Flipkart eliminates single-use plastic packaging from supply chain

Walmart-owned Flipkart on Wednesday said it has eliminated all single-use plastic packaging used across its fulfilment centres in the country.

With this, the e-commerce major has delivered on its public commitment to move to plastic-free packaging in its supply chain by 2021.

This has been achieved across more than 70 facilities of Flipkart spread all over India, where it has eliminated single-use plastic packaging by introducing the most scalable sustainable alternatives, a statement said.

This includes switching to eco-friendly paper shreds, replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags, replacing bubble wraps with carton waste shredded material and 2 ply roll, among others.

Throughout this process, Flipkart has also ensured that it is fully compliant with all EPR (extended producer responsibility) regulations and through its network of recyclers, the equivalent quantity of single-use plastic going to consumers is fully recycled, the statement said.

Under EPR, companies are given significant responsibility for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.

"Having achieved this milestone, Flipkart is now actively working with its seller partners who fulfil customer orders directly from their locations to educate them and enable them to move towards alternative materials," the statement said.

Furthermore, Flipkart is actively working with the ecosystem to understand how it can best implement other initiatives to create a more circular economy for plastics so that the entire ecosystem can move towards a more sustainable future, it added.

Through proactive interventions and guidance, Flipkart has already achieved a 27 per cent reduction in the use of single-use plastic packaging in its seller fulfillments, the Bengaluru-based company noted.

“At Flipkart, we place great emphasis on sustainable and responsible business practices.

"Moving towards 100 per cent single-use plastic elimination is one of the significant steps we have taken towards fulfilling our commitment to creating a sustainable ecosystem," Flipkart senior vice-president and head of supply chain Hemant Badri said.

The company has achieved this milestone while navigating a tough year impacted by the COVID-19, he added.

"We are now focused on enabling our seller ecosystem to adopt sustainable packaging alternatives as well, and to create positive environmental and social impact across the entire supply chain,” he said.

Photograph: PTI Photo