Now Amazon uses 100ft of paper to protect... a roll of bubble wrap!
IT can hardly be regarded as fragile. But Amazon still swaddled a roll of bubble wrap in 100ft of brown paper before squeezing it into a box.
Father-of-two Paul Jacobs, 42, ordered the packaging to protect his plants during the winter. ‘At first I thought they’d sent me the wrong order because the box was so heavy,’ he said.
‘Given that bubble wrap’s main purpose is packaging, it would usually be delivered in a bag with a label stuck on.’ Mr Jacobs, a photographer from Gosport, Hampshire, has ordered more than 100 items from Amazon this year.
‘Although I have never had to return a damaged item, I have had my fair share of over-packaged orders,’ he added. ‘It would be good if they could reduce the packaging. I’m sure over-packing products costs Amazon money so it’s in their interest to sort it out.’
After criticism, the online retail giant launched an initiative in 2008 against excessive packaging. But thousands of customers continued to complain on social media about the problem.
In response, the company began using new technology last year aiming to ensure items are not sent in over-sized boxes.