Amazon Patents Eco-Friendly Shipping Options

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October 21, 2010

Speed may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Amazon.com has been granted a patent for "environmentally conscious electronic transactions," which customers will be able to opt to use at a premium price and slower delivery rate.

The system also suggests customers cold buy carbon credits to offset the emissions generated by the packaging and shipping of their purchases, according to a Newsweek report.

While many manufacturers are focusing on vehicle and route transportation optimization and using recycled/recyclable materials, Amazon’s paten adds e-commerce to the line-up. When ordering products online, customers have “little control” over their environmentally friendly shipping options, according to the report.

As a result, the following are the green shipping choices customers will be offered, according to the patent:

• Using a shipping option that uses a smaller shipping company that takes advantage of hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicles.
• Selecting a delivery company that uses low-emission vehicles, but that may make several other stops, which could add more time to the product deliver.
• Selecting companies that ravel at night and avoid city routes, reducing the negative impact on air quality.

Other choices could include using less packaging or more environmentally friendly packaging or packaging manufactured in facilities that only use renewable energy.

Originally filed in April 2009, the Amazon.com patent was granted last week

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