Sustainable Packaging Materials Help Amazon Centers in India

Posted on: June 29th, 2020

Last year, Amazon committed to eliminating single-use plastic in its packaging across all of its fulfillment centers in India by June of 2020. That goal has become a reality. Materials such as bubble wrap have been replaced with more sustainable packaging materials such as paper cushions and packing tapes are now “100% plastic-free biodegradable”.

Amazon currently has over 50 fulfillment centers across India – one of their key markets overseas – and all are now complying with the new sustainable packaging materials guidelines.

“Our aim is to minimize environmental impact while elevating customer experience. While navigating through unprecedented challenges with the lockdown and pandemic in the last few months, we have continued to take progressive steps towards ensuring that we meet our commitment,” said Prakash Kumar Dutta, director of Customer Fulfillment & Supply Chain at Amazon India, in a statement.

Amazon’s announcement follows suit with a directive made last year by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put an end to single-use plastics by 2022 by leveraging more sustainable packaging materials.

Currently, India has a major plastic problem as it struggles with disposing some 9.4 millions tons of plastic each and every year.

To further combat the problem, Amazon is also expanding its Packaging-Free Shipping (PFS) program. An India first, it delivers products with significantly less packaging or none at all. So far this year, 40% of India’s orders are already using PFS.

David Suzuki is a renowned professor at the University of British Columbia where he teaches Zoology. “We humans have become dependent on plastic for a range of uses, from packaging to products. Reducing our use of plastic bags is an easy place to start getting our addiction under control.” Amazon is certainly doing its part in the India market.

Here at HC, we offer a wide range of customizable, sustainable packaging materials for use at organizations across North America. Corner pads, roll cradles, edge protectors and U-channels are just a few of the economical and biodegradable solutions we offer – all created using our molded pulp slurries comprised of recycled newspapers and newsprint.