Amazon reveals how it tests stretchable paper packaging for e-commerce

Amazon has provided a closer look at how it develops and tests the extensible paper packaging being used across its fulfilment network as an alternative to plastic delivery bags.

The material was developed as Amazon sought a paper alternative capable of running through automated packaging equipment previously designed to produce plastic delivery bags. According to the company, conventional paper did not provide the combination of flexibility, durability and sealing performance required for the application.

Amazon’s resulting paper solution is designed to stretch, provide greater weather resistance than conventional paper and be heat sealed. The company has also adapted automated packaging machinery to produce made-to-fit paper bags according to the dimensions of individual products.

Sensors incorporated into the machinery measure products before the paper is cut to size, helping reduce empty space and unnecessary packaging material. Amazon says newer versions of the technology can accommodate larger products, increasing the number of items that can be packed in paper bags by 20%.

The development forms part of Amazon’s wider move towards paper-based delivery packaging. Its first automated US fulfilment centre to eliminate plastic delivery packaging, located in Euclid, Ohio, provided an early application for the technology, with existing machines rebuilt to process paper rather than plastic.

The company has subsequently continued retrofitting automated packing machines across its US operations. Variations of the made-to-fit paper packaging technology are also being used across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Amazon reported that the transition helped it avoid 288 million single-use plastic bags in North America during 2025. The company has also removed plastic air pillows from delivery packaging used at its global fulfilment centres, replacing them in applications including North America with paper filler made from 100% recycled content.

Alongside changes to materials and machinery, Amazon uses machine learning to determine when products can be shipped using lighter or smaller packaging, or without additional Amazon packaging altogether. In 2025, 11% of packages globally were shipped without additional Amazon packaging through its Ships in Product Packaging programme.

In Europe, Amazon says its delivery packaging has been household recyclable since 2023. Beginning in 2025, the company also introduced automated packaging machines at European fulfilment centres capable of producing custom-sized cardboard boxes and paper bags in real time to match individual products.

Amazon says its ongoing packaging work is focused on reducing the amount of additional material required for deliveries while increasing the use of recyclable paper-based alternatives where additional packaging remains necessary.

Read the full story on Amazon News.