With its immense power and wealth, Amazon has the responsibility of leading the way in climate-conscious innovation. Instead, it contributes a significant portion of waste, notably in their packaging. 

In 2020, Amazon sales grew 38% in a single year, selling more than 1.5 billion items in that holiday season. Oceana, a nonprofit organization, estimated that Amazon used 465 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2019. 22 million pounds of that was estimated to wind up in freshwater and marine ecosystems. 

“In marine environments, this plastic waste can cause disease and death for coral, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.”

Pamela Geller and Christopher Parmeter, New York Times.

“In marine environments, this plastic waste can cause disease and death for coral, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.”

It can also end up in our bodies, capable of damaging the endocrine system and affecting many processes, including development during childhood. 

Strong adhesive and inconvenient recycling locations prevent the recycling of their packaging. Amazon has an obligation to improve from their incredibly damaging position. They should inform consumers on how much plastic a product uses. Additionally, they should also offer plastic-free packaging, especially for non-fragile products, along with hiring scientists to design packaging that breaks down easily and safely.

Amazon has the means to change for the better, not only cutting its emissions, but also serving as an example for other online marketplaces. The extreme influx in its sales and customers provides more than enough funds to decrease their burden on the world.

As the holiday season approaches, it’s hard to avoid Amazon because of its  remarkable convenience and wishlist feature.  Shopping for loved ones has never been this easy, but it’s also never been this damaging. I try to avoid Amazon for a host of reasons, but this is definitely one of them. I hope for improvement, because improvement is seriously due. However, it will never happen if we don’t put pressure on Amazon to change.

I love this time of year, but it’s hard to ignore the awful consequences of the consumerism that comes with it. I have already looked at consumerism, but I plan to look at the impact of the holiday season specifically. Stay tuned to learn with me!

Geller, Pamela L., and Christopher Parmeter. “Do We Really Need So Much Plastic?” New York Times, 04/06 2021. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2509405460?accountid=163174.