Nowadays, many brands are making conscious efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle. From rejecting the use of plastic to selling more sustainable products, it is good to see these brands taking small steps to run a more eco-friendly business.
However, recently people have been calling out major e-commerce brands like Myntra and Amazon for overpackaging for small items. A woman shared a picture on Twitter of 9 Myntra boxes and claimed how they contained 9 small teacups.
How Myntra decided to send me nine small teacups pic.twitter.com/ClL4sd3Ir2
— devi yesodharan (@hype_atia) September 20, 2021
Similarly, many others shared pictures of large boxes and plastic packaging they received from online shopping sites that contained way smaller items. Have a look:
This is how Amazon sent me a lip balm last year ??♀️??♀️ pic.twitter.com/tY8Deck1Gx
— Swati (@sw4tk4ts) September 20, 2021
Nothing beats @JioMart in wasting packing materials. pic.twitter.com/zfVLKAOq4O
— Jason Rosario (@GoogleHiredGuy) September 20, 2021
This is the huge roll of paper filled in the carton for a detergent powder. Amazing Amazon. pic.twitter.com/bJladfSNxw
— Mr T Montana (@pradyumnjoshi) September 20, 2021
How @amazonIN sent me a bottle of shampoohttps://t.co/fKzA7XnExe
— Prakhar Kumar (@muzicoholicated) September 20, 2021
Amazon sent a chocolate box in nested carton. Chocolate box is on the top. pic.twitter.com/uLsuoqTRyz
— Maneesh Agarwal (@iManeeshAgarwal) September 20, 2021
Well they don’t seem to be the only ones. This tweet of yours seems to have brought out so many such ‘boxed’ up stories. ?https://t.co/wKSFgY1E48
— हृदेश अग्रवाल / Hridesh Agarwal (@agarwal_hridesh) September 20, 2021
Amazon sent me Apple Watch in this big box. I use it as a bed side table now. ? pic.twitter.com/uOUu2RAVOz
— Stake Bites (@noseswollen) September 22, 2021
This is how I got 3 nailpaints from Amazon?????? pic.twitter.com/cOEKIMQhH2
— Diksha ?️? (@BrahmaandKiMaa) September 21, 2021
This is how amazon sent a bottle of toner to me last month. pic.twitter.com/ckR2mtT6T5
— Prachi (@calenderkhanado) September 21, 2021
Reminded me of recent order from Amazon…2 bottles – hair serum and shampoo of 70 ml each and in 2 separate packs. They are not not fragile but hard plastic bottles ?♀️ https://t.co/THHve883X8
— Curiosweety (@curiosweetie) September 20, 2021
While there were several people who criticised these brands for creating wastage, a guy who works in manufacturing and shipment of breakable items shared why the brands do it:
As a manufacturer and shipper of breakable items, I can tell you why they do it.
First off please note it costs a lot of money for the brand to spend so much on packaging and then takes up valuable space in warehouse and transport. However 1/n— Moradabadi Biryani (@chandramoulibh) September 20, 2021
Breakage in transport is a huge issue in India, roads are bad, handling not good, long distances, multiple hops and depending on item, the probability of breakage if item is not packed with extra extra caution breakage is up to 100%. I know from experience. 2/n
— Moradabadi Biryani (@chandramoulibh) September 20, 2021
Returns cost more than refunds, and contrary to what people believe return doesn’t mean brand which has taken your money is just returning it back. There are costs involved. Depending on platform and items, transaction fees, platform fees, COD fees. 3/n
— Moradabadi Biryani (@chandramoulibh) September 20, 2021
According to a report by Forbes, e-commerce packaging waste is becoming a bigger issue by the day for the environment. Much of this packaging waste is dumped into the ocean. According to the United Nations, there will be more plastic waste than fish in the ocean by 2050.

However, small steps like reducing packaging by 20% goes a long way. And as consumers, we can always reduce our consumption from online stores. For example, instead of ordering a bottle of shampoo online, why not visit a local store and buy it?