Amazon unwrap Frustration free packaging ending wrap rage forever

Filed in Blog by on November 7, 2009 5 Comments
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frustratedSo there I am, browsing some of my favourite online haunts when I had a moment of awareness.

“I know”, I said out loud to myself whilst looking at a burgeoning shelf wall of unloved books; “I’ll raise some money for the upcoming festive season by selling some of my stuff”.

On to Amazon I gleefully went to find the front page had been taken over with this:

Amazon to end Wrap rage with frustration free packaging

Interestingly enough, it was almost a year ago to the day I announced that a zero waste Christmas might be a reality for next year.

Next year has arrived; in case you haven’t noticed, and Amazon has begun to deliver its promise to end Wrap rage for ever.

I’m sure you’ll all have encountered several feet of plastic coated metal ties or plastic clamshell packages at some point in your lives.

Frustration free packaging is now available on 34 of Amazon’s electronic items. OK, that might be a case of 34 down, several million to go, but it’s a great start. Amazon say they plan to more environmentally friendly by using less packaging and they have developed software that determines the “right-sized” box for any given item based on dimension and weight. Why they can’t use common sense or their eye sight, I’m not quite sure, but there you go ….

Amazon are using recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties. Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging is designed to be opened without the use of a knife, pair of scissors, teeth, cats toe nails or whatever other tools you’ve used in the past.

You can leave feedback about the packaging you have received and let’s hope a very Merry Christmas for landfill is on the (recycled) cards.

Ho ho ho …

Take a peek at the items already available in frustration free packaging.

Tell me what you think! It seems a no brainer to me and hasn’t come a moment soon enough. Will you patronise Amazon to buy well packaged goods this Christmas?

About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (5)

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  1. Sarah says:

    I already have!

    What’s inside the manufacturers box I don’t know yet and I suspect plastic bags and the like, but the Amazon packaging was a small bit of screwed up paper to fill a tiny corner and the box. Paper labels, minimal clear parcel tape and pretty much all reusable or recyclable, or compostable if you do that with cardboard.

    I’ve noticed they’ve been moving in that direction for a while now and I’ve been impressed with their packaging since this time last year. More and publicity is always good.

  2. I absolutely detest the “clam” plastic wrap. It is the most useless packaging ever and frustrating to open.

  3. sandy says:

    changing the subject I havce found a compostable scouring pad from
    http://www.michaelsluffas.co.uk
    I still cant excess the tea article, just keep getting error messages.

  4. LJayne says:

    I can’t get the tea article either, haven’t since Friday. Was hoping to sit and read it tonight whilst drinking one lol.

    We buy fairtrade tea direct from Traidcraft and it comes in very large bags. Yes they are plastic but they make perfect breadbags and other storage stuff in my kitchen. Plus we only get 4-5 a year which isn’t bad. I could buy it in recyclable boxes but it would come in much smaller quantities (I get nearly 500 bags in my bag) and there is a cost factor to that.

  5. Mrs Green says:

    @Sarah: What a great story, Sarah – thanks for sharing your experiences!

    @Ben Guygoesgreen: I do too, Ben – we saw loads in the supermarket of all places this week; they have a small selection of electronic equipment and it was all in clamshells

    @sandy:
    @LJayne: Thanks Sandy and Lesley – the tea article went up in error (mrs green’s error). There will be one to look forward to tomorrow on herbal tea and another on 7th December on the black stuff 🙂 Sorry to tease you LOL!
    Good to hear about the fairtrade tea; that’s a good option for people who drink a lot

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