Amazon.com has launched "Frustration-Free Packaging," a new initiative designed to make it easier for customers to liberate products from their packages. Amazon is focusing first on two kinds of items: those enclosed in hard plastic cases known as "clamshells" and those secured with plastic-coated wire ties, commonly used in toy packaging.
Frustration-Free Packaging is being launched in the U.S. with 19 bestselling products from leading manufacturers including Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and electronics manufacturer Transcend. The product is exactly the same - Amazon has just streamlined the packaging. The project will expand across Amazon's international sites beginning in 2009. In addition to making packages easier to open, a major goal of the Frustration-Free Packaging initiative is to be more environmentally friendly by using less packaging material.
"I think we've all experienced the frustration that sometimes occurs when you try to get a new toy or electronics product out of its package," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "It will take many years, but our vision is to offer our entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging. We'd like to thank Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend for working with us in this effort - we truly appreciate it."
Small items, such as memory cards, are also good candidates for Frustration-Free Packaging. Working with Transcend, Amazon has eliminated the hard-to-open clamshell and the need for an additional box. Instead, the cards will now ship inside recyclable cardboard envelopes which use less material. Customers can order select items from Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend in the new Frustration-Free Packaging for immediate delivery. The current collection of Frustration-Free products can be seen by going to amazon.com/packaging.
[Via Amazon]