Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
Buying groceries and toiletries online can lower the carbon emissions from your purchase, but only if they’re delivered from a brick-and-mortar shop nearby, according to a new study from the UK. If your local grocer offers deliveries, that could have a smaller environmental impact (at least when it comes to planet-heating greenhouse gases) than driving to the store to pick them up yourself.
In contrast, buying the same products from an online market (like, say, Amazon) will contribute more to climate change because more emissions are generated when the items are shipped from a distribution center via courier.
The recent study adds to growing evidence that the…