Right-Size Packaging: How to Choose the Correct Packaging Dimensions

Right-Size Your Sustainable Packaging

Choosing sustainable packaging for your brand and products goes beyond selecting the right materials. You need to make prudent sizing decisions, too.

Why does packaging size matter so much? Even beyond the obvious fact that your packaging has to be large enough to ship your products, it shouldn’t be too big, either. Finding that Goldilocks packaging size ensures the safety of your products during transit, low material waste, and cost efficiency.

• Sustainability: By making your packaging as small as possible while still meeting your functional needs, you reduce the amount of material needed, also referred to as source reduction. Using materials effectively is one of the most critical points in any sustainability strategy, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

• Cost: Smaller packaging is less expensive from a material and shipping weight perspective.

• Shipping rate efficiency: Smaller packaging can sometimes help your parcels fall into a lower shipping rate. For example, if you ship through USPS, our smallest rigid mailer falls under the less expensive “letter” shipping rate, while our larger rigid mailer does not.

• Customer experience: We’ve all experienced the #excessivepackaging #shippingfail of having a tiny product arrive in a massive box at your doorstep. Right-sizing your packaging goes a long way in creating a more thoughtful customer experience.

• Keep fragile products secure: One of the biggest factors in avoiding product breakage is ensuring that the items are secured within the packaging during transit. While you should ensure enough space in your package for padding, too much space comes with its own problems, too. Excessive padding can move and compress during transit, which will cause your products to move around and possibly break. Ensure that your fragile packaging is large enough to provide enough padding without being overly large to allow movement.

Eco-friendly packaging: how to measure for the perfect fit

Choose the right mailer or box size in a few simple steps.

1. Lay the item(s) you need to ship on a table and measure an imaginary boundary around it to get the length, width, and height.

2. Add a fitting allowance around these dimensions, depending on the packaging and how you want the items to fit. These dimensions will be added to the length and width. This step can be tricky, so contact our support team if you have any questions. We go into more detail below.

3. Choose the mailer or box dimensions based on the above measurements. Since our mailers expand to a set thickness, you may have to up-size your mailer to fit bulky items, like jackets.

Here are some additional tips to help you navigate the above three steps.

Measuring packaging dimensions

Our listed dimensions for boxes and mailers are different. Box dimensions measure the interior, while most mailer dimensions, except Poly Bubble Mailers, measure the exterior. Therefore, you’ll need to make a larger fitting allowance for mailers than you do for box dimensions.

Measuring your fitting allowance

Determining your fitting allowance is a bit of an art form. To get this piece right, we recommend ordering some of our sample sizes so that you can be sure your products fit in the packaging before making a bulk order.

For boxes, the fitting allowance is pretty straightforward. Our boxes are custom-cut to size, so you can input your dimensions and get the box size you need. Remember to add extra space for void fill or padding.

For mailers, it’s a bit trickier. Since they lay flat, you’ll have to add extra space to the length and width dimensions to account for the height, especially with thicker items. We recommend adding at least 0.5 inches to your length and width measurements to ensure the item will fit.

How to package irregular items

Determining a product's length, width, and height is easy when it’s already rectangular. It’s more difficult when the product shape isn’t so straightforward. In this case, imagine a cube surrounding the item and measure accordingly. Play it safe and add some buffer around your measurements to ensure the item can safely fit in the box or mailer. You can always use void fill to account for the empty spaces.

How to package a variety of products

Businesses that carry a variety of products need a variety of package sizes. In this case, stock up on a few different types of packaging and develop a strategy for choosing the right package size for each order. Use sustainable void fill to provide padding between products in a single piece of packaging. Avoid individually packaging multiple items in the same order as much as possible. If you’re shipping multiples of the same product type, like glassware, invest in custom inserts to keep the items secure.

Learn more: How to Package Fragile Items

Right-sizing in action

Now that we know the theory of right-sizing packaging, let’s look at some examples.

Sizing poly mailers for shirts

Let’s say a company is looking for 100% recycled poly mailers for t-shirts. Their large t-shirts, with allowance, measure 4x8x2 inches. Based on this, a 6x9-inch poly mailer is too small because, while the length and width dimensions fit, the height dimensions are too tall for the flat mailer. On the other hand, the 9x12-inch mailer would fit all the t-shirt dimensions, but there would be quite a bit of extra space. Therefore, the 7.5x10-inch mailer is the best choice, as the t-shirt will fit without extra packaging material, making it a more sustainable and cost-effective option.

It is important to note that poly mailers are much more durable and flexible than paper mailers, allowing you to opt for a tighter fit with these than you might if you were shipping in paper.

Sizing mailers for wall hangings

In a second scenario, a company is looking for a material-efficient and cost-effective way to ship a beautiful 9x13x1.25-inch wall piece. In this instance, the 12x15-inch Paper Apparel Mailer with tissue paper wrapping allowed for a snug but secure fit. Like the above example, the smaller 10x13-inch mailer isn’t large enough to accommodate the product’s thickness. The paper apparel mailer with tissue provides enough padding for safe transit, and the customer will receive their package with minimal waste and a low shipping cost.

Common Mailer Sizing Examples

The following chart provides some ideas for how to match everyday products with mailer sizes. This guidance serves as a starting point, as products vary across companies. We recommend using the above method to measure your products against our free samples before committing to a full mailer order.

Order free samples to test your packaging!

EcoEnclose is proud to offer free samples to help you test different sizes before placing your final order. All you have to do is pay for shipping! Try sizes across different mailers and test various custom corrugated samples as well. Order your free samples today.