Something to think about... Please read.

[alka1]

The #131 brush sold out at all the MAC stores, counters, and Nordstrom's in my area. My only option was to buy it through the MAC website.

on the day it was delivered, I couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole thing. this tiny little brush had been shipped halfway across the country, it had flown on an airplane, been inside the UPS truck and made a trek all the way out to my house in California.. all for a brush that could be considered a luxury item? It's obviously something I can live without

there was a show on the History channel that talked about the real cost of an item. it isn't the cash price. The real cost; the environmental cost, the overall impact it has on the environment, where did it come from, where did the materials come from, how the materials were transported and the overall pollution that accumulates throughout the birth/death of a product. Not to mention the thousands of cardboard boxes/paper packing MAC uses to ship out items every day.

My point is: I think we can all be a little bit more responsible when ordering things online - from any website. The packages don't magically appear at our doorstep. They came from somewhere and it took a long process and a lot of people to get it there.

Possible solutions? Try to find the item at a store near you before you decide to shop online. Obviously not everyone has MAC stores or counters in their area so the next solution is - Try to order in bulk. I've seen many cases here at Specktra where people order a single lipstick, or one single eyeshadow. If you can, try and build a list of things you plan to buy and avoid placing multiple orders of single items.

Lastly, try and research the product as best as you can (by reading reviews, swatches, descriptions, chatting with MAC artist) so that you know you are buying products you know you will like. By doing this you avoid return shipping and prevent the unnecessary disposal of perfectly good products. Our landfills are already full as it is. If an item absolutely doesn't work for you - try selling/swapping it to someone that might need that product.

I will continue to buy online - it's a fast, easy and convenient way to shop. But there are so many steps we can take to make sure we we reduce and/or eliminate the impact on the environment.

Please keep this in mind the next time you shop. We can all do these easy steps and do our part - if everyone chips in we can have a significant impact.

 

[RedRibbon]

I can only speak for myself but the only reason I shop online is when the products aren't available in store, most of the time I hate buying something sight unseen so to speak because as far as makeup is concerned, the swatches can be really off which is why I'm glad sites like Specktra and beauty blogs swatch items so we can see what they really look like.

I think also it's important to keep in mind that when you order one thing the company doesn't charter a plane or something just to get that one thing to you, they probably have tonnes of deliveries to make every day and everything within a certain area is shipped at the same time/carried on the same vessel.

It's wrong to make people feel guilty for ordering online (not that I'm saying that's what you're doing) because in my experience, people only order online when they can't get to a shop or when the product has sold out totally in the shop as you said with your brush.

As for it being a luxury item which you could live without, that's totally subjective. I KNOW I could live without that brush because my makeup skills are set on noob so I wouldn't even know what to do with it but if you know what to do with it and you have the disposable income to afford it then go for it. The brushes had to be shipped to store anyway, they don't magically appear there so when you order they're just travelling a bit further, or be it a bit less depending on where they come from. Plus, unless people walk/ride a bike to their local MAC store, they will be burning some kinda fuel getting there too

 

[User49]

I love shopping online. It's part of life. I think the solution is when they send you loads of unnecessary paper packaging/plastic packaging to be sure to recycle it.

 

[User38]

I always shop online due to time constraints. Most stores are not open at 11 pm or 6 am. I refuse to feel guilty about this because of "real costs" -- the real cost of not ordering online would be a loss of business by many companies who I do order from thus reducing their personnel and the loss of business by the shippers (where it is UPS or Postal Services) also necessitating the loss of personnel.

I appreciate the need for many to be informed, however some information especially on economic issues tends to become skewed by either the press or public.

 

[banana1234]

its something to consider, that if no one shopped on line there would be no jobs for the people delivering all the parcels

 

[banana1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HerGreyness I always shop online due to time constraints. Most stores are not open at 11 pm or 6 am. I refuse to feel guilty about this because of "real costs" -- the real cost of not ordering online would be a loss of business by many companies who I do order from thus reducing their personnel and the loss of business by the shippers (where it is UPS or Postal Services) also necessitating the loss of personnel. I appreciate the need for many to be informed, however some information especially on economic issues tends to become skewed by either the press or public.

i made that post before i read yours, you took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[foomph]

Well, I think, like most things, moderation is key. I know that I do shop online sometimes a) when I can't find something instore or b) it's not available here (in Canada). Like the cloth diapers I bought from the US-they had the cheapest price and best items, and Paula's Choice stuff. *BUT* I have to say hat i usually only order in bulk so it's one big package and one trip, which saves packaging/fuel, etc.

I am guilty from ordering from MAC online though, when they had free shipping...bu again, I try to make it a big order...

 

[gildedangel]

I think that they are good points; but a lot of good things come from online sales, like jobs and more trade. I really hate shopping online though, I avoid it whenever possible unless I can't get what I need here or it is far cheaper online.

 

[MaskedBeauty]

And not ordering online would put all of those people in the warehouses, shipping places, etc, out of jobs because there would be no work for them. And as for the "impact on the environment", no one gave a crap about the environment before and now all of a sudden everyone is wanting to "go green" or do something about it. All of the packaging materials that are used can be recycled so it is not as bad on the environment as you may think. I completely agree with HerGreyness.

 

[MaskedBeauty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glitternmyveins I love shopping online. It's part of life. I think the solution is when they send you loads of unnecessary paper packaging/plastic packaging to be sure to recycle it.

Exactly!!!

 

[Deirdre]

I like to shop, much as possible, at my local counter, first. I like the environmental reasons, but even more, I like the staff there. I like seeing, touching, feeling the products. If everyone who shopped there, stopped, and started shopping online, we'd lose our local counter, and the girls would lose their jobs, having a negative impact on our local economy.

I only buy things online that I can't get locally. It keeps jobs in my community.

 

[jenixxx]

What I am doing about this problem is being part of TEAM 1 ORDER!

That means no ordering 2-3x from every single collection.
Get your shit figured out and order it ONCE.

Rather than tie up processing times for everyone else trying to order online as well..

When my order gets here the cardboard and paper def get recycled.

 

[erine1881]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenixxx What I am doing about this problem is being part of TEAM 1 ORDER! That means no ordering 2-3x from every single collection. Get your shit figured out and order it ONCE. Rather than tie up processing times for everyone else trying to order online as well.. When my order gets here the cardboard and paper def get recycled.

amen!

i'm tired of hearing people ordering (1-2 things), then again (1-2 things) the next day, then the next, and so on and so on. this especially occurs when there's free shipping. i understand if you forgot something, then by all means order it. but when you purposefully do this for who knows what reasons, you're causing the use of a lot of unnecessary packing supplies, which is wasteful to the environment.

and other thing, i just read in the style black discussion someone getting products in NY during the prelaunch yesterday, getting stuff home, and saying they don't like it, and they're gonna return it. seriously? why didn't you try it on at the store? that's what the testers are for! now they're gonna return a perfectly good item that's gonna be trashed all because they were too lazy to try it on at the store in the first place. talk about wasteful to the environment. all the products that were used to make that one lipstick or one shadow is now getting tossed in the trash. this is one reason that costs go up each year, and people complain about that as well!

try shit on before you buy it! all that does is save everyone time and money in the long run.

 

[vesperholly]

Physical stores have a huge operating cost of having a store open in the first place, which generates tons of waste: Building leases, construction costs, marketing products (and cost of printing), displays (ALL plastic), utility bills like electricity and water, furniture, basic store supplies like lightbulbs and tissues, cleaning supplies, not to mention salaries and benefits of employees and the insane amount of paperwork that may or may not be recycled.

Online stores have much less of that, because they can compress costs and waste by having smaller, non-public offices and staff that's more revenue-oriented because most of them are not doing sales pitches like in-store employees. That's why online-only companies like Amazon can be as successful as they are - very, very low operating cost.

I'm not well-informed enough to do a proper comparison, but I think I'll suggest it to the environmental reporter(s) at Slate.com. They've done a lot of "is this or that greener" stories and online vs. store would be a fantastic read.

 

[Mabelle]

I dont like ordering online at all. I have only ordered online from MAC once. Yes, thats right. And that was for the F&F sale. Otherwise i can get everything i want at the store. I dont understand when people have access to a store and order online anyway. Whats the freakin point? Will you have your MAC a day early sometimes (ie when the site launches a collection early)? Who cares? I mean, we all love makeup here, but that is ridiculous and excessive imo.
I also cannot agree more with Erin's two points. This multiple orders business is crazy. That is SO much waste. Seriously, calculate the carbon emissions from that delivery. I think you would be shocked at how much Co2 it is setting out, never mind the actual packaging. Now multiply this by 2 or 3 needless orders. And i duno about you, but i think the well being of our planet (that supports ALL life) is more important than employment. There are always (usually, maybe not during the recession) new fields of employment popping up. Hell, if we invested more money into cleaning up our planet, that would be a huge source of employment.
Also, i agree with Erin about people needlessly returning things. That's just so spoiled and blase imo. It really ticks me off that people dont give a crap that that product is going in the trash.

rant over

 

[User27]

*****

 

[jenixxx]

As I mentioned before the processing time MAC takes to turn-around on your order and actually get it out the door is a major concern for me.
If you're ordering 1 eyeshadow at a time and do this 3-4 times, you're wasting the time of other people placing orders that don't have access to a counter.
It's ridiculous that it would take more than 24-48 hours to process an online order with any company but MAC states 5-7 days to put an order together (GOOD GRIEF! .. even though it's usually faster if you're lucky.. then you have to wait for shipping.. ahhh) for the simple reason that people go nuts when collections release and place so many small orders.

Out of respect for my fellow MAC lovers and the community at large I order one time only!

 

[sleepyhead]

i think buying online is actually better for the environment. stores got their stuff from the head office through UPS just like you did. and i bet the extra distance the UPS guy had to travel to deliver your package is less than the distance you'd have to drive to a counter. also, if you buy from counters, there are samples, staff, counter space issues. those cost money as well as have strong environmental impact. oh, and i think people are less likely to go crazy and then return the next day when they shop online (shipping cost + too much hassle)

btw, internet is not free. they have carbon cost too

 

[hello_kitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepyhead btw, internet is not free. they have carbon cost too

I read the other day that each google search equals 0.2g to 7g of carbon released. Google claims 0.2g while another company decided on 7g. So yeah... I kinda laugh about people that sit at home on their computers, online, and tell people to be more environmentally friendly from their keyboard soapboxes. The internet (the servers, equipment, electricity to cool the servers/computers and run them, etc) has it's own impact, too!

With that said... I rarely order online from MAC because I like to see things in person (colors never look the same online it seems). But otherwise, I am a huge online ordering junky. I'd rather click "add to cart" and wait for the UPS man anyday over sitting in traffic and dealing with the idiots of the outside world.

 

[alka1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hello_kitty I read the other day that each google search equals 0.2g to 7g of carbon released. Google claims 0.2g while another company decided on 7g. So yeah... I kinda laugh about people that sit at home on their computers, online, and tell people to be more environmentally friendly from their keyboard soapboxes. The internet (the servers, equipment, electricity to cool the servers/computers and run them, etc) has it's own impact, too!

well, thanks. I appreciate being laughed at..

as for everyone else - I appreciate all your comments. You all bring up some good points regarding the pros and cons of ordering online. I wasn't trying to dictate what people should and shouldn't do.. as the title says, this was just something to think about.. no need to get worked up over this whole thing