Because producers mainly package for the shop shelf, product packaging is usually not strong enough for e-commerce distribution. The outer packaging is therefore needed to protect products. Thuiswinkel.org advocates measures.
Bol.com announced this month that it will ship 3.5 million items without an extra box. A nice development, argues Thuiswinkel.org. However, it needs to be carefully examined for which products this is possible. "Properly testing whether products are not damaged is important, because the environmental impact of a broken product is much greater than that of extra packaging."
Packaging unsuitable for e-commerce
Products are currently packaged by most producers for the retail shelf. This makes the packaging unsuitable for home delivery. The number of damages would increase when the outer packaging is omitted. Thuiswinkel.org therefore advocates product packaging that is also strong enough for the e-commerce channel. "This eliminates the need to add an extra box. This delivers both environmental gains and savings in the fulfilment process."
Collective agreements with suppliers
In the coming months, the industry association will investigate the extent to which it is possible to cooperate with suppliers for this purpose. This should eventually lead to collective agreements for better packaging so that the share of packaging material can be reduced.
