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Oct 31, 2024

Amazon tests reusable cardboard boxes in Europe | Trellis

The world’s biggest e-commerce company is studying return rates and durability on 100,000 orders. Read More Amazon is trying out reusable packaging provided by two European packaging startups, Hipli

The world’s biggest e-commerce company is studying return rates and durability on 100,000 orders. Read More

Amazon is trying out reusable packaging provided by two European packaging startups, Hipli and Re-zip, to test return rates and other consumer metrics, such as durability and processing times at its logistics facilities.

The boxes and parcels will be used on approximately 100,000 orders to e-commerce customers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria. They started in September, and are still ongoing as e-commerce ramp-ups for year-end holidays.

The world’s largest e-commerce company says it says it has eliminated more than 2 million pounds of packaging over the past decade, with a big focus on adopting recyclable materials. It also says it has cut 37,150 tons of plastic packaging since 2020, by switching to paper mailers, but still uses 85,916 tons of single-use plastic annually, as of 2022.

Amazon has been far less vocal about its reuse strategy, only stating that it is considering multiple options. The two experiments in Europe are part of its startup accelerator initiatives in the region.

Both vendors involved in the project are shipping packages that originate from warehouses in France, but the packages are being shipped to other countries.

Hipli, based in France, has more than a 1 million packages in circulation in eight countries and works with about 350 brands. It was tapped to handle 50,000 orders from Amazon’s Montélimar fulfillment center.

Hipli’s standard format includes parcels and boxes made from recycled plastic. The packages can be folded by consumers after delivery and mailed back via postal services. They can be used “multiple” times, a proof point that Amazon is tracking.

Danish startup Re-zip likewise offers multiple formats. For the Amazon trial it’s offering 45,000 reusable cardboard boxes from Amazon’s Lauwin-Planque facility, said Bo Bach Boddum, CEO of Re-zip. The packages can be returned to locations such as shipping facilities or retail stores; customers use an app to indicate when they are ready for pick-up. Once returned, they’ll make their way back to the warehouse for cleaning. The boxes can be used two to four times, depending on the damage they sustain and return rate, Boddum said. When reuse is no longer possible, the boxes can be recycled as household waste.

Amazon doesn’t share how many packages it ships annually, but it delivered 7 billion to Prime members within 24 hours in 2023. Europe accounted for more than 2 billion of that total.

Cost implications are one of the biggest barriers to adoption of reusable packaging — up to 50 percent for mailer bags and nearly 200 percent for boxes, according to a McKinsey analysis. The emissions compared with single-use options could also be 10-40 percent higher, mainly due to a higher transportation footprint, the research suggests. It’s unclear whether additional costs will be passed on to consumers.

[Continue the conversation on sustainable innovation at GreenBiz 25, the premier event for sustainable business leaders, Feb. 10-12, Phoenix.]