In the age of 'I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it' Asos and Amazon Prime are the modern day heroes of our impatient generation. Well 'thank u' Ariana for the lyrics but ',next' with the damaging way in which we are getting exactly what we want almost instantaneously.
Do you often find yourself getting ready for an event and thinking you have nothing to wear, or needing to buy a last minute gift? Scrolling through Asos for hours to order as you're falling asleep and you're practically woken by your parcel being delivered. It's literally miraculous. But this modern day miracle comes as a price - not to us, to the planet.
ASOS have one distribution centre in the UK and it’s the size of six football pitches. SIX. FOOTBALL. PITCHES. Every ASOS order, from across the world, is processed and dispatched from there via plane, van or boat, to your front door. The distribution centre is 357 miles from my house, meaning if I order a parcel at 10 pm and it arrives at 10 am the next day, the parcel is travelling at an average of 29mph. Of course, this doesn’t take into account the time spent processing my order, picking the item and loading the vehicle. But, it does show how incredibly fast orders are being processed.
If I miss a delivery it's a double burden, to me and the environment as this results in the driver having to return again or forces me to leave my house and go to the post office (yawn). A study by Green Logistics found that missing a delivery increases the emissions by 15%. Due to either a second delivery attempt being made or the journey to the nearest collection point.
Asos's distribution centre is the size of six football pitches
Royal Mail alone has saw a 12% increase in parcels being processed 2015-2016 and a further 18% has taken place since, meaning 2.4 billion items are being shipped around the UK each year. DPD experienced an increase in weekend deliveries by 40% in the past year. In the UK, e-commerce sales exceeded £130billion in 2016, a 16% increase to 2015. This shows you the power of Prime and other next day delivery schemes. But where do these parcels really come from? The world's factory, China. Factories from China accounted for 34% of all global cross-boarder parcels last year and 40% of us in the UK ordered our last online shop directly from China.
This desperate need for speed means postal companies have less time to organise the most efficient transport. An Assistant Professor at University of California, Miguel Jeller, explains how this leads to postal companies having less time to consolidate, ‘so there will be more trips for less cargo’. This then leads to more vehicles being on the road and those HGV's travelling at higher speeds, which results in lower fuel efficiency. A study by MIT examined the environmental impact of rushed delivery, compared to normal delivery. The study found that rushed delivery increases emissions by 28.6%, producing 12.5% more carbon dioxide equivalent than shopping in a store. Jeller recommends that companies offer a green delivery option, ensuring vans are fully loaded (much like Herbie) and drive at slower speeds to allow for better fuel efficiency.
rushed delivery increases emissions by 28.6%
I've decided that getting something the day after deciding I wanted it, isn’t needed. And, unless exceedingly urgent, I will order items with environmental shipping of 3 days and let my neighbours to sign for packages. What do you think?
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