Flipkart says it has implemented 100% plastic-free packaging in supply chain

Homegrown e-commerce marketplace Flipkart has said it has eliminated all single-use plastic packaging used across its fulfilment centres in India, to deliver on its public commitment to move to plastic-free packaging in its own supply chain by 2021.

This has said to have been implemented across more than 70 facilities of Flipkart spread all over India, where it has eliminated single-use plastic packaging by introducing sustainable alternatives such as eco-friendly paper shreds, replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags, replacing bubble wraps with carton waste shredded material and 2 Ply roll, to name a few. 

Throughout this process, Flipkart said it has also ensured that it is fully compliant with all EPR (extended producer responsibility) regulations and through its network of recyclers, the equivalent quantity of single-use plastic going to consumers is fully recycled.

Flipkart said it is now working with its seller partners who fulfil customer orders directly from their locations to educate them and enable them to move towards alternative materials. Further, Flipkart said it is actively interacting with the ecosystem to understand how it can best implement other initiatives to create a more circular economy for plastics so that the entire ecosystem can move towards a more sustainable future. 

The company claims to have already achieved a 27% reduction in the use of single-use plastic packaging in its seller fulfillments.

Some of the other key initiatives by Flipkart include ‘E-commerce ready packaging’, where Flipkart has been able to ship close to 15% of products without adding a secondary layer of packaging. 

Flipkart’s goal is to reduce the need for an outer layer by working with brands across apparel, electronics and home furnishings to ship their products in the original manufacturer/brand packaging. Flipkart said it is also working towards making sure that the packaging used does not cause any deforestation by scaling packaging from recycled and alternative materials. 

Environmentalists have been rightly demanding for e-commerce companies like Flipkart and Amazon to recognise the waste problem created by packaging through the use of plastics and take necessary steps to address the issue. In October 2019, the Union government also got involved in the issue and advised the e-commerce firms to cut down on the use of single-use plastic and ultimately stop it completely.