E-commerce is a growing economic segment, experiencing a 14.9% growth rate in 2019 in the U.S., and is expected to maintain annual growth rates of approximately 13% through 2023. As more products are shipped via e-commerce, brands continue to look for ways to optimize the shipping, reduce costs, and reduce environmental impact, while offering consumers a positive experience. In an effort to achieve these goals, more brands and e-commerce providers are using flexible packaging as either the primary package due to its ability to withstand robust handling and limit leaks, or as the ecommerce delivery pack itself as a way to reduce the amount of packaging material and space utilized.

This report looks at five different case studies and products to quantify the environmental impact of different flexible and non-flexible e-commerce packaging options, as well as the economic shipping impacts, based on dimensional weight charges vs. billable weight. To quantify the environmental impacts, a streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool (EcoImpact-COMPASS®) was used, along with calculations on overall material used, recycled, and disposed.