Amazon India unveils sustainable packaging initiatives

Amazon India, Bangalore, India, has announced its commitment to eliminate single-use plastic from its packaging by June 2020. The company plans to use “paper cushions,” which will replace plastic dunnage like air pillows and bubble wraps across its fulfillment centers in India, the company reports in a news release. Paper cushions will be used to ensure the packages are protected in transit. The environment-friendly and fully recyclable packaging solutions have been launched in select fulfillment centers for Amazon India and will be extended across all of India’s Amazon fulfillment centers by the end of 2019.

The following are some of Amazon India’s eco-friendly packaging initiatives:

• All plastic dunnage across Amazon fulfillment centers in India will be replaced with paper cushions by the end of 2019.

• 60 percent of the Amazon Pantry orders are now delivered in totes, which has enabled the removal of secondary packaging.

• Packaging-free shipment is now expanded to 13 cities. 

• The company partnered with brands to develop e-commerce-friendly packaging. As of July 2019, the company doubled the number of instances where products were shipped with only the manufacturer’s packaging.

• In 2018, the company doubled the instances of a customer receiving a box with multiple products in it, reducing the packaging material used.

The company has ensured that its packaging material in the form of corrugate boxes and paper cushions contains as high as 100 percent recycled content and is also fully recyclable, Amazon India reports in a news release. The plastic currently used in packaging mailers and bubble bags is made of 20 percent recycled content and is also recyclable. Amazon India is also developing plastic-free alternatives for packaging mailers, bubble bags, stretch wrap and tape used in the packaging which will help the company eliminate all forms of plastic used in its packaging.

According to a news release from Amazon India, the company has committed to collect and recycle plastic packaging material. The company has pledged to collect plastic, equivalent to all of the plastic packaging material used by the Amazon Fulfillment network in the country as of September 2019. This is an extension of the initiative which has been underway in the State of Maharashtra for a year.

“Amazon India is committed to a sustainable supply chain that leverages technology to build solutions that optimize the use of packaging material, reduce waste and create eco-friendly packaging,” says Akhil Saxena, vice president of customer fulfillment at Amazon India. “With the introduction of paper dunnage, we are able to eliminate a significant use of plastic while continuing to protect customer orders.

He adds, “We have been relentlessly working on reducing single-use plastic in our supply chain. Today, less than 7 percent of our packaging material consists of single use plastic and we are working toward eliminating usage of them completely in our buildings in India by June 2020. We will also help educate our sellers who directly fulfill customer orders to join us in this directional change in packaging. This investment in protecting the environment ensures a triple win; it is good for our planet, good for our customers and community, and good for the business.”

In line with its commitment to sustainability, Amazon India launched Packaging-Free Shipments (PFS) last year and has expanded to 13 cities in less than a year. With packaging-free shipments, the company minimizes secondary packaging required for individual shipments by securing multiple shipments together in a reusable crate or a corrugate box.