Analyst Insight: E-commerce growth has led to an overwhelming amount of packaging waste, driving up emissions and landfill waste. “Right-sizing” packaging offers a practical solution by reducing unnecessary materials, optimizing carrier capacity, and preventing product damage, making it a key step toward a more sustainable supply chain.

The 2020 pandemic accelerated e-commerce growth, but it also fueled a rise in online orders, and therefore packaging waste. The average package is half empty and shipped in an oversized box, making the waste impossible to ignore. Consumers and businesses alike are waking up to the environmental harm, prompting companies to focus on smarter packing to minimize their environmental footprint. 

Following are three ways that right-sizing packaging benefits the environment. 

Lower Carbon Emissions

By 2030, the number of delivery vehicles on the road is predicted to rise 36%. Oversized packaging takes up unnecessary room, leaving trucks underutilized and necessitating more trips, leading to increased emissions, not to mention fuel and maintenance costs and traffic congestion. The environmental impact compounds as fleets expand to keep up with demand. 

Right-sizing packaging reduces wasted space in transit, allowing more products to fit per truckload. Businesses that optimize their packaging have reduced trailer usage by an average of 14%. 

Less Material Waste 

When packages are too large for their contents, businesses use excessive corrugate and unnecessary void fill, adding even more packaging waste. The average person receives 64 packages annually, with over 90% shipped in corrugated cardboard. Despite high recycling rates, 56% of discarded corrugate in the U.S. still ends up in landfill, adding to environmental strain. 

When businesses right-size their packaging, they eliminate the need for excess corrugate and fill materials while ensuring products are properly protected. Companies using 3D cubing cartonization to right-size their packaging have reduced corrugate use by 12.5% per order, eliminating an average of one square foot of material per carton. 

By reducing waste, right-sizing also lessens the demand for new raw materials, and helps to shrink the environmental footprint of shippers. 

Reduce Product Damage and Returns 

Returns are a growing problem, and come with a hefty environmental price tag. In 2024 alone, retail returns hit $685 billion, with a major cause being damaged goods. When shipments are packed in oversized boxes with too much empty space, products shift around, collide, and break in transit.

Every return has a ripple effect: more packaging, more trucks on the road, and more waste. Industry-wide, e-commerce returns generate 24 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually, adding to the supply chain’s environmental impact. Each damaged return requires additional transportation, repackaging, and inspection, all of which increase carbon emissions, material waste, and resources used. Most damaged returned items cannot be resold, and ultimately end up in landfills.

Right-sizing packaging helps stop this cycle before it starts. 

E-commerce growth comes with an environmental cost, but rightsizing packaging offers a simple way to reduce its impact. Using modern strategies to optimize packing, businesses can lower their footprint and simultaneously reduce costs. By eliminating wasted space in every order, businesses can cut carbon emissions, minimize material waste, and prevent returns that contribute to landfill overflow. The shift to right-sizing is a necessity for businesses looking to build a more sustainable future.