Amazon's plan to make large, hard-to-open boxes a thing of the past has come up on deadline for vendors. Last fall, the e-commerce giant asked companies to make packaging for larger items more efficient and easier to open by Aug. 1st. If companies don't follow suit, they'll be charged a fine.

The changes Amazon hopes to roll out would make packages more environmentally friendly and cut back on shipping costs. Amazon wants all items to eventually meet similar standards.

Amazon Certified Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) is recyclable and comes without excess packaging materials. The product inside is the same, and everything is included in the Certified Frustration-Free Packaging that would be in the original manufacturer's packaging.

FFP includes:

All items larger than 18″ x 14″ x 8″ or over 20 lbs must be designed and certified as Tier 1 (frustration free packaging) or Tier 2 (ships in own container). If not in compliance by August 1, 2019, Amazon plans to charge $2 per item back to vendors.

Frustration Free Packaging

Ships without Amazon overbox ISTA-6 SIOC test compliant

Curbside recyclable packaging materials

Minimal packaging

Easy to open

Vendors told the Wall Street Journal that they reduced the volume of their packaging anywhere from 34% to 80%. Some also cut down on the number of components used to ship their products.

As Amazon continues to grow and ship more products, it's pushing to be more efficient with packaging materials. Last year, the company asked manufacturers to cut extra space and materials in packaging to bring down shipping time and costs.

If you work with Amazon and your packaging isn't yet "frustration-free," download the PDF below for more information.

(Source:packagingstrategies)