The weight and source material of the reusable mailer and the standard mailer you are comparing

Poly mailers, paper mailers and reusable mailers are not all the same. Poly mailers can be virgin, recycled or made with PLA (a corn-based bioplastic). Paper mailers can be virgin, recycled or some mix of the two. Poly mailer can be thin (2 mil) or thick (3 mil). Reusable mailers can be virgin or made with recycled content. Reusable mailers can be made with different fabrics that vary in weight and thickness. These variables are very important when you're assessing the carbon footprint of a reusable mailer and your standard mailer.

How many uses you anticipate your reusable mailer to go through, and how many your standard mailer typically goes through. 

You send your product out in a reusable mailer. Then what? It needs to come back to you (or to a central distribution hub to be used again). One of the most important variables in assessing the sustainability of a reusable mailer is how many uses you confidently believe it will go through. The number of uses is based on how readily your customers actually return your packaging, how much damage your mailer incurs as it is shipped back and forth, and how much wear and tear you are open to in your packaging before you decide not to use it anymore for orders. A standard mailer typically goes through just one use, but some (including our dual strip recycled poly mailer) is designed to be used twice. If you compare a heavy, thick reusable mailer that is used a handful of times compared to a thin, poly mailer that is used twice, you'll likely find that the poly mailer is significantly more eco-friendly than the reusable one in this scenario.

What happens to your reusable mailer at the end of its useful life and what typically happens to your standard mailer. 

Is your reusable mailer going to be landfilled or recycled? Are your current single-use mailers typically recycled or landfilled? These are important considerations. If a thick, heavy reusable mailer is landfilled after a handful of uses and your poly mailer is recycled after two uses, your reusable mailer created more synthetic waste than the poly mailers you were trying to replace!

Does your reusable mailer have to travel more than your standard mailer would and does it have to be cleaned frequently over the course of its useful life. 

If most of your orders are shipped to customers and never returned back, then it is important to factor in the extra mileage your packaging has to travel back to your facility or central distribution hub. If returns are core to your business (as it is for clothing rental or subscription models), then these miles would have been traveled regardless of your packaging strategy. Additionally, depending on your preferences and the materials you've selected for your reusable mailer, you may find that you need to put mailers through deep cleaning after several cycles. If that is the case, you'll want to factor in the energy and water consumption impact of these mid-cycle cleanings. 

Source: EcoEnclose

Theories are helpful, but numbers make things easier to grasp. A full, accurate analysis requires real-world data (ideally from your own business), but here’s a simple example to get started.

Key assumptions in this comparison:

• Mailers are 19x24"

• Both are made with 100% recycled content

• Poly mailer: 2 mil; Reusable mailer: medium-thickness polyester

• Poly mailers are recycled 10% of the time; reusable mailers 90% (since brands can recycle them in bulk rather than relying on customers)

• The business model is a subscription clothing brand with nearly 100% return rates — so return mileage isn’t factored in

• No deep cleaning between uses; normal scuffs and wear are acceptable, extending the mailer’s lifespan

The results:

• A reusable mailer needs 20 cycles to match the emissions of a single-use poly mailer.

• If the poly mailer is used twice (outbound + return), the reusable mailer would need 40 cycles to break even environmentally.

Of course, these results shift depending on factors like recycled content, weight, thickness, and end-of-life outcomes for both mailers.

Source: EcoEnclose

EcoEnclose ReEnclose Mailers are designed to be shipped to your customer to deliver their order, and then shipped back to your distribution center to be used for another order. Available in multiple sizes, colors, and material weights, ReEnclose Mailers are an ideal shipping solution for brands who have returns baked into their business model. Customization is also available, from material weight, to fabric color, to mailer size and more.

We commit to analyzing the environmental impact of this packaging switch to ensure it is the right solution for your business. Explore our Reusable Mailers Sustainability Calculator which is designed to help you estimate how many uses or "cycles" your reusable mailer has to go through to ensure it has the equivalent carbon footprint of poly mailers you are replacing.

If you've determined poly mailers are the best solution for your business, we have you covered with 100% Recycled Poly Mailers.