Online retail grew by 16 percent last year in the U.S., while all retail rose 3.8 percent. However, consumers turn a blind eye to the environmental cost of online retail, particularly when it comes to packaging.
About 165 billion packages are shipped in the US each year, with the cardboard used roughly equating to more than 1 billion trees. A recent campaign from Lonely Whale and Point Break Foundation claims that by the year 2025, there will be 1 metric ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish in the ocean.
Prior to the Internet, the logistics for traditional retail were simple and linear – goods were shipped in bulk to a warehouse and then to the store. The system for e-commerce is much more complex, and involves many more hands. E-commerce has about four times as many touch-points as regular retail, and shipments are broken down into individual packages for delivery. Retailers also want to ensure that goods arrive in perfect condition – and that can result in over-packaging.
It seems that both shoppers and retailers are starting to wake up to the packaging issue. Amazon has a “Frustration-Free Packaging Program designed to “produce less waste and put an end to ‘wrap rage’.” Envelopes have replaced boxed for smaller shipments, and a system has been introduced to ship products in their original packaging, rather than doubling up. Amazon also asks constantly for “packaging feedback” after shipping items, and if a comment is sufficiently pointed, will pull “the Andon cord” to stop a product from letting down another customer. Amazon claims to have cut nearly a quarter of a million tons of packaging materials from 2007 to 2017, “avoiding 500 million shipping boxes”.
Read the full story at https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/07/29/what-a-waste-online-retails-big-packaging-problem/#589e0071371d.