How to Safely Shop Online During the Coronavirus Pandemic

As the world endures one of the most uncertain times in recent history and we practice social distancing, a new normal emerges. In the middle of a global pandemic, shopping for clothes and non-essentials can seem trivial. Not shopping at all, however, means more hardship for the small businesses and designers we love.

Quantum Metric, an analytics firm, released data on March 11 showing that store closures are driving consumers to purchase online, with online retailers based in the U.S. seeing a 52% increase in online spending, compared to around the same time last year. If you’re interested or need to shop during this time there are a number of questions that emerge. We asked experts how and if it’s possible to shop safely in light of the current health crisis.

Should We Still Be Shopping?

While there’s a strong argument for supporting small businesses and designers during this time, is it safe for us to do so? Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention epidemiologist, says yes. “Online shopping, especially of small businesses, is a great way to support local retail,” says Popescu. “There has not been an identified concern that these are risky practices.”

Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, M.D., an assistant professor in geographic medicine and infectious diseases at Tufts University School of Medicine, agrees that online shopping is low risk. “It’s an important question because it’s something that we haven’t encountered before,” she says. However, Eleanor Murray, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, told Teen Vogue that it’s important to keep in mind that although the probability of getting infected by a package is low, it’s not zero.

“One important thing about probabilities is even if a probability is low, as a lot of people are doing some things, then it's going to happen sometimes that someone will get infected,” she said. “If seven billion people around the world are ordering, getting packages delivered, then somebody somewhere probably would get infected through that way.” With this in mind, both experts agree that it is possible to shop online safely, while taking extra precautions.

Shopping for Clothing

Shopping online for clothing, Dr. Andujar Vazquez says, carries relatively the same risk as shopping for groceries. “It doesn't live that well, that long in clothing itself, depending on the fabric. So I wouldn't say that buying clothes is more risky than buying groceries,” she says. “The likelihood of that clothing and the package having the virus there would be low, and you have the option to clean the clothes if you feel like you need to be extra safe about it.”

Popescu also considers cloth materials low risk. “Porous items like cloth tend not to have a long period for microbial contamination, the virus tends to live longer on stainless steel or plastic,” she says. “Microbial transfer happens in much lower volumes on soft materials, like clothing.” Dr. Andujar Vazquez and Popescu agree that washing clothes in warm or hot soapy water should clear up any transmission concerns. Something Murray says is a particularly good idea if the shipping time was short (1-3 days).

Can We Still Buy Vintage?

When it comes to secondhand clothing, Julia L. Marcus, infectious disease epidemiologist and an assistant professor in population medicine at Harvard Medical School, sees only a “really hypothetical and probably very low risk” that can also be easily resolved by washing the items, as you would with new items. This makes it possible to continue to support your favorite Depop seller, and make more environmentally-friendly purchases while social distancing.

Does Packaging Matter?

The experts mentioned agree that the outside of the package is more likely to have come into contact recently with an infected person, and therefore has more chance (but still a low chance) of transmitting COVID-19. But does this chance shift depending on the surface of the package? While studies are still underway that are trying to understand how the virus behaves on different surfaces, Murray says that the virus does last longer on plastic and metal rather than cardboard.

Transmitting through tiny drops of spit that can be spat on a surface while someone is talking, coughing, or sneezing, according to Murray, these particles can last for up to 12 hours on cardboard under “perfect lab conditions”. “We know from before that these last longer on smoother surfaces,” she says. Popescu agrees that recent studies have shown it can live on cardboard for about a day and plastic for up to three days.

Unboxing Best Practices

Because cardboard and plastic are commonly used for packaging for online orders, there are a number of ways to ensure you are receiving the delivery with the safety of your household in mind. “I encourage people to open the item and then use hand hygiene after to prevent contamination,” Popescu says. “For plastic containers and bags, you can wipe it down with a disinfecting wipe or follow the same steps as a cardboard package: focus on hand hygiene.”

For those who are concerned, high risk, or living with someone who is high risk, Murray says you may want to leave a cardboard box for a day before you touch it and bring it inside. “Another possibility is to open it up and then immediately take everything out. Wash your hands really well and put the box out with the recycling, so that it’s not in your house.” Both agree that washing your hands well with soap and water after handling the package is a crucial step for shopping safely during the global health crisis.

What to Ask Businesses

While ensuring your safety and the safety of your community when shopping online is important, so too is being mindful of the workers who are making online shopping possible during this unsettling time. Before clicking purchase, it’s a great idea to reach out to the brand or individual to ask them what measures they’re currently taking to keep their employees safe. “Making sure that they’re not having employees that are still working while sick is an easy question that anyone can ask,” says Dr. Andujar Vazquez. “Making sure that they have policies that are strict to ensure no one goes in to work while sick or is being forced to work while sick.”

Murray wants us to also consider asking if they’re giving their workers paid sick leave and protective equipment, especially important for delivery workers in places like Amazon. “We need them to stay healthy and safe because they’re doing something that’s a bit hazardous. It’s also important for society.” She encourages consumers to push companies to be open about how they’re protecting the health of their workers. “If somebody's got coronavirus and is coming in and packaging boxes in a warehouse that's really disastrous for hundreds or thousands of people around the world,” she says.

We should also consider that, with the current goal to minimize non-essential trips and work, every online purchase we make is feeding a demand for businesses and their employees to continue working. “If you're thinking about ordering from companies where their primary business is clothing, they're [the workers are] only essential because you're continuing to order from them,” she says. “On the one hand, it's kind of good to be able to keep the economy going a little bit, but it's also important to think about the person that you're relying on to get this to you.”

Can I Click Buy?

The short answer is yes. There’s a consensus that it’s possible to shop online safely during this time, while practicing good hand hygiene and disposing of the packaging mindfully. However, this doesn’t mean it should be done so without questions. As people across the world stay home in solidarity with their community, we must also be community-minded when making online purchases during this new normal. This means ensuring the safety of not only yourself but the workers still on the frontlines. After checking in on how your favorite brand is keeping their employees safe, you can still click purchase on that online order safely and enjoy something new to stay inside with.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue