How many times have you ordered something online, only for it to arrive in a box about five times its size, almost overflowing with bubble wrap?

You end up having to throw so much packaging away (once you've popped the bubbles), that you can't fit anything else in your recycling bin.

The rise of internet shopping has been phenomenal, with an astounding £133billion spent last year, but with this comes the need to package goods to be sent out to customers.

One of the major criticisms of online retailers has been the amount of unnecessary packaging they use to deliver their orders.

According to a survey carried out by online vaping company Clouder.co.uk, more than 70 per cent of consumers think retailers use too much packaging for online orders, creating an extra one million metric tonnes of waste every year.

Clouder surveyed 892 consumers who make a purchase online for delivery at least once a month.

It also revealed that 66 per cent of consumers had received an order where the delivery packaging was much bigger than the actual item on more than one occasion over the past year, and 58 per cent felt the excessive packaging was often difficult to open.

Packaging inside boxes and plastic bags includes bubble wrap, air pillows and foam peanuts, which 46 per cent of consumers also thought were difficult to dispose of, while 62 per cent said they would think more positively of an online retailer if they reduced the amount of packaging for orders.

Tomas Zalatoris, CEO of Clouder, said: "With online shopping positioned at the forefront of the retail landscape, retailers can certainly make more of an effort to minimise the use of unnecessary delivery packaging for online orders.

"Retailers who take the initiative to use the appropriate amount of delivery packaging and protective materials for their online orders - will not only improve their reputation, but help reduce the adverse environmental effects of excessive packaging waste."

What do you think? Contact mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

For more information on the survey visit https://clouder.co.uk/