Paper Padded Bags

Plastic-free paper padded bags and mailers for UK online sellers. Also sold as paper padded envelopes, paper padded mailers or padded paper bags. Paper cushioning instead of bubble film, so the whole thing goes in the paper recycling. Supplied in trade packs with peel-and-seal closure.

Paper padding, and what it actually replaces

A traditional padded mailer is a paper outer with a bubble film liner glued inside it. It protects well and it is a nuisance to recycle: the customer has to separate two materials that were bonded together, and most people don't. The whole thing goes in general waste.

A paper padded mailer does the same job with a paper cushioning layer instead of film. One material, one bin, no separation — and for most sellers that is the entire reason to switch.

Be realistic about the trade-off, because it's real. Bubble film is better at absorbing a sharp impact. Paper padding is very good at abrasion, pressure and the general battering of a sorting network, and it is entirely adequate for the great majority of e commerce goods. What it is not is a substitute for a box around something genuinely fragile. If the item would break when dropped from waist height onto concrete, it needs a box, not a bag of any kind.

What these suit

• Clothing, textiles and soft goods where the risk is scuffing rather than breaking
• Books, stationery and printed matter
• Cosmetics, skincare and hair care in plastic or tube packaging
• Small electronics and accessories — cables, cases, chargers
• Jewellery and small giftware already in an inner box
• Samples, spare parts and refill packs

Not suitable for glass, ceramics, or anything with a fragile protruding part. Those want a corrugated box.

Sizing, and why the code matters more than the millimetres

Padded mailers are traditionally sold by size code rather than dimension, and most buyers know their code and not their measurements. Dimensions for every size are in the table below.

Two sizing rules that save money.

Lay the item flat and measure it, then add for depth. A padded bag has no gusset. A 30mm-thick item in a bag sized to its flat footprint will not seal, and forcing it splits the seam at the corners.

Don't size up "to be safe". Contents that move inside an over sized bag defeat the padding, and you pay for the extra material and often the extra postage band.

If you're switching from a bubble-lined mailer, take the equivalent size rather than assuming paper needs more room — the padding thickness is comparable.

Honeycomb kraft padding, and how it differs from the alternatives

The cushioning inside these mailers is honeycomb kraft — a die-cut paper that expands into a hexagonal cell structure. The cells behave like tiny arches: they absorb impact by collapsing progressively, then hold their shape rather than staying flat.

That puts it in a different class from the two things it's usually compared with.

Against a bubble-lined mailer, the difference is disposal. A bubble-lined bag is paper bonded to plastic film, and the customer has to separate two materials that were glued together. Most don't, so the whole thing goes to general waste. Honeycomb is paper throughout — one bin, no separation, no decision for the customer to get wrong.

Against a paper bubble mailer, the difference is depth. Paper bubble is an embossed sheet, so the cushioning is only as deep as the emboss. Honeycomb has a genuine three-dimensional cell structure, which absorbs more and — usefully — grips the contents rather than letting them slide inside the bag.

The honest limit: honeycomb is excellent against abrasion, pressure and the general battering of a sorting network. It is not a box. If the item would break when dropped from waist height onto concrete, it needs corrugated, not a padded bag of any construction.

Plastic-free: what it means here

Paper outer, paper cushioning, no bubble film liner. The customer puts the whole mailer in the household paper collection without separating anything — which is the step that decides whether packaging actually gets recycled rather than merely being labelled recyclable.

It also reads well on the doorstep. For a brand whose customers care about waste, a mailer that visibly isn't plastic does more work than a logo.

Buying by the pack

Supplied in trade packs, with price breaks as quantities increase.

Most sellers need two or three sizes rather than the full range — one for small flat items, one for the standard order, one for the occasional larger one. Concentrating volume gets you further up the price break and keeps the packing bench simple.

We buy these as part of a manufacturing group, at volumes a reseller can't reach, and hold them across over 100,000 square feet of warehousing.

Not sure which size replaces the one you use now? Tell us the code or the dimensions you currently buy and we'll match it.

Delivery and returns

Next-day dispatch on UK mainland orders, with free UK mainland delivery and a £75 minimum order. Full terms on our delivery and returns pages.