Amazon launches frustration free packaging

This comes from our friends over at EcoRenovator....looks like Amazon is rocking a new type of packaging to not only save you some headache, but to put less of a burden on the planet.

It wasn’t too long ago that I was beginning to feel seriously frustrated with that amount of packaging that certain things you bought online would come in....Well, as if Amazon had been reading my mind, the release one just a few days later: Frustration-Free Packaging. FFP is intended to do a few things: cut down packaging, cut down costs, cut down the annoyance of opening plastic clamshells, and prevent people from cutting themselves with the things they use to open traditional packaging.

[Read more about FFP over at EcoRenovator]

I for one think this is pretty great.  For one, FFP is recyclable (and potentially straight up reusable considering packaging is designed to be opened without the use of a knife, etc). 

And for two...I really cannot say how much those plastic sealed clamshell things irritate me (beyond the eco-factor, or lack there of, as the case may be).  They are so difficult to cut, and you can barely get out the tiny little thing you actually want encased in a sea of plastic.  Anyway, I approve.  It's definitely moving in the right direction.

That is super freaking awesome.  I tend to use Amazon a lot, so I would love to get stuff from them with reduced packaging.  Way to go Amazon!

How does this work?  Does Amazon supply Fisher Price with a bunch of their new boxes, or does FP send giant boxes with kits all mixed up and Amazon sorts items into individual FFP boxes?  I guess I don't understand how it will work to have a retailer change the packaging of products they are selling...you'd have to get the actual manufacturers on board.

But yeah, I *hate* those clam shell things, so this sounds good to me...

Well according to the story, it's going to take a few years for Amazon to work out deals with all the product manufacturers to make this work.  So I suspect they're setting up a deal where there's a seperate packaging process at the manufacturers for products going to Amazon.

Interesting, and if they're serious about it, quite innovative.  Amazon clearly has tremendous clout in the direct to consumer sales, and may choose to leverage that in ways that parallel what Wal-Mart is doing to impact retail packaging.

In an article from Wired, it says, "Microsoft, Fisher-Price, Mattel and Transcend are the first companies to join the initiative; Amazon hopes many more manufacturers will participate in the effort as well."  I would imagine those manufacturers have an agreement that the stock they send to Amazon will be packaged in this new FFP and co-branded.  Of course...wouldn't it be nice if they just converted all of their packaging over for all retailers...but I guess one step at the time.

The same article cites a statistic that in 2004, 6,500 Americans went to the emergency room for injuries related to packaging....yikes.  That's pretty bad.

I am glad to see this as well. I wince every time I open and toss out all the plastic packaging. Often, there is more plastic surrounding the product than composing the product.

I do a lot of my shopping on Amazon, and I look foward to buying items with this type of packaging.

That's exactly what I was thinking Hugh. Walmart goes to incredible extremes to make anyone who wants to show up on their shelves compliant with everything from data feed formatting, to scheduling, to packaging, and pricing.

I definitely think Amazon has reached the scale where it can make these kinds of demands, and it's awesome they're using their sway for good...I HATE those clamshells too.