Home Resources Eco-Friendly Packaging: Parcels, E-Commerce and Sustainability—How to Limit the Environmental Impact of Marketplace Packaging ?

Eco-Friendly Packaging: Parcels, E-Commerce and Sustainability—How to Limit the Environmental Impact of Marketplace Packaging ?

Packaging is a core part of the customer experience on marketplaces. In 2025, with hundreds of billions of parcels shipped every year, the environmental and economic stakes have never been higher.

The Environmental Impact of Marketplace Packaging

Global E-Commerce and Its Ecological Effects

Europe handled 6.2 billion parcels in Q4 2024 alone—9 % more than the previous year.
United States shipments reached 21.2 billion in 2022 and are on track for 28 billion by 2028.

China smashed the 150 billion-parcel milestone in 2024, barely a decade after crossing 10 billion.

Pollution from Deliveries

Last-mile emissions keep climbing: CO₂ from U.S. parcel delivery alone hit 0.5 billion tonnes in 2023, driven by default home-delivery options and repeated failed drop-offs in dense cities.

Amazon’s answer has been electrification—its Rivian fleet delivered 1 billion U.S. packages in 2024 and will scale to 100 k EVs globally by 2030.

The “Air” Inside Boxes

A 2024 study found that 43 % of e-commerce parcel volume is still empty space, wasting material and fuel.

Returns at Scale

Returns cost U.S. retailers US $ 890 billion in 2024—nearly 17 % of total retail sales—and generate millions of tonnes of waste.

Customer Perception

Nearly half (47 %) of European consumers say they would not reorder if packaging is excessive, and 38 % see eco-friendly packaging as a key purchase driver.

Eco-Friendly Packaging and Logistics Solutions

1 | Custom-Fit Packaging

Apple: iPhone 15 boxes are 99 % fiber-based and plastic-free, hitting Apple’s 2025 target two years early.
Cdiscount: on-demand CartonWrap lines cut void to near-zero, processing thousands of unique carton sizes per hour.
Amazon: the Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) and “Ships in Product Packaging” programs have cut average per-shipment packaging weight by 43 % since 2015, avoiding 3 million t of materials.

2 | Beyond Cardboard

Cardboard is still 85 % recycled in the EU, but brands are experimenting with compostable films and molded fiber that eliminate plastics altogether—helped by the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) adopted in 2024, which introduces binding reuse and minimal-packaging rules.

3 | Smart, Reusable “Parcels”

Solution	Model	Impact
Opopop	Return-for-deposit fabric pouches	Up to 88 % CO₂ savings, 100-use lifespan
LivingPackets “The Box”	Connected hard case with e-ink label & sensor	Tracks shocks, enables instant reuse; expanded dashboards in 2025
Returnity & RePack	Custom reusable totes & mailers	Deployed by >30 retailers; lifecycle cost parity after 20 cycles

4 | Rethinking the Last Mile and Returns

Out-of-home delivery is surging: InPost added 11,500 lockers in 2024, topping 46,000 across Europe; locker volumes passed 1 billion parcels.
Consolidated drop-off points cut CO₂, congestion and “sorry we missed you” frustration while simplifying returns processing. Major marketplaces now default to lockers or pick-up points for bulky returns in urban areas.

Conclusion

Cutting e-commerce waste is no longer optional. Custom-sized boxes, reusable systems, EV fleets and locker networks together attack the CO₂, material and cost problem from every angle—while aligning with rising consumer expectations and new EU rules. Sellers on Amazon, Cdiscount and other marketplaces that embrace these solutions can reduce their footprint, improve margins and win eco-conscious shoppers.