BackOpinion | Go green, e-tailers
As people get more and more concerned about pollution and other forms of environmental degradation, not only online retailers but other consumer-facing companies will probably realize that going green is good for business too.
PremiumRather than ban the use of single-use plastic, the government has decided to campaign against it. As an early move, the department for promotion of industry and internal trade has reportedly advised online retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart to gradually slash the use of disposable plastic in the packaging of the products they deliver. Given the copious quantities of plastic sheets with which most of these packages land at doorsteps, this is advice that needs to be heeded. It’s true that both Amazon and Flipkart have made frequent claims about their efforts to operate with more ecological sensitivity than they did in the past, but customers have not been impressed. According to multiple surveys, the return rate of items bought online is as high as 30%, which means that much packaging gets used needlessly as well.
Delivery costs, of course, will rise. However, environmental responsibility must come first. As people get more and more concerned about pollution and other forms of environmental degradation, not only online retailers but other consumer-facing companies will probably realize that going green is good for business too.
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