Why Shopping Online is Smarter...and Eco Friendly

When I decided to open an eco store I considered the option of opening a bricks ‘n mortar shop but opted for the online shop because it eliminates the need for transport, which is the greatest contributor of pollution and greenhouse gases by consumers.

With traditional shopping you would be driving from one store to another to see what’s available. At current fuel prices you can add a few dollars to the bill while adding greenhouse emissions to the atmosphere. For instance, say you are looking for a new gadget, after checking out a few shops you tire of looking and end up buying one from a persistent salesman. These days free time is rare, so instead of rushing around in the car, why not relax at home while googling the web for what you want? You can compare features of various makes and search for best prices. What could be better than making your choice of purchase and having it delivered to your door? The cost of traditional packaging and delivery adds to the energy overload too, so at Ecopia we recycle old cartons for packaging most orders. New Internet shoppers are scared of the idea of giving their private details, but experienced online shoppers know it’s perfectly safe to purchase online these days.

So how do you know when it’s safe?

When you are sending your credit card details look for the locked padlock or key symbols at the bottom-right of the screen to show you are using a secure line, also look at the address at the top of the screen, it should be https//…., not the usual http//…., the s means secure.

In fact, nobody at Ecopia ever gets to see your credit card details, it’s encrypted and passes straight to PayPal, who debit your card and pass the invoice back to us for processing. Of course, if you don’t like using credit cards, we also have offline payment available, the purchase process is the same until you get to the payment screen then tick the offline payment box, and you are shown a printable form with our bank details for EFT or cash deposit. Most of our sales are from customers who know us; once they have tried it they become regulars.