November- the international shopping month, is already in full swing. The big sales that started with the Chinese Singles Day have passed, but other sales still exist, and the month is still ongoing.
The global changes that bring with them a month dedicated entirely to encouraging consumerism have an impact on many areas beyond strengthening the economy. They also relate to environmental issues, the damage caused by multiple flights and road transportation, and the use of cardboard and plastic packaging.
Along with the environmental aspect, global social problems are inherent in the grueling working hours of suppliers, delivery companies, and drivers.
In the following article, we will highlight the darker side of this shopping spree for all of us to consider.
Significant changes in packaging
The customer purchase journey is different when it comes to a physical purchase compared to an online one. When buying online, after the payment is made, the package begins its long journey to its destination, making at least three stops along the way, moving from one carrier to another until its final stop.
Online stores are taking this journey very seriously. In recent years, they’ve invested in the packaging and shipping process to improve the buyer’s experience, making it feel more like a gift that is always fun to receive- regardless of the product itself.
In recent years, the appearance of the package has changed significantly. If in 2017, the average packaging weight was 177 grams, the weight of the packaging for the same product in 2020 has already moved up to 296 grams on average.
According to Greenpeace data, about a third of the solid waste in the US comes from packaging piled up from shipments. The situation in Israel is not encouraging as well; according to data given to us by Amiad Lapidot, head of waste and recycling at Adam Teva v’DIN, 15% of all household waste is cardboard.
Is everything known in advance?
The wait and some would say the expectation, is an inseparable matter in online purchases, for better or worse.
And so, alongside the changed packaging, we can see an even more noticeable change in the delivery times that have shortened significantly in the last two decades, not to mention the streamlined package monitoring that allows us to be updated on the package’s status on its way to us.
It’s true; we still don’t receive the packages we ordered from abroad on the same day the order was placed in the US; the average time for receiving an order is only a week to 10 days from the day the order was placed, in Israel, unlike the US, human factors distribute packages. When things depend on the human element, it is natural that there will be failures and delays.
Just a year ago, a traffic accident was reported on Route 6 involving trucks carrying packages from abroad. As a result, thousands of packages that did not reach their destination were scattered on the road.
It’s all a matter of timing.
Shipments to Israel are provided through the Israel Postal Services, which in recent years has significantly improved. Still, in order to deliver the packages on time, the drivers in charge of the transfer, spend long tiring hours on the roads with only short daily breaks.
According to a report published by the Green Light Association in February of this year, one in three truck drivers admitted to falling asleep at least once while driving in the past year, while 11% of the drivers who participated in the survey admitted to having fallen asleep more than three times.
When asked about driving under conditions of fatigue, 87% of the survey participants admitted that they feel tired while driving, 28% reported that they often drive while tired, and the choice to get behind the wheel despite this, lies, among other things, on the obligation to their job.
The most common solution drivers adopt to deal with fatigue is using a mobile phone while driving- the number one cause of road accidents in Israel.
To minimize the danger on the roads, especially those that originate from overfatigue, a series of measures must be taken, starting with reducing driving hours, making sure to take refreshment breaks, and implementing technical standards that can monitor driving and warn of dangers on the road.
One of the technical measures that can limit the life-threatening use of the mobile device as a solution to driver fatigue is SaveOne’s system, which operates only on the driver’s mobile device and monitors the use of life-threatening applications without losing the use of applications that support the driver’s driving.
2022 according to the forecasts will set new records in online sales, good news for the economy, lesser for the environment, and for those employed in the process.
