Amazon may consider bringing several global innovations to India for manufacturing sturdy recyclable paper packaging as the e-commerce company works to reduce the use of plastic across its deliveries.
The move is part of the company’s broader effort to eliminate plastic delivery packaging.
The e-commerce firm has been researching and experimenting for years to find solutions to deliver products to customers with paper.
Its fulfilment centre in Euclid, Ohio, was the first in the US to replace plastic delivery packaging with paper packaging solutions that are curbside recyclable. “By rebuilding existing machines to use paper instead of plastic, creating durable and flexible paper packaging, improving made-to-fit technology, and transitioning from plastic air pillows to paper filler, the team enabled the Euclid fulfilment centre to transition fully to paper packaging,” the company said in an October blogpost on eliminating plastic packaging.
Given the size and scope of a market like India where e-commerce adoption is rapidly increasing, the company is in active conversations with the local team to bring such technology into India.
“India is a country that we are continuing to evaluate. It’s an important marketplace for us and we’re continuing to bring innovation there. I think there’s potential for this. We’re just under evaluation with it right now,” said Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon.
While Lindner refused to give specific timelines on taking such technology to India, he said the move was currently under evaluation.
This work is part of a multi-year effort to convert US fulfilment centres to paper. Such new paper solutions will provide the convenience of allowing many customers to recycle at home. Like most retailers, Amazon has traditionally used a mix of plastic and paper packaging to optimize for durability, weight, and size.
