Amazon's 2024 Prime Day event, scheduled for July, is expected to stimulate significant online shopping in North America. With so many orders and billions of packaging materials, how can the company be more sustainable than it is now?
Online shopping has become the norm for people - they don't have to go out, can place orders easily and can compare prices from different stores.
With a wide variety of goods available, many people rely on e-commerce platforms because they can buy high-quality and low-priced goods without leaving their homes. However, online shopping has also become one of the main culprits of ecological damage.
Can plastic air pillows definitely protect products?
In order to reduce plastic use and replace plastic air pillows, multinational e-commerce company Amazon has switched to paper fillings in North America.
In October 2023, Amazon announced it would begin testing environmentally friendly materials at its automated fulfillment center in Ohio. To completely reduce plastic use, the Amazon team partnered with multiple suppliers to use paper fillers made from 100% recyclable materials and also coordinated the transition across hundreds of fulfillment centers.
After multiple tests, Amazon found that paper filler made from 100% recycled content is curbside recyclable and provides even better protection during product transportation than plastic air pillows.
In addition to testing different possibilities for reducing plastic use, thousands of employees will work together to replace new systems and participate in employee training.
Plastic reduction initiatives combining AI and sustainability
Billed as the largest plastic reduction initiative in North America, this initiative aims to reduce plastic air pillows by 95%, eliminating approximately 15 billion plastic air pillows annually, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them entirely by the end of 2024. By Prime Day 2024, nearly all packages will no longer contain plastic air pillows, and packaging will be made from more recyclable materials.
Amazon is also collaborating with Glacier, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence and robotics company, to develop new technology that uses AI-powered robots to sort recyclables and collect real-time data on recycling. This collaboration can help reduce landfill waste and increase the use of recycled materials in packaging.
Amazon has also begun working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new environmentally friendly materials and recycling programs.
Rethink your shopping habits and prevent impulse buying
To combat the allure of online shopping, we all need a measure of what we truly need. Faced with the dazzling array of promotional materials and photos on websites, it's hard not to be tempted, fearing missing out on any purchasing opportunity.
Especially when we see terms like "Today's Recommended," "Today's Must-Buy," "Today's Free Shipping," or "Today's Limited Edition," we need to stay calm. Sometimes, to meet the free shipping threshold, the shopping cart is overloaded with items, but consumers actually lose money by buying unnecessary items instead of profiting.
Online shopping is easy and convenient, allowing us to buy things anytime, anywhere. While the internet's instant updates allow consumers to receive the latest information and order first, it also leads to endless comparisons.
References：
Amazon (June 20, 2024)Amazon announces its largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date
♦ CBBC（2024/6/20），Amazon’s ditching the plastic air pillows in its boxes
※ This article is reprinted with permission from CSR@天下. The original title is "Amazon's largest plastic reduction plan in North America, aiming to reduce the use of 15 billion plastic air pillows per year." It is not subject to the CC license.
Sources: Environmental Information Center
