Ecommerce giant Amazon has removed the plastic bubble lining from its packaging, with new envelopes featuring shock-absorbent, paper-based lining.
Working in collaboration with packaging industry expert Mondi, Amazon has created recyclable packaging that minimises waste and ensures damage-free delivery.
The partnership said this latest design is “simple and effective”, and designed to keep products securely in place, while at the same time absorbing stress put on the package during its journey to customers’ homes.
Due to the lightweight lining, the package itself is much lighter than equivalent-sized cardboard boxes, avoiding 44g of packaging per shipment, on average. They are also easy to fill without wasted space due to their greater flexibility, and the fact they don’t require additional padding materials to be added, such as recyclable paper dunnage.
“Amazon stopped using traditional bubble-wrap padded envelopes in Europe several years ago, which presented a challenge to develop light, flexible and fully recyclable paper packaging that provides the same protection,” said Thais Blumer, European head of sustainable packaging for Amazon.
“Achieving both low weight and maximum protection with a 100% recyclable paper envelope was not an easy task, but these envelopes are easy to pack, simple for customers to recycle at home, and enable damage-free deliveries.”
Furthermore, the new paper-padded envelopes are available in three sizes and can be used to protect single and multiple items. These include common everyday purchases ranging from skincare and health supplements to home and office items, as well as toys.
Having right-sized packaging has proved critical to customer experience, according to Amazon’s partner on this project – Mondi. Research by the company found overpackaging would see nearly half (47%) of consumers put off buying from a retailer again.
We deliver!
Our editor picks some choice pieces from the analysis flow and sends them to your inbox every Wednesday. Dedicated research report previews will also come direct to you. Subscribe for the emails.
Why not join us on Linkedin and you’ll get the best updates on our research and analysis – UK, Europe and Global – in your feed.
