed to the 8% increase of cardboard use over the last several years. However, cardboard recycling has dropped. In fact, consumers only send back 25% of their cardboard to be reused. What does this mean? It means that we are consuming more packages, but they're not ending up in recycling manufacturing plants to be used and created into new boxes. Instead, our cardboard boxes are ending up in landfills and contributing to the gas and leachate that escapes landfills and contribute to health hazards, vegetation damage, groundwater pollution, air pollution, global warming, and more.
How to Increase Shipping Efficiency
A great and simple way to increase shipping efficiency is to consolidate your orders into a single package. Instead of ordering multiple things at different times, wait until you can purchase all of the items you need at once, and send them together in one package. By consolidating your orders, you can help reduce the amount of carbon and energy waste produced from the shipping process.
Not only will fewer packages benefit the shipping process, but fewer packages means that you are more likely to fit all of your cardboard boxes into your recycling bin. By consolidating your orders and recycling the cardboard that your items come in, you can help create more cardboard without the use of additional tress or contributing to a landfill.
At Rocky Mountain Oils, we recognize and are excited about the extra efforts our customers are making on their own to reduce their own carbon footprint. The act of consolidating your orders to a single package may seem like a small thing, but as more of more of us do it, we can make a difference.
Rocky Mountain Oils' New Shipping Guidelines
Effective August 1, 2019, we are updating our shipping guidelines to:
- Order under $25 will have a flat-rate shipping cost of $4.95.
- Orders over $25 will have FREE shipping
All other shipping policies for priority, 2-day FedEx, FedEx overnight, and international shipping will remain the same. You can review those shipping guidelines here.
We understand that our previous policy of free shipping on all US orders has been a highly significant and appreciated service for our customers, and we appreciate you choosing us! This new shipping policy is not an attempt to charge you more money. We understand that many of our customers are seeking ways to save money while also getting trusted, high-quality products, and we are committed to still making that possible.
That's why we are keeping shipping costs low for those who have orders under $25; however, we still wanted to offer free shipping. By offering free shipping on orders over $25, we hope to encourage you to consolidate your orders into one. Not only will this help you save money, but it will also help save the environment by reducing the number of packages going out.
By taking this extra step of consolidating orders and reducing the number of packages that are sent, we can all help protect Mother Nature and make a difference together.
Sources:
El-Fadel, Mutasem; Findikakis, Angelos N.; Leckie, James O. “Environmental Impacts of Solid Waste Landfilling.” Journal of Environmental Management. May 1997.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479785701314\
“The Facts Are Overwhelming.” Plastic Oceans. https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
Ulku, M. Ali. “Dare to care: Shipment consolidation reduces not only costs, but also environmental damage.” International Journal of Production Economics. October 2012. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527311004014
Weise, Elizabeth. “Blue bins overflow with Amazon and Walmart boxes. But we’re actually recycling less.” USA Today. 8 June 2018.