Flipkart goes eco-friendly, ditches single-use plastic in packaging

Flipkart recently declared that it is getting rid of all single-use plastic packaging material. By doing so, the e-commerce major said it has fulfilled the commitment it made in 2019 to adopt plastic-free packaging by the year 2021.

About 70 facilities of the company have ditched single-use plastic packaging and replaced it with sustainable alternatives like paper shreds, recycled paper bags and carton waste shredded material among other things.

Additionally, Flipkart is educating its seller partners to adopt alternative packaging materials. It has achieved a 27% reduction in the use of single-use plastic packaging in its seller fulfilments. “We are now focused on enabling our seller ecosystem to adopt sustainable packaging alternatives as well, and to create positive environmental and social impact across the entire supply chain,” said Hemant Badri, senior vice-president and head of supply chain at Flipkart.

Badri further said, “At Flipkart, we place great emphasis on sustainable and responsible business practices. Moving towards 100% single-use plastic elimination is one of the significant steps we have taken towards fulfilling our commitment to creating a sustainable ecosystem. We achieved this while navigating a tough year impacted by COVID and are proud that our teams kept the priorities in line.”

Also read: Your takeaway food, bottles form half of ocean plastic waste: Study

Flipkart doesn’t intend to stop at this. The Wallmart-owned company has introduced ‘E-commerce ready packaging’, whereby about 15% of products will be shipped without putting extra layer of packaging. It is also coordinating with brands to ensure they dispatch their products in the original packaging, thus negating the need for extra packaging.

The company aims to reduce tree felling by scaling packaging from recycled and alternative materials.