We are in the last day of Amazon Prime Days and that means thousands of offers and thousands of shipments. The cities are overwhelmed with delivery men, the roads with vans full of packages. In all this maelstrom, nothing like choosing tranquility.

Everyone tries to take except the car. Walk to nearby sites. Take the subway whenever you can. Opt for the bus when the journey is feasible… and so on. Meanwhile, e-commerce put hundreds of thousands of vans on the road.

The increase in online shopping has turned the parcel sector into a giant that cannot cope, which is why Amazon itself has had to create its delivery fleets. Together they manage to maintain the difficult balance. It is best not to buy, but the offers are succulent.

But if you can’t resist the urge to buy something, you should at least consider opting for slower shipping.. It may seem silly, since Amazon offers free two-day shipping for Prime members, and giving up this perk might seem like a waste.

But believe it or not, there are some good reasons to consider the slower delivery option, let’s take a look.

The first reason, and perhaps the most urgent, is the environmental benefits. Transportation remains the largest source of emissions in the United States, at 27%. About a quarter of that comes from cargo trucks like those used by Amazon, and 8% from planes.

In the air, Amazon makes about 160 daily flights with its fleet. Once those flights have made their deliveries, Amazon’s trucks often take on smaller, less efficient loads to meet two-day delivery times.

The more flexible you are around delivery times, the more boxes trucks can pack, ultimately reducing the number of trips they have to make.

A study estimates that if a truck makes fewer than six stops on a trip, it loses scale efficiencyAnd from an emissions point of view, it’s just as good for a consumer to drive to the nearest store and pick up the desired item themselves.

The consolidation of deliveries means lower fuel consumption and a lower environmental impact.

Now, Amazon argues that its shipping system has gotten so good that fast shipping is just the result of a strong network of warehouses that are already stocked with products common to that area.

That could mean that you are receiving the products quickly and with low carbon cost, since the delivery person was in your neighborhood and it was a logical, emission-free delivery. But even if that’s the case, there’s another good reason to opt for slower shipping: the human cost.

Amazon workers already work to the limit every day, to meet shipping demand. So imagine what the two days of Prime Day should be like. A real hell.

There is an undoubted human cost in shopping sprees that is not reflected in the price. The need to hurry is what puts these people on the spot. Any willingness to receive a package a few days later gives these overworked employees a breathing space.

Remember that Amazon makes many decisions for you to speed up your purchase. This includes assuming you’re going to want two-day shipping. When you’re shopping on Prime Day, take a minute to change the default overnight shipping and explore the slower shipping options.

It is true that Amazon US has more shipping options than we do in Spain, but there is always the possibility of delaying shippingand this week it is worth selecting the furthest date in time to make the delivery, for the good of all.