Free Shipping Day has the potential to do so much good for the environment.  Visit www.freeshippingday.com for information including which retailers are participating.

Online shopping usually slows down as we get closer to Christmas because shoppers don’t want to pay expedited shipping charges. So shoppers get in their vehicles and drive from store to store and mall to mall to find their last minute gifts.

By offering shoppers one last chance to purchase their gifts online with guaranteed arrival by Christmas (while also giving them free shipping) this late into December, retailers are doing an immense amount of good for the environment.

According to Dr. Julia Edwards of the IMRG Online Green Awards 2008 online shopping can have 27 times less of a negative impact on the environment.

“The carbon emission of each item bought online and delivered to the customer is 132 grams of CO2. A staggering 27 items need to be bought on a dedicated car journey to the shops to achieve the same level of efficiency.”

Here’s a few tips on how you can be even greener with your online shopping.

• Order more than one item from a retailer in a single purchase to reduce packaging materials and transportation impacts to the environment.
• Recycle the packaging materials from your purchase.
• Select ground shipping methods over air shipping methods when ever possible.

Do your part for the environment. Ditch the car and go online to do your last-minute holiday shopping.