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November 3, 2009

Amazon launches Frustration-Free Packaging

Ends wrap rage, saves planet

Lexton Snol

Online retailer Amazon has pledged to help the environment and end "wrap rage" with its new Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging initiative.

Amazon says its Frustration-Free Packaging is a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate "wrap rage" - the frustration of trying to free a product from a nearly impenetrable package.

Using recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties, Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging is designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife.

Amazon says that the new environmentally friendly "will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging".

Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging

In addition to making packages easier to open, a major goal of the Frustration-Free Packaging initiative is to be more environmentally friendly by using less material, says Amazon.

"It will take many years, but our vision is to offer our entire catalogue of products in Frustration-Free Packaging," says the company.

Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be delivered in their own boxes, without an additional delivery box.

Amazon currently offers a selection of its consumer electronics products in Frustration-Free Packaging.

Amazon explains why it currently boxes an already packaged item: "A product's original box often is not designed to be dispatched directly to the customer. To ensure it arrives safely, we may place it inside another box. With Frustration-Free Packaging, the products have been designed to be dispatched in their original containers directly to the customer."

If customers want the contents of their package to remain a surprise to the recipient, they would select the 'Gift Wrap' option during checkout.

The gift-wrapped package will be sent in an additional Amazon box for delivery. If they include a gift note but not gift wrap, the item will be dispatched in its original box and the contents may be visible to the recipient.

Amazon does not throw away the original retail packaging and re-box items in Frustration-Free Packaging before dispatching them to customers. It works directly with manufacturers to box products in Frustration-Free Packages right off the assembly lines, which reduces the overall amount of packing materials used.

Amazon claims its efforts to reduce packaging waste don't stop with Frustration-Free Packaging. It has also developed software that determines the "right-sized" box for any given item based on dimension and weight. As a result, it boasts that it has achieved a "dramatic reduction" in the number of packages delivered in oversized boxes, significantly reducing waste.

"Our goal is to always have the product delivered in the "right-sized" box," says Amazon.

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