Amazon.com announced Monday an initiative to reduce the amount of packaging materials some of its products are shipped in with the idea to make them easier for customers to open and to be better for the environment.
The online retailer is focusing on two types of packaging, those enclosed in hard plastic cases known as "clamshells" and those secured with plastic-coated wire ties, used in toy packaging.
Amazon calls the imitative "Frustration -Free Packaging" which is being launched in the U.S. with 19 major manufacturers including Fischer-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and electronics manufacturer Transcend. The project will expand to Amazon's international locations beginning in 2009.
"I think we've all experienced the frustration that sometimes occurs when you try to get a new toy or electronics product out of its package," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of
One of the first products to be shipped with Frustration-Free Packaging is the Fisher-Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship, which is now delivered in a recyclable cardboard box. Amazon says the new packaging eliminates 36 inches of plastic-coated wire ties, 1,576.5 square inches of printed corrugated package inserts and 36.1 square inches of printed folding carton materials. Working with Transcend, Amazon will no longer ship memory cards in oversized plastic clamshells but will instead ship the cards inside cardboard envelopes which use less material. For the entire list of Frustration-Free products click
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