the stick, the stone and the puddle

recently i purchased a few dvds from best buy. used their online ‘booking’ system and still had to drive to two different locations to pick up the required discs. even though their online shopping system is set-up decently enough so that even bush can use it, and it’s somewhat recommended, this ain’t about that.

at one location i purchased 1 dvd. great service, quick and polite…but then again we’re used to great customer service. however, 1 dvd purchased meant being handed a 40cm (approximately 16 inches for some of you) long receipt. why? now, i’m definitely not the most environmentally friendly person (…no comment), but if 1 item means i get a huge receipt, i’m sort of wondering if it’s time i look for a different place to purchase various things. best buy is quite popular, which means, by simple logic, that the amount of paper that could be saved if they cut down on their receipts size might not only save them some money, but have an impact on other things. do i really need all the information they put on there? who actually reads it? sure they post their return disclaimer, but that can be done on the back. oh wait, they do have it on the back in detail form. the front version is a rather ‘simpler’ version. 80% of the receipt is filled with pretty much useless information for the consumer. used to promote either customer review surveys, promote their bonus card and as mentioned above the return-it policy (front and back). oh yes, and their huge name printed at the top.

why cut down on the paper? well everyone else is doing it (actually everyone says they’re doing it)! going green is definitely seen as important at this point, and no not just for the political careers of many. but, cutting down on some of the resources that we use but don’t really need will provide an opportunity to take care of our own environment. why would it be useful for best buy? well, first they could definitely save on the cost of purchasing so much paper (not that they will cut down on their prices if that occurs), and cut down on the cost of the ink if they print less, they could promote themselves as a greener company (which will most likely get them more business), and indirectly cut down costs for everyone else by not requiring so much paper (this does include cut down on the requirement of manufacturing so much paper, cutting down a few less trees, and the list can go on but this is not a class report ).

how would this affect me, well first of all i don’t have to be handed the ‘tiny’ receipt for purchasing 1 item. eventually it will get thrown away (or recycled by some), but regardless by making it smaller it should imply it’s easier to deal with whether it ends up in the landfill or it gets re-used. it would also tell me that the big corporations are taking the issue a bit more serious.

i agree i’m not the most environmentally friendly person but essentially every little bit done to reduce our waste does help. but best buy (and it’s smaller brother future shop) are enourmous in north america. making a small change of cutting down their reciept size by 50% (and yes it can go even smaller) could have a huge impact simply because of the amount of people that purchase their ‘required’ items from them daily. and this should also send a signal to other companies that they could help with the green shift a lot more by reducing their waste. their image will surely improve in the eyes of the public; which should indirectly increase their profits. they could take a step forward and lead by example. others will surely follow.