Green living is about changing the way we use things. It is about practicality and being conscious of our actions. It is about changing our shopping habits as well as shopping for green products – although marketers and the advertising world might have one believing differently. Clearly the trend is to buy “green”. There are many products out there marked “green” and certainly most are generally better quality items – meaning that they contain ingredients that cause less damage – or what exactly does that mean – “green”? One should not instantly trust the word “green” on the label: it is important to read the ingredients and to understand why something is called “green.” Are those items really harmful or not? It useful to do research online: compare and study products and ingredients before actually buying; labels can be deceptive.

Another concern is – where is that item made or grown? This is easily researched online as well. Obviously, the closer to home something is the less you pay in shipping and the less toll on the environment. Another thought is that if something is purchased online it does not have to be shipped all the way to the store before it is sent the distance to the customer…

Our actions need to be “green” in addition to our product purchase and usage. Living green is about practicality and being conscious of our actions. The online shopping mall is conducive to green living because it is a great way to save gas, money and time: one doesn’t have to go from store to store to store… The UPS or mail comes every day anyway and you can get free shipping on many sites nowadays. Shopping online easily becomes a favorite way to shop: save a ton of money and time. When considering time for shopping think of what the hourly wage is? How long does it take to drive to the store and back? Is this really less than the cost of shipping? What is time worth? Even when the learning curve is considered, much time can be saved by shopping online. Once the online shopping cart is loaded it can be saved for future orders as well – this is so easy for commodity items that can be reordered instantly.

There are shopping mall sites that have hundreds of stores, thousands of items, extra coupon offers, discounts and bonuses for shopping at their “one stop shop.” The shopper can easily save money at this kind of online shopping mall by getting the best price for all the items on their list.

How often does one really stick to their list anyway? When in the store, shoppers are frequently enticed to buy extras from those beautifully enticing shelves that one must go around to get to the next isle (end cap displays). Those items that are conveniently placed next to the item on the list become “must haves” enticing the shopper to spend more than he normally would. The checkout counter is powerfully enticing as well.

Obviously, having made the points above, one can save time and money by shopping online and feel good about living green.