Amazon appears to be making a more serious push toward sustainability in the coming year. While it didn’t meet its target of making 100 percent of packaging for its Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV products entirely recyclable, it did reach a rather figure of 90 percent, up from 79 percent in 2022.
Presenting a focus on reducing plastic bags and wrapping both inside and outside of the product box, Amazon also indicated that it was incorporating far more recycled material in packaging for these products, using unbleached boxes to produce a kraft look. Plastic air pillows were also scrapped by Amazon in October, with recycled paper filler being used to protect shipped goods instead. Further, the retailer stated it had reduced its average per-shipment packaging weight by nearly half (43 percent) since 2015.
Google has also moved to take plastic out of its packaging. As of August 2024, Google succeeded in making all packaging for its new devices — including the Fitbit, Nest, and Pixel lineups — without the use of plastic.
Research from Diversitech Global finds that consumers are increasingly savvy as to environmental issues, particularly concerning the products they aim to purchase. Some of the more notable findings produced by its report include:
• Almost 1 in 3 shoppers surveyed indicated that they had boycotted certain brands or products out of concerns related to ethics or sustainability.
• A full 70 percent of millennials and Gen Zers polled indicated they would pay more for sustainable products.
• Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of those surveyed indicated that brands needed to reduce the amount of packaging on their products and to ensure that packaging was more sustainable in nature.
“Regulatory imperatives, coupled with technological advancements in data analytics and AI, further incentivize retailers to embrace sustainable practices, offering avenues for operational optimization and efficiency enhancement,” said Lara Albertina Rebello of supply chain company Maersk.
