The Best Eco Friendly Bubble Mailers For Your Business

Well, if people everywhere don't start using less plastic, such a scenario is not out of the question. An alarming prediction from the United Nations says that in 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans. Shouldn’t we reduce our use of plastic now?

If you’re a business owner or working in retail, one way to do this is by limiting or regulating the use of plastic in your packaging or shipping materials like bubble wrap.

Bubble wrap is a packaging material made of a plastic sheet covered with small air bubbles. Unfortunately, bubble wrap is commonly used to cushion items for transport, especially with fragile items. You can find it used as liners in many bubble mailers.

So, with the popularity of online shopping and the convenience of using bubble mailers, how can we reduce our plastic use?

If you’re curious, this blog is for you. We’ve come up with a list of the best eco-friendly bubble mailers on the market, and we answer some questions about bubble mailers. Keep reading below.

What Are Bubble Mailers?

Bubble mailers are envelopes made of either plastic or paper and lined with a layer of bubble wrap on the inside. These packaging materials usually have a peel-off sticky strip at the tops, which makes them easy to seal.

Bubble mailers are available in a variety of sizes and are ideal for mailing small, light, fragile items that require extra protection during transit. Books, jewelry, and CDs are some examples of items that will fit nicely into these rectangular mailers.

While also commonly referred to as padded envelopes, not all padded envelopes are bubble mailers. Padded envelopes may have paper, foam, or bubble wrap as the interior padding.

Are Bubble Mailers Eco-Friendly?

To be considered eco-friendly, bubble mailers should be made of materials that are not harmful to the environment. This means they should be free of petroleum-based plastic, which takes hundreds of years to decompose and leaches toxins during the process.

While bubble mailers are not entirely plastic-free, their interior is still plastic-based. The manufacture of paper also requires tree cutting, which affects our natural landscape. Moreover, when not recycled, the paper ends up in landfills and produces methane during decomposition. Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat, thereby contributing to climate change. Under this context, bubble mailers can be seen as harmful to Mother Nature.

However, the good news is there are now more sustainable packaging options such as eco-friendly bubble mailers. The difference lies in the materials used in their production. Eco-friendly bubble mailers are usually made of recycled paper materials and can be recyclable or reusable. These mailers can also be compostable, biodegradable, or both.

The Best Eco-Friendly Bubble Mailers

With many becoming aware of the plastic problem the world is facing, buyers and businesses alike now have a wide variety of sustainable, eco-friendly bubble mailers and bubble wrap alternatives available. Here are our top picks for the best eco-friendly bubble mailers you should consider using.

Honeycomb Mailers

Honeycomb mailers serve as an eco-friendly alternative to the usual bubble mailers. These materials are made from recycled paper and use honeycomb eco-wrap as padding. The honeycomb padding provides a layer of cushioning, and the recycled paper gives a rigid structure to the mailers. With both materials being paper, honeycomb mailers are 100% recyclable, so you can put them in your curbside recycling bin.

Corrugated Paper Mailers

Instead of the bubble wrap lining, corrugated paper mailers or padded envelopes are made of paper inside and out. This makes them 100% recyclable and an eco-friendly mailer or packaging option. Their protective lining is made of corrugated paper, which offers strength and rigidity. When recycling these mailers, you don’t need to separate them or bring them to a special recycling point.

Corrugated paper mailers are as effective as bubble-lined mailers in terms of protecting items inside the envelopes. The corrugated flute, which is a fluted sheet sandwiched between two liners, functions as an air cushion, protecting items from impact during transit.

Biodegradable Bubble Mailers

Biodegradable bubble mailers are made of recycled paper materials or renewable resources like corn or sugarcane. They will break down into water, biomass, and carbon dioxide in landfills and biodegrade more quickly than petroleum-based plastics.

One excellent example is our biodegradable mailer bags at Impack. These eco-friendly bubble mailers are typically lightweight, just like their conventional counterparts. They are also resistant to moisture, water, and tears. What’s even greater is that these materials are stickable, printable, and writable.

Amazon's New Padded Mailers

Amazon has recently introduced new padded mailers that replace plastic with paper. These mailers are more environmentally friendly and easier to recycle, catering to customers' growing demand for sustainable packaging options.

To explore more eco-friendly packaging solutions, check out Huanyou and their Honeycomb Padded Mailer.