Amazon slashes e-commerce packaging material for European shipping items

16 Apr 2024 --- Amazon is now shipping over 50% of European cargo in reduced, recyclable delivery packaging, such as a paper bag, cardboard envelope or no added packaging through Amazon’s Ships in Product Packaging program. 

The program applies to eligible items that don’t require any additional Amazon packaging — the products ship in the original manufacturer’s packaging, with only a customer address label added. 

“Customers know Amazon for our instantly recognizable cardboard delivery boxes, but more than half of our deliveries in Europe now come in lighter packaging such as paper bags or card envelopes, or with no added packaging at all,” says Pat Lindner, Amazon’s VP of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging. 

“We are committed to using machine learning and artificial intelligence to reduce packaging and be more sustainable for our customers, and the Operations Innovation Lab in Italy is at the forefront of those efforts.”

No added packaging leads to waste reduction and lighter shipments, which leads to reduced delivery emissions per package and less to recycle. More than 700 million shipments in Europe have been delivered without additional packaging in the past five years through this program, claims the e-commerce giant. 

For items that need additional packaging, Amazon uses paper bags and card envelopes, which are “up to 90% lighter than similar-sized corrugated cardboard boxes, require less packaging material and result in less empty space in each package shipped.” 

 The paper padding inside the Amazon mailer provides product protection and absorbs travel stress.Lightweight bags and envelopes
Amazon tests its packaging technologies for Europe in its Operations Innovation Lab.

The lab has an automated machine that creates made-to-fit packaging and a labeling robot that automates label application for packages that can be shipped without added delivery packaging.

“In Europe, all of our delivery packaging — the boxes, bags and envelopes that we pack products in to deliver to our customers — is recyclable,” asserts the company. 

“However, we also want to use as little packaging as possible to minimize our impact. Over the last several years, we have significantly reduced packaging by using AI and machine learning to identify products that can be safely delivered in lighter, smaller packaging.”

Amazon also tests a new recyclable paper-padded envelope across Europe. 

The envelope is made from paper, optimized for weight, flexibility and impact resistance. The paper padding inside the mailer provides the required protection to the products inside, absorbing the stress put on the package during its journey to reach the customer. 

It is lighter than cardboard envelopes and boxes, easier to fill without wasted space and requires less carbon to manufacture and transport it, stresses Amazon. 

“When packages are the right size, we can fit more of them in every van, leading to fewer van journeys, which in turn helps us with our goal to be net zero carbon across our operations by 2040. Paper-padded envelopes can be disposed of in household recycling,” says the company. 

Automated made-to-measure packaging
Amazon has developed new machines that create on-demand, recyclable, made-to-fit packages, reducing the volume of packaging for thousands of everyday items. 

Using an in-built sensor, the machines scan items such as video games, kitchen gadgets, sports equipment and office supplies — each of which were previously sent in boxes and cardboard folders — and cut the paper bag from rolls of paper in real time to pack the items securely. 

Each bag is secured using heat-sealing technology, enabling the machines to pack quickly and accurately while minimizing empty space around the contents. No glue is needed to seal the packaging. 

By packing items in 100% recyclable light paper packaging, which is made-to-fit without the need for padding, the machines help to avoid more than 26 g of packaging per shipment, on average. 

Innova Market Insights identified “Maximizing Minimization” as a top packaging trend for this year. “Within the e-commerce space, we’ve observed several initiatives that aim to reduce superfluous packaging through fit-for-purpose package design,” Akhil Aiyar, projects leader at Innova, told Packaging Insights.

Improving Amazon labels
Meanwhile, Amazon is investing in labeling technologies. 

The company is testing a new Universal Robotic Labeller, a high-speed auto-labeling machine that improves label placement and adhesion on paper bags and products that ship in their own packaging. 

The new machine allows Amazon to place labels automatically onto smaller-sized and uniquely shaped packaging, reducing materials, lowering costs and increasing speed and efficiency. 

The company is also testing a new easy-peel label technology in Europe and the US that allows customers to remove shipping labels from their Ships in Product Packaging boxes after delivery.

Oceana estimates that Amazon generated 208 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2022 — a 9.6% increase over the Ocean conservation advocacy’s estimate for 2021. But Lindner told Packaging Insights that the report is “misleading,” containing “exaggerated” and “inaccurate” information about the company’s plastic packaging.

By Natalie Schwertheim