User sells delivery drivers' urine as energy drink on Amazon, company calls it 'crude stunt'

In a bizarre incident, a user was permitted by Amazon to sell bottles of drivers' urine on its site as an energy drink, as reported by a Channel 4 documentary.

In the documentary titled "The Great American Heist," filmmaker and past prankster Oobah Butler stated that he has a collection of discarded bottles of Amazon drivers' urine which is titled "Release” for selling on the e-commerce site.

Butler stated that the drink emerged as the top seller in the "Bitter Lemon" category of Amazon and the product was made from bottles which he had found discarded near fulfilment centres of Amazon.

Reacting to the story of “Release” being sold on the e-commerce site, a spokesperson of Amazon said that it was a "crude stunt" and added that no "genuine customer" bought the product.

"Safety is a top priority for Amazon and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations," stated the spokesperson.

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"We have industry-leading tools to prevent genuinely unsafe products being listed and we monitor our stores for genuine product safety concerns. Any sellers who circumvent these policies will face action,” he added.

Speaking to WIRED, Butler said that it was "surprisingly easy" to purchase the product mentioned on the site and the algorithm of Amazon moved the product to the site's drinks category after he placed it in the "Refillable Pump Dispenser" category.

'Amazon delivery drivers forced to urinate in bottles'

He asked some of his friends to purchase the product and no item was even sold to a real customer, he said, while speaking to Insider. He added that 10 genuine customers did try to purchase the product on Amazon. Since then, Release has since been taken off the Amazon marketplace.

"At the heart of Release Energy's story lies a dedication to empowering Amazon delivery drivers, unsung heroes who face immense pressures navigating impossibly demanding schedules," read a portion of the product description written on Release.

Speaking to Insider, Butler said he decided to make the documentary and tried listing the product on Amazon to emphasise the impact the company has on society, which includes its workers who stated that they were forced to urinate in bottles so that they could meet strict deadlines.

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Butler stated that he even worked undercover at a facility of Amazon in Coventry for three days before his cover blew up. He added that he spoke to some workers who said that they would be urinating in bottles to meet delivery deadlines of Amazon.

However, Amazon said that a distorted picture of their process has been shown to the world.

"Channel 4 has presented a heavily distorted picture of our processes and operations that do not reflect the realities of shopping with or working for Amazon. We strive every day to create the most trusted experience for our customers and the safest environment for our colleagues – and we work fast to immediately fix anything falling below our high standards,” the spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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