Finding the best way to package devices is so important to Amazon. After all the time and effort the team invests in designing and building world-class products, they want to make sure they get to you safe and sound. It’s the first thing you interact with when your product arrives, so they pay close attention to getting that unboxing experience just right. Last but not least, Amazons knows that it is important to you what happens with the packaging when you are done with it, so they want to make sure that their packaging is easy to recycle—they obsess over every single material they use.
Over the past few years, they’ve made a number of changes to make their device packaging even more recyclable—in fact, last year, 90% of the devices they launched in the U.S. were boxed in 100% recyclable device packaging.
One of the key changes they made was removing the plastic bags in and outside the box. Originally, they used outer plastic wraps and laminations to properly protect the box from damage when it was shipped, which they’ve replaced with water-based coating that keeps that box safe and undamaged. Inside the box, they’re using paper-based wraps that protect the device and are compatible with paper recycling streams.
They’ve also improved how they ship devices to our Amazon warehouses because decarbonizing our transportation network is a key part of meeting The Climate Pledge by 2040. For example, they’ve continued to find ways to make their device boxing more compact when possible, which lets them increase how many products go on a pallet. Plus, they’ve focused on using more non-air modes of transportation when they ship products from final assembly to their warehouses. This is key because our science models show that ocean shipping emissions are, on average, 95% lower than air transport emissions.
An all-new design that uses more recycled fibers and less ink
Now, they’ve redesigned their device packaging for Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV products to improve the circularity of their packaging. Their new packaging introduces, on average, 30% more recycled fiber content, reducing the reliance on virgin tree-based and bleached fibers. That means that they’re using more fiber content that’s already been recycled by customers and is in circulation. Across their device product lines, they average 98% wood fiber-based materials in their packaging.
Their new packaging also uses 60% less ink, and the design looks more like the brown kraft box design that Amazon customers are already familiar with because they aren’t bleaching the boxes. Bleaching uses chemicals that can be harmful to the environment, and the process of bleaching can be carbon intensive. The brown kraft design also allows them to increase the amount of post-consumer recycled materials they’re using—more than double the amount they were using before.
Providing more accessible product information
They’ve used QR codes before to help them use less paper in the box—customers scan the code to get more detailed setup instructions. Now, they’re taking it a step further with a new tactile-marked QR code that they’re starting to use on the Quick Start Guides in the boxes.
That’s critical so that customers who are blind or have low vision can easily find the code by touch and scan it to access a digital quick-start guide, which details product info, setup instructions, and troubleshooting tips. A customer can also learn more about the device’s accessibility features.
Eliminating waste in our deliveries
More broadly, for the packaging they use for their deliveries at Amazon, they’ve continued to find ways to use less packaging and prioritize easier to recycle materials. Since 2015, Amazon has reduced the average per-shipment packaging weight by 43% and avoided more than 3 million metric tons of packaging, including nearly half a million metric tons in 2023 alone. This year, we removed plastic air pillows used in their delivery packaging at their global fulfillment centers—avoiding nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually.
