Environmental analysis of returnable packaging systems in different eCommerce business and packaging management models

There is growing environmental concern regarding the increasing quantity of packages in retail eCommerce. This study investigated the environmental impact of two returnable packaging formats, performing life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies based on the Canadian apparel eCommerce market. In case study 1, the brand owner sold and shipped its products to final consumers using an expendable mailer and a returnable mailer that was managed and supplied via the centralized model. In case study 2, the brand owner rented its products to final consumers and shipped them using an expendable corrugated paperboard box and a returnable box that was managed and supplied via the decentralized model. Comparative, contribution, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to analyze and compare the environmental performance of these packaging options. For case study 1, the LCA revealed that the returnable mailer had greater impact than the expandable mailer in 9 of the 10 environmental impact categories, even if the returnable mailer was reused for 40 cycles and the final consumer was in the same city as the brand owner; this was primarily due to the length of transportation. For case study 2, the returnable box had smaller environmental impact than the expendable corrugated paperboard box in 6 of the 10 environmental impact categories, even though the brand owner shipped packages to final consumers a cumulative distance of 9000 km from its starting location. The overall results imply that the environmental burden of returnable packaging is primarily affected by total trip distance and the number of reuses.