Super Eco

Photo credit: Hi I'm Santi, flickr

You're shopping locally more now: you like supporting your community and connecting with local businesses; you are getting into the eat local movement;  and you like the fact that shopping locally uses less gas and takes less time. But did you know that local shopping—as opposed to frequenting huge suburban magamalls—is the greener choice as well?

(Is this a good time to divulge that once upon a time I used to take the family to the mall—with no specific plans for buying anything—as an outing? Driving an hour, parking, walking around and buying stuff I didn't know I needed, and then eating at the—gulp—food court? Sigh.)

But a new French study reveals that shopping at megamalls is having an environmental impact. It's the driving. When shopping in big malls, 95% of consumers used their cars as transportation, whereas when shopping locally only 42% drove. We know that driving creates CO2 emissions which lead to greenhouse gas which leads to increased climate change, so how does that stack up in terms of CO2 emissions? Carbon output for 100€ worth (about $128 USD) of shopping was only 2.4 pounds when consumers shopped locally in a high density area, but was a whopping 10.4 pounds for shoppers who shopped in suburban malls.

The message? Shop local when you can. Not only will you save on carbon output and decrease your personal carbon footprint, but you also will be less tempted by impulse purchases and the heavy buy-buy-buy consumerism energy that surrounds malls. And you'll get to know your local shopowners. And you'll get more exercise. And you'll support your local economy. And you'll find out cool new things about your town. And you'll run into neighbors on the street. And, and and ...