Compact by Design

1. Review eligibility criteria: Visit Amazon Seller Central and review the Compact by Design program requirements to determine if your product qualifies — typically concentrated formulas, waterless products, solid formats, or space-efficient packaging that removes excess air or water.

1. Assess your product: Evaluate your product's design against Amazon's efficiency thresholds, including packaging dimensions, product-to-packaging ratio, and formulation concentration relative to conventional alternatives.

1. Gather documentation: Compile product data including dimensions, weight, formulation details, and any supporting evidence that demonstrates your product's design efficiency compared to standard versions.

1. Log into Amazon Seller Central: Navigate to the Climate Pledge Friendly / Compact by Design certification section within Seller Central and initiate the application process for the relevant ASIN(s).

1. Submit your application: Upload your product data and supporting documentation through the Seller Central portal. Amazon's internal team will review your submission against Compact by Design criteria.

1. Await Amazon's review: Amazon evaluates submissions and will notify you of approval or any additional information needed. Review timelines can vary.

1. Display the badge: Once approved, the Compact by Design badge will automatically appear on your product listing page, signaling to shoppers that your product meets Amazon's efficiency standards.

1. Monitor for changes: If you update your product's formulation or packaging, reassess compliance and update your submission accordingly to maintain certification status.

Compact by Design evaluates whether a product has been designed to remove excess air, water, or unnecessary packaging material, resulting in a more space-efficient and lower-carbon product. The core assessment focuses on two primary pathways: product formulation efficiency (e.g., concentrated cleaning products, solid personal care bars, or waterless formulas that deliver equivalent performance with less volume) and packaging design efficiency (e.g., reduced packaging footprint, elimination of unnecessary void fill, or packaging that maximizes product-to-package ratio).

Amazon assesses products against defined efficiency thresholds that compare the certified product to a conventional baseline equivalent. Key metrics include the product's dimensions and weight relative to its functional use, the degree to which water or air has been removed from the formulation or package, and whether the product's design enables more units to be shipped per cubic foot of transport volume compared to standard alternatives.

Products in categories such as liquid detergents, shampoos, conditioners, cleaning sprays, and similar consumer goods are common candidates, as these traditionally contain high proportions of water that can be removed through concentration or solid reformulation. The assessment is conducted by Amazon's internal team based on seller-submitted data through Seller Central, rather than by an independent third-party auditor.

Compact by Design is part of Amazon's broader Climate Pledge Friendly program, launched to help consumers identify and choose more sustainable products across Amazon's marketplace. As one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms, Amazon's ability to surface certified products to hundreds of millions of shoppers gives Compact by Design significant reach, even though it lacks the independent third-party credibility of certifications like Cradle to Cradle or UL ECOLOGO. The badge is particularly influential in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, where brands like Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Henkel have embraced concentrated and waterless product formats.

The program has gained traction as sustainability becomes a key purchase driver, especially among younger consumers. Amazon's internal data has suggested that Climate Pledge Friendly-badged products see measurable lifts in discoverability and conversion. However, because the certification is self-attested and reviewed by Amazon rather than an independent body, it carries less weight in B2B sustainability reporting or regulatory compliance contexts. Critics have noted that the criteria, while meaningful, are set and enforced by Amazon itself, raising questions about rigor and transparency.

Demand for compact and concentrated product formats is growing globally, driven by sustainability regulations in the EU, retailer sustainability commitments, and consumer preference shifts. This trend positions Compact by Design as increasingly relevant, particularly for brands reformulating products to reduce water content. However, the certification's value is largely confined to the Amazon ecosystem — it does not carry recognition outside the platform in the way that ISO-aligned or ANSI-accredited certifications do.

Compact by Design was introduced by Amazon in 2020 as part of the launch of the Climate Pledge Friendly program, an initiative Amazon created to make it easier for customers to discover and purchase products with sustainability certifications. The program was developed in response to growing consumer demand for environmentally responsible products and Amazon's own commitments under The Climate Pledge, which the company co-founded in 2019 with Global Optimism, pledging to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.

Unlike the other certifications within Climate Pledge Friendly — which are issued by third-party organizations such as USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance, or Bluesign — Compact by Design is Amazon's own proprietary certification, developed internally to recognize products that reduce environmental impact through efficient design rather than through ingredient or sourcing standards. Since its launch, the program has expanded to cover a wide range of product categories and has been adopted by major CPG brands seeking to align their product lines with Amazon's sustainability ecosystem.