Industry
Apparel is the one category where the cheapest packaging option is often also the best one. Soft goods do not need crush protection, so every dollar spent on a rigid structure is a dollar spent shipping air.
01
Carriers bill on the greater of actual and dimensional weight. A box charges you for its empty corners. A printed poly mailer collapses to the shape of the garment and typically cuts shipping cost more than any other packaging decision available to an apparel brand.
02
Apparel return rates run high enough that a resealable double-adhesive strip pays for itself. It removes a friction point for the customer and stops returns arriving in damaged or mismatched packaging.
03
Outerwear, tailoring and gifting justify a mailer or rigid box. Most apparel brands run mailers for the core range and boxes for the premium tier rather than choosing one format outright.
Recommended formats
In priority order, based on what most brands in this category end up running.
The cheapest way to ship soft goods with your brand on it.
From $0.35/unit
Option 2The e-commerce workhorse. Ships flat, folds in seconds, prints edge to edge.
From $0.85/unitUnbleached, uncoated, and honest about it.
From $0.65/unitNot legal advice, but these are the things that most often send a job back to artwork in this category.
Resealable return strips materially reduce return handling friction
Recycled-content and recyclable poly mailer films are widely available
Printed tissue and a sticker are the cheapest way to brand a mailer
Care and fibre content labelling is a garment requirement, not a packaging one
Tell us about your product and volume. We will recommend a format, flag the compliance requirements that apply, and send firm pricing within one business day.