Welcome back to another Recycle Less where I share my journey to care for the environment and Planet Earth by being more sustainable.
It’s common knowledge that shopping local saves on emissions and energy in delivery from ordering online to you door and/or travelling further to afield for purchases. In return these emissions contribute in theory less against climate change. Money spent is also kept in the local economy. Not to mention either how many courier companies are overwhelmed with deliveries, how much abuse they get if items are delivered by said time and date.

I live in my eyes one of the best cities in the world for shopping or rather what I want from stores and shops, Barcelona. I can get nearly everything I need aside from cinnamon and raisin bagels. Good bagels are non existent here. I often shop in the city centre yet I find it’s in my local Centro Comercial (mall or shopping centre) I buy most clothes, shoes. If I’m honest I don’t shop much online for clothes. I’m old school. I prefer to look, touch the item in person. The centre has a few specific shops which I go to at least once a week, yet my local mall I can find most things I looking for or it’s perfect for returns. While I cycle as transport which is zero emissions aside from oil every now and then, looking at it the centre it’s local as it’s 25 min bike ride. If you’re really getting into the nitty gritty of what’s local my local Centre Comercial is a 5 min bike ride. I just seem to find what I’m looking for more in the local mall. Maybe as I have more time to look around as I don’t have to cycle back so far.
When I visited my parents last year in the UK, my Mum and I went to a few local larger towns yet it it was the tiny rural Somerset town a 5 minute car journey from their house where I found the most things I was looking for. The shops combined excluding the supermarkets would probably fit into 1/4 if not less than my local mall and it’s not a large mall by mall standards here. They’d even fit combined into the superstore supermarket there! The shops themselves were basic compared to their larger town and cities counterparts. I got a few bits for my Dad and got a kick out of the local post office.
Continue reading “Recycle Less: The Irony of Shopping Local and The Case of Paper Parcel Tape”