Amazon responds to growing backlash with sweeping packaging change: 'A significant step forward'

The world's largest online retailer will soon use custom box-making technology to reduce waste from packaging across Europe. 

According to Printweek, Amazon customers will receive orders in made-to-fit packaging thanks to the installation of hundreds of automated packaging machines in European fulfillment centers. More than 70 machines will be installed by the end of 2025. Even more are scheduled to arrive by 2027.

Amazon said the machines use sensors to measure product dimensions and produce a made-to-fit box. The items are packed in recyclable paper that doesn't require padding. The online retailer said the new packaging would reduce 26 grams on average per shipment.

According to Amazon, the company has avoided 3 million metric tons of packaging since 2015. In addition to waste reduction, Amazon has embarked on a mission to achieve other environmental targets. The online giant co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019 with a goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. 

As part of the initiative, the retailer planned to expand the use of zero-emission transportation and pledged to have 100,000 electric delivery vans on the road by the end of the decade. However, reports have raised concerns about Amazon's carbon footprint. 

In 2023, Business Insider reported that Amazon was developing $87 billion worth of data centers, which are harmful to the environment. In fact, research revealed that the global data center industry will produce about 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions through 2030. 

Amazon has also faced criticism over its environmental practices. Earlier this year, the online retailer was hit with a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of greenwashing. The suit claimed that the company's paper products contribute to deforestation despite being marketed as eco-friendly. 

According to Amazon, boosting sustainability is a priority for the company. The new automated packaging machines in Europe are a part of that mission. 

"This investment is a significant step forward in reducing the environmental impact of deliveries for our European customers," Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon, said. 

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