The A-Z Of Ecommerce Packaging

Discover what Amazon is doing to improve the sustainability of its packaging and reduce the impact of ecommerce on the planet.

Think of ecommerce and you think of Amazon. The 30-year-old company is one of the biggest in the world and its business interests range from cloud computing and home entertainment to supermarkets and self-driving cars. The world’s biggest online retailer outside of China, its website has more than two billion visits every month.

As a company that uses billions of tons of packaging every year, Amazon comes under a huge amount of scrutiny for its sustainability – something it’s working hard to improve.

The Great Material Swap

The key issue for ecommerce packaging is the use of plastics, and Amazon has reduced the amount of plastic packaging it uses by 37,150 tons since 2020. It does this by eliminating the amount of unnecessary packaging or replacing the plastic with recyclable, paper-based alternatives.

In Europe, Amazon recently announced that 100% of its packaging is now recyclable, with all customers receiving their orders in flexible paper bags, cardboard envelopes and corrugated cardboard boxes. The amount of products shipped without any additional Amazon packaging in Europe also increased by more than 50% in 2023. These initiatives have resulted in its European distribution network avoiding the use of more than 1 billion single-use plastic delivery bags since 2019.

“I’ve spent a career in both plastics and paper,” said Pat Lindner, Vice President of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging at Amazon. “I’ve been doing innovation on both sides. They both have their attributes, but when it comes to the circular economy, plastics just can’t stack up because they’re made from fossil fuels.”

Size Does Matter

Another way Amazon is cutting their environmental impact is through ‘right-size packaging’. Currently being trialled in Europe, this automated process involves producing on-demand made-to-measure paper bags that package a product using the minimum amount of material.

Products are scanned by advanced packaging machines using built-in sensors, which determines the size of bag that’s cut from paper rolls in real-time, before the bag is heat-sealed with no glue required. Designed to minimise empty space and save resources, the process creates bags that are completely recyclable and up to 90% lighter than cardboard boxes of a similar size.

“We are constantly innovating, testing and learning when it comes to packaging solutions for our customers”, said Thais Blumer, head of Sustainable Packaging for Amazon, Europe. “Our material scientists developed a light but durable paper which stretches, is more weather-resistant than regular paper, and can be heat-sealed like plastic, but is all easily recyclable in your household collections.”

Where Amazon Goes, Others Follow

But while many products can be safely and securely packaged in paper bags, there are many that need a bit of extra padding, and Amazon are placing a lot of focus on paper padded envelopes. Traditionally made using plastic bubble wrap, these old-style envelopes are notoriously hard to recycle, so Amazon are currently testing a range of recyclable paper-padded envelopes across Europe.

In addition, the company is looking into reusable packaging bags, which are designed to be durable and sealed with Velcro, so they can be reused multiple times. Customers are invited to return the reusable delivery bags to Amazon, which they will then clean and use again and again.

As one of the world’s largest online retailers, it’s vital that Amazon continues to innovate in sustainable packaging, reducing the environmental impact of ecommerce and leading the way in achieving a circular economy.