Shopping technology goes green as big hitters take action

We are all looking for ways to be more green, and many big organisations are leading the way.

More and more stores are starting green initiatives in order to be more environmentally friendly, and many are utilising technology in order to do so.

One of the most progressive initiatives is the Bitcoin revolution.

Tesla, renowned for its environmentally friendly ethos, was one of the first companies to regularly accept the currency, but now companies such as JPMorgan (who is rumoured to be preparing a huge private fund for its wealthiest investors) and Square have included the asset in their portfolios.

You can find easy and well regulated currency exchange from places like Swyftx International, and it isn’t just Bitcoin available.

It’s worth investigating the different kinds of cryptocurrency and looking into what you can do with it, but this is one retail technology that’s set to be with us for good.

Tommy Hilfiger is moving to a digital design approach which, by not producing potentially wasted items, and wasting money and resources on creating clothing, could be set to pave the way for clothing brands to become more sustainable.

The fast fashion industry is one of the leading culprits of environmental damage, producing over 92 million tonnes of waste each year. If designers and leading fashion houses can reduce this, then a huge impact will be made.

Tommy Hilfiger’s aim is that many of its designs will exist exclusively as 3D designs until ordered. A capsule collection was launched in autumn 2020 to test this, and shirts were designed, developed, and sold entirely online.

Many supermarkets are now making bids to reduce their plastic waste, as recent reports say that they create over 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year.

Supermarkets are taking steps to address this, with the Co-op in the UK becoming the first to launch an entirely compositible range of carrier bags.

AI will make accurate predictions of customer demands, and therefore reduce wastage and start to lower the impact these monoliths can have on the environment.

It isn’t just in-store that supermarkets are making a bid to lower their environmental impact.

Last year, Waitrose introduced high-tech “invisible doors,” which have been developed by Wirth Research and use sensors to detect the flow of air in both directions at the doors of Waitrose stores.

Wirth Research says that the AirDoor archway installations will cause no disruption to shoppers, and could save British retailers a total of £1.5 billion every year on their energy bills.

Whilst there’s plenty of technology that retailers are starting to employ more and more of in their daily business, many of them are also introducing brand new green initiatives across their business.

This includes Ikea, who have just begun accepting old, undamaged furniture for recycling.

Not only that, but the furniture giant will pay between 30 and 50% of the item’s original value, depending on the condition you return it in, so it could be well worth taking things to your local store.

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