Like many students, I was lured into signing up for Amazon Prime during my first year of university, tempted by the half price deal for unlimited next day delivery on millions of items and access to streaming services. I renewed it each year not giving it a second thought, but after graduating I rejected my renewal invitation. Here’s why.
Climate change
The scale of Amazon’s operations inevitably generates a huge carbon footprint, contributing significantly towards the climate crisis. According to their own reporting (which is likely to be an underestimate), Amazon’s emissions increased by 18% in 2021, reaching a record 71.5 million tonnes CO2e. For context, that’s roughly the same annual emissions as Columbia, a country with a population of 52 million people. Despite claims that carbon efficiency has improved, Amazon’s total emissions have actually continued to rise year-on-year. Clever marketing conveys a clean green image leading consumers to believe that the company cares about climate, but with a business model built purely on greed and speed; and mantra of infinite growth in a finite world, a few solar panels will not save us. So long as business is booming, Amazon will never care.
Waste
Last year, a shocking investigation revealed that Amazon is wasting millions of returned and unused items including laptops, TVs, hoovers and other perfectly good products, sending them to landfill. In one UK warehouse, more than 130,000 were marked ‘destroy’ in just one week. This practice is particularly concerning when it comes to tech items due to the notorious environmental and human rights abuses that are involved in the mining for their metal components. A former employee revealed how most of these items destined for destruction were still sealed and in pristine condition however, shelf space is highly valuable and it is often more cost effective to destroy stock which leads to catastrophic and completely avoidable waste on an unimaginable scale. Greenpeace has launched a petition calling for an end to this wasteful practice and for government to bring in legislation which holds Amazon accountable for its actions.
Monopolisation
Just like Google has become the standard search engine, Amazon is now the go-to shopping place for millions of people. With the company currently valued at $1.4 Trillion, this makes Amazon the world’s largest online retailer, dwarfing other multinational corporations such as Unilever by twelve-fold, or Nestle by over four times. This is problematic because when companies of this size dominate so much of the market and possess such purchasing (and lobbying) power, it makes it very difficult for smaller businesses to compete. This has ultimately contributed to the decline of UK high streets, especially during a time of rising rents and other costs, meaning that for many independent businesses, they simply cannot survive. With the continued growth of retailers such as Amazon, we risk losing local jobs, our communities and our heritage.
Tax avoidance
Amazon has received much criticism in recent years for its methods of tax avoidance. Despite soaring sales during the lockdowns and €44 Billion in European sales, Amazon paid zero corporation tax in 2020. More recently, it was discovered that, in 2019, the company shifted £8.2 Billion in UK revenues to the tax-haven of Luxembourg. By investing its profits into monopolising the market and shifting money to units operating at a loss, Amazon tactfully avoids paying its fair share of tax. We are living in times of great inequality and austerity, made worse by the pandemic which Amazon greatly profited from. Online retailers rely on publics services and infrastructure for a healthy and educated workforce and crucially, a customer base but Amazon chooses not to give anything back to the economies it profits from.
Working conditions
Workers’ rights at Amazon have long been a controversial topic with whistleblowers reporting numerous abuses including denial of bathroom and lunch breaks, high injury rates and employees being fired for missing near-impossible targets. Last year, stories have emerged about the lack of safety protocols during Covid-19 when staff were working flat-out to meet the sudden surge in demand. In the last couple of years, Amazon have attempted to shift the public focus by promoting increased wages and educational initiatives but have failed to address underlying issues. Whilst staff face homelessness, their hard work funds the billionaire space race – Jeff Bezo’s even had the cheek to thank the workers and customers who paid for his ten minute rocket joyride. Amazon relies on the exploitation of millions to make a few people unbelievably wealthy. To get a better picture of Bezos’ wealth, check out this tool.
Poor reporting
Amazon, like many large corporations, is known for its lack of commitments and transparency when it comes to financial and environmental reporting. For instance, the company claim to be committed to zero waste but this clearly has not translated into practice. Amazon does not publicly release figures regarding waste or any other aspect of sustainability for that matter, other that its carbon emissions. The lengthy sustainability reports look promising but upon closer read, important data is missing, with very few specific details given about initiatives and plenty of greenwashing. The company may have become too big for its boots and consequently struggles to measure or even comprehend the scale of its damaging impact; or, and possibly worse, they are fully aware and choose not to report because they know just how bad it is.
Can we really boycott Amazon?
If you ever use eBay, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, BBC or Spotify (to name just a few), then you’re visiting websites which are hosted by Amazon Web Services; a subsidiary of Amazon that provides cloud computing platforms. Through business acquisitions in recent years, Amazon also outright owns the following companies: IMDb, The Book Depository, Goodreads, Ring, Twitch and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Sound like they’re taking over the world yet?
What can we do?
If you’re using the internet, it seems pretty much impossible to avoid Amazon completely but there are some ways you can shop more sustainably:
- Find alternatives to Prime’s streaming platforms such as borrowing films from your library, visiting a local cinema or buying second-hand CDs and records (yes some people still use these!).
- Use Amazon as a search tool for items but then buy directly from the company who make the product. Not only does this help smaller businesses, but it can also work out cheaper.
- Support local businesses – it’s amazing how much diversity is on the high-street. I am still discovering new shops in my local area and I have lived in the same town for over 20 years!
- Buy secondhand or borrow – check out local Facebook groups, charity shops, car boot sales, share shops etc. For most of the products we use everyday, buying new is unnecessary. Sharing and reusing saves us money and reduces our strain on resources. Win win!
It is worth noting that for some people – especially those who are geographically isolated or time-poor – delivery services like Amazon are important. But for those of us who are privileged with choice, we have an opportunity to use our consumer power to buy into the world we want to see. It’s time to break up with Amazon.
Planet Poppy 