Amazon Launches Frustration-Free Packaging Certification Program

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the launch of the Frustration-Free Packaging certification program (www.amazon.com/ffp-certification). The new initiative is designed to increase the number of Frustration-Free packaged items available to customers by making it easier for manufacturers to participate in Amazon's Frustration-Free Packaging program.

"Wrap rage is real," said Dr. Nadia Shouraboura, vice president of Global Fulfillment for Amazon. "We launched packaging feedback and we were surprised by the customer participation and response world-wide. Our customers told us they want packaging that is easier to open, and is free of wire ties and impenetrable plastic clamshells. We are launching the certification program to share customer feedback with manufacturers and provide an easy way for manufacturers to modify their packaging to make it Frustration-Free. We want to give customers the best possible experience from the time the order is placed, to when they remove the items from the packaging."

The certification initiative provides manufacturers a simple, efficient process for getting packaging analyzed and modified to make it more customer-friendly. Manufacturers interested in getting their packaging Certified Frustration-Free can now submit packaging, at no charge from Amazon, to Amazon’s Packaging certification lab, where a team of packaging engineers will analyze the current packaging and either certify it or recommend modifications. Once Amazon certifies that the packaging meets Amazon’s Certified Frustration-Free Packaging guidelines (www.amazon.com/ffp-certification), manufacturers can then use the "Certified Frustration-Free” logo on their packaging, alerting customers to expect an easy-to-open, hassle-free experience.

In addition to announcing the Frustration-Free Packaging certification program in the United States, Amazon recently announced it has launched the Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging program in Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Amazon initially launched the Frustration-Free Packaging program in the United States in November 2008 with 19 products. The company now has hundreds of products from 30 manufacturers worldwide participating in the program and has just added major brands Garmin, Logitech, RadioFlyer and Seventh Generation.

"Garmin’s new Frustration-Free Packaging replaces the previous PVC plastic packaging with easy-to-open, easy-to-recycle corrugated material – smaller, lighter and made with more than 80 percent recycled material. Our new design reduces packaging volume by approximately 30 percent, so units ship in smaller cartons and ship directly to the customer,” said Dr. Min Kao, chairman and CEO of Garmin Ltd. "All of this adds up to packaging that’s friendlier for Garmin, Amazon, our customers and the environment.”

Customers can find the growing selection of Amazon Frustration-Free products at www.amazon.com/frustration-free, where they can also give feedback and rate both Amazon and manufacturers’ packaging.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel; Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), Amazon Mechanical Turk and Amazon CloudFront.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, "Amazon.com,” "we,” "our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.