• Amazon is rolling out extensible paper packaging in North America, a flexible material that tears less than conventional kraft paper.
• The decision comes after testing and use in Europe since 2021.

It goes without saying that e-commerce giant Amazon ships a lot of packages. And the Seattle-based company has looked for ways to reduce the amount of material, especially plastic, it uses to ship orders. In some cases, Amazon sends items in the same packaging they arrived in at its warehouses.

Paper seems like a natural choice as shipping material to replace plastic. Like plastic, it’s lightweight, but it’s also recycled at a higher rate. According to the American Fiber and Paper Association, an industry trade group, 61-65 percent of paper is recycled in the US, and 70- 75 percent of cardboard.