Online fashion retailers delivered 2.9 billion plastic bags to European shoppers in six leading markets last year alone, equating to 7.8 million bags every day, widening the gap between high-street and online retail in efforts to move away from plastic bags.
Several European countries have introduced legislation to cut plastic bag use on high streets – such as the UK Plastic Bag Levy in 2015 – but as shoppers migrated online, ecommerce plastic bag use has continued to increase. Analysis by Development Economics, commissioned by sustainable packaging company DS Smith, an International Paper company, reveals that the UK is now the largest individual market for ecommerce plastic delivery bags amongst large European economies . Last year, the UK was estimated to have used 150 million more plastic bags than Germany, which came in second.
The research estimates that the number of bags in use is set to increase by 47% between now and 2030, in line with the expected growth in online fashion sales. This means by 2030, 4.2 billion plastic delivery bags will be arriving on European doorsteps each year, adding up to 21.8 billion bags in the next five years.
Only 7% of the fashion ecommerce bags delivered in the six markets are currently being reused or recycled, while the remaining 93% end up in landfill or incineration, equating to 2.6 billion bags just last year. The growth in ecommerce and slow progress on increasing recycling rates mean by 2030, over 3.8 billion plastic bags will end up in landfill or burned annually.
Stefano Rossi, Divisional CEO Packaging at DS Smith, said: “With some of the biggest brands in the world, we estimate that we’ve already replaced more than 1 billion pieces of plastic over the last four years – but we must do more. While online shopping has grown, ecommerce retailers lag high-street stores when it comes to replacing plastic bags. Brands like Zalando have proved change is possible, but there is a blocker; there simply aren’t enough paper alternatives available and our industry needs to step up to provide them.
“It will be tempting for businesses to fixate on price, but sticking with plastic comes at a cost – consumers don’t want it, and brands risk their reputation by ignoring that. We think legislation can and should be more demanding of us all – phasing out certain plastics to help create a level playing field that encourages innovation, investment, and generates healthy competition to replace plastic.”
Some online fashion brands have already made the switch. Zalando, Europe’s leading multi-brand fashion and lifestyle destination, has been using paper shipping bags made from recycled content and FSC-certified virgin fibres instead of plastic bags since 2020. This has been well received by its customers:
David Fischer, Director Logistics Sustainability and Packaging at Zalando, said: “Switching from plastic to paper shipping bags has been a game-changer. After introducing our first paper bags, customer satisfaction with our new packaging surged by 16ppt year over year. The high acceptance rate makes us confident that we are on the right track with paper bags that are easy to recycle in the vast majority of Europe.
However, eliminating single-use plastics remains a key obstacle to the ecommerce industry for achieving their sustainability goals. Finding the perfect solution is a complex task, especially in a landscape where more sustainable alternatives are not yet fully scalable or may not meet the minimum requirements both in terms of sustainability and operational feasibility.”
A move towards more easily recyclable materials is supported by the majority of Europeans. Nearly three quarters (74%) of people in the six large markets want plastic bags phased out where replacements are available, and over two thirds (68%) of shoppers say they prefer to receive their shopping wrapped in carboard or paper.
Half of European shoppers say they feel guilty about the amount of plastic their orders come in and think the responsibility to reduce the use of plastic sits with packaging companies (41%), retailers (36%), and government (23%).
Over half of shoppers (55%) say they’d be more likely to order from a fashion retailer that uses easily recyclable packaging. Polish shoppers were the most likely to prefer their online clothing and accessories deliveries to come packaged in paper or cardboard rather than plastic (72%), compared to Brits (60%).
The opportunity to meet consumer demand for more sustainable packaging is evidently significant. To meet the demand and in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, each of DS Smith’s 800 designers have been trained in circular design principles and can assess performance on recycled content and recyclability, which is increasingly important to the world’s largest brands.
Methodology
Analysis conducted by Development Economics with research assessing the potential market for secondary packaging generated by the growing demand for fashion ecommerce in six national markets in Europe.
In order to develop market projections, baseline information was gathered on the recent trajectory of change with respect to key indicators including:
• The volume and value of fashion ecommerce in each market
• Data on the volume and value of plastic packaging in each market
• Data on the proportion of packaging that is secondary, i.e., transit packaging
• Data on baseline rates of plastic recycling and re-use
• Data on other destinations for plastic waste, such as landfill and incineration.
Current projections for key indicators were sourced from published and unpublished documents and datasets identified through an online literature survey. These projections formed the basis of predictions regarding the likely trend for fashion ecommerce and its associated need for secondary packaging of different types.
Baseline data on baseline rates of plastic packaging recycling in the European Union were obtained from Eurostat. Equivalent data on UK trends were obtained from UK’s Office for National Statistics. These data were used to identify recent trend rates, which were then extrapolated to form assumptions about potential future rates of change under ‘Business as usual’ conditions as well as various ‘policy on’ alternative scenarios.
A review of European Union and UK Government policy documentation was also undertaken to provide additional insight and sources of assumptions to enable the design of alternative future scenarios that reflect policymakers ambitions for, for example, increased rates of packaging recycling.
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,000 nationally representative consumers in all of the below markets: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland. The data was collected between 19.02.25 – 24.02.25. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
