4 pages argument paper within 24 hours

With the advancement of technology, people are purchasing more online. It increases the garbage and pollution (cardboard, packing materials, vehicle exhaust, excess labor cost, etc)

Use of Cardboard:

· https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/07/29/what-a-waste-online-retails-big-packaging-problem/#606f2d3f371d (Jul 29, 2018)

· online retail grew by 16% last year in the US, while all retail rose 3.8%

· Consumers turn a blind eye to the environmental cost of online retail, particularly when it comes to packaging.

· about 165 billion packages are shipped in the US each year, with the cardboard used roughly equating to more than 1 billion trees

· Blue Apron sends out around 8 million meals a month, each one containing two six-pound ice packs. The freezer pack waste is about 192,000 tons per year

· https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/06/08/cardboard-recycling-rates-drop-shopping-amazon-walmart-surges/630967002/

· according to a report released by Sanford C. Bernstein, Amazon ships an average of 608 million packages each year, which equates to (an estimated) 1,600,000 packages a day. (https://blog.mrboxonline.com/corrugated/how-many-cardboard-boxes-does-amazon-ship-each-day/)

Types of packing materials:

Use of excess plastics to wrap shipped items

How much extra pollution is produced from extra postal vehicles:

· https://www.schroders.com/en/insights/economics/how-does-e-commerce-stack-up-on-emissions/

How much extra labor cost is currently utilized:

· e-commerce has about four times as many touch-points as regular retail (2017 paper entitled “Optimizing Packaging for an E-commerce World)

Subscription Boxes:

With the advancement and accessibility of technology, online shopping is not seen as a luxury anymore. Gone are the days when you would wait weeks for an expected package and was replaced by same day delivery. But what, if any, are the disadvantages of companies like Amazon and is our constant need for items something that will be sustainable in the long run?

Potential solutions: incentivizing customers for less waste,

· https://www.techrepublic.com/article/uber-launches-free-ride-voucher-program-to-help-businesses-attract-and-retain-customers/