Amazon UK faces backlash after delivering parcels without packaging

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 23, 2017

Britons have accused Amazon of ruining their Christmas present surprises after receiving items without any cardboard wrapping to conceal the contents.

The company, which has come under fire for over-packaging in the past, said it is trying to minimise the amount of packaging materials it uses.

A representative of the company said on Facebook that Amazon offers a gift option during checkout, or that customers can mark a ‘ship in Amazon box’ on the checkout page to ensure their purchases remain a surprise.

Several shoppers have taken to social media to express their frustration with Amazon’s new packaging policies, with one user writing: “I know you are often criticised for too much packaging, but come on Amazon surely at Christmas time it would have been appropriate to even have wrapped this in brown paper rather than just sticking the mailing label to the outside of the actual box!! Luckily I’m not having to explain why Santa needs Amazon’s help.”

One customer even accused Amazon of ‘ruining the whole Santa experience’ for his six-year-old son, who opened the door thinking it was his friends coming out to play and received instead the Mega Mastodon Nerf gun he had asked for.

This week, Amazon was also criticised for over-packaging a roll of bubble wrap, which arrived boxed and packaged in 100ft of brown paper.