Earlier this year, Amazon announced the rollout of an innovative scheme that it hopes can help to reduce unnecessary packaging – an issue for which it has frequently been criticised in the past. The ‘Ships in Product Packaging’ programme tests packages to see if they can be shipped in their original manufacturer’s packaging, eliminating the need for extra cardboard boxes or paper bags from Amazon. Products that pass this text are eligible for discounts on the fulfilment fee that Amazon charges its partners. To learn more about this project, we caught up with Kayla Fenton, Ships in Product Packaging Programme Global Lead at Amazon.
It’d be great if we could start with you giving a brief overview of this latest bit of news.
Amazon has expanded its Ships in Product Packaging programme to all of its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) sellers across Europe, the US and Canada. The programme is designed to reduce unnecessary packaging by testing products for their ability to ship in the original manufacturer’s packaging, without additional cardboard boxes or paper bags from Amazon.
Since 2015, packaging programmes like Ships in Product Packaging have reduced average packaging per shipment by 41% and eliminated the need for more than 2 million tons of packaging material. In 2022, 11% of packages worldwide were shipped without Amazon packaging.
Along with the benefit of cutting down on packaging, participating sellers are also now eligible for discounted fees. In Europe, products certified to ship in their own packaging can receive a fulfilment fee discount ranging from €0.01-€4.83 per unit, depending on item size and weight.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into this initiative now – how does the process actually work at each stage of the journey?
Ships in Product Packaging encourages Selling Partners to package their products in easy-to-open packaging that is recyclable and ready to ship to customers without additional Amazon packaging. Products are shipped with just an address label added. If the product is not fragile or doesn’t contain liquids or sharp items, then sellers can perform a self-test to certify.
Detailed instructions are provided on the Amazon packaging site and Seller Central, including different testing steps depending on whether the product is packaged in a box or bag. They can also use a third-party, certified lab to test and then enrol their product, and Amazon provides a list of labs where the test can be completed. All fragile, liquid, and sharp items must be tested through a certified lab.
What was the thinking behind implementing this move for Amazon, and could you also talk a bit about the expected benefits, as well as any concrete projections?
We’re committed to delivering the products our customers love in packaging that protects their items, while minimising waste and materials used. By incentivising manufacturers and sellers to design their packaging to ship safely and securely without the need for extra packaging, we’re improving customer experience and reducing packaging waste. It’s a win all around for sellers, customers, and the planet.
The Ships in Product Packaging programme has the benefit of helping sellers connect with customers, who immediately see their branding upon delivery. Packaging designed for ecommerce is typically easier to open and creates less waste.
It can also reduce costs. In addition to being eligible for lower FBA fulfilment fees, Ships in Product Packaging means selling partners can save on the cost of the packaging itself. Retail packaging can be oversized and glossy to capture customer attention. Because customers can see multiple product images online, ecommerce allows for simpler – and often lower-cost – packaging.
By using more compact packaging, selling partners can potentially reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions by using less packaging material and taking up less space on trucks, which means fewer trips.
This project had been in existence for a while before the recent announcement regarding its expansion. Looking back at its entire lifespan, what are some key learnings that Amazon has picked up, and what has feedback from sellers looked like?
In 2023, we ran a Ships in Product Packaging incentive pilot programme with selected sellers, gathering feedback to build a programme that fit their needs. This year, we have already seen successful examples of sellers converting their products to ecommerce packaging.
B2Fitness, an international sports equipment seller on Amazon, has been able to test and certify more than 30 fitness products to ship as Ships in Product Packaging with minimal adaptations, using its existing packaging for products including boxing gloves, weight lifting belts and weight lifting wrist wraps.
Because the company’s existing cardboard packaging – already recyclable and designed for ecommerce – proved sturdy enough to ship these items to customers without additional delivery packaging, the only adjustment required to certify was to apply standard tape to seal the box.
Go North Group, an aggregator that owns and operates a collection of nearly 30 brands, has also had a positive experience of testing and certifying products for Ships in Product Packaging, with the company saying the programme is helping it reduce packaging while benefitting from cost savings, making it an excellent way to help future-proof its ecommerce business.
Go North Group has already tested and certified 165 products, and received incentives for over 45,000 units shipped in their own packaging.
This is the latest in a number of sustainability-focussed packaging moves from Amazon in recent times, including making 100% of its delivery packaging in Europe recyclable and promoting “right-sized” packaging. I wonder if you could situate the wider rollout of the Ships in Product Packaging programme in this context?
Amazon customers want right-sized, easily recyclable packaging that minimizes waste and ensures damage-free delivery. Our first priority is to eliminate additional Amazon packaging unless necessary – and this is where Ships in Product Packaging comes in. When packaging is required, we optimise with lighter, right-sized packaging to reduce waste and carbon, while ensuring products arrive safely.
All Amazon delivery packaging in Europe – the boxes, bags and envelopes we use to ship products to customers – is recyclable, and as a result we avoided using more than 1 billion single-use plastic delivery bags across Europe.
Amazon appears to be focussed on eliminating as much plastic as possible from its packaging in favour of paper-based solutions. I’d like to get your views on how this affects product protection, as well as the overall carbon emissions produced by the company. Have any LCAs/research projects been undertaken which show that the new solutions you are using are better for the environment than the previous solutions in terms of carbon emissions?
We leverage a variety of packaging options globally for product shipping to optimise for strong durability, light weight, and size. While single-use plastics are lightweight, waterproof, and may result in lower carbon emissions to produce the material, they are difficult to recycle, so are more likely to create waste in the long term.
Furthermore, not all countries in Europe have home collection of single-use plastics, which could require our customers to take the materials from their homes to store drop-off locations. As a company that obsesses about our customers, we recognise it’s not the easiest customer experience.
This has created a challenge that Amazon is taking head on – how to continue to find ways to minimise carbon emissions, increase recyclability, and reduce waste.
Amazon teams around the world continuously work to improve packaging using a science-based approach to have a lower environmental impact, including investing in new materials, processes, and technologies.
The Packaging Decision Engine is an AI model helping determine the most efficient packaging options to ship millions of items available to Amazon customers. Data scientists have trained the model to understand a variety of product attributes, including an item’s shape and durability, and to analyze customer feedback on how different packaging options have performed.
The model is constantly learning and has helped reduce the company’s use of packaging material since it launched in 2019.
We’re trialling new packaging machines in Europe and the US that build made-to-fit paper bags around individual items on demand, reducing the volume of packaging for thousands of everyday items.
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 grams of packaging per shipment, on average. Lightweight paper bags used by Amazon are up to 90% lighter than similar-sized cardboard boxes.
We’re also testing a new recyclable paper-padded envelope across Europe. The envelope is optimised for weight, flexibility, and impact resistance. It’s critical for light-weight deliveries, since it’s much lighter than cardboard envelopes and boxes, easier to fill, and requires less carbon to manufacture and transport it.
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 by 2040.
If you liked this story, you might also enjoy:
The Brief: How viable is biorecycling for plastics?
Report: How the top brands are progressing on packaging sustainability
The Brief: Using ocean-bound plastic in packaging – how, why and should we?
No comments yet