People sometimes ask us if we use recycled packaging, and I occasionally get requests to only use pre-used packaging for a particular order. I understand these requests and try to oblige when possible.

I thought maybe our environmentally-minded readers might like a breakdown of where we get our packaging materials, and how we try to conserve as often as possible.

1. Our small bubble mailers are almost always new. We buy things in bulk, rarely in small packages, so we have to purchase new bubble mailers for our many smaller orders.
2. Our mid-sized bubble mailers are sometimes new, sometimes used. We occasionally buy items that are sent in bubble mailers in the 8-12" range. When these are in good condition, we keep them to re-use on future orders. Any mailers that are obviously soiled, ripped, or otherwise unacceptable, we throw away. Mailers that are clean but cannot be used for mailing (example, too many rips) get kept to be used for inner packaging.
3. Our white packing boxes are all new. Again, we sell many more small packages than we receive, so I regularly purchase small white boxes in a variety of sizes (they are typically used to hold baseball cards!) for the mid-sized orders.
4. Our irregularly sized boxes are re-used. We often get small shipments in boxes in the 6-12" range of various sizes. Almost all of these boxes are good for another run, so we save them until we have orders that don't fit well in our white boxes.
5. Our Priority boxes are sometimes re-used. Considering that the USPS distributes their Priority boxes for free, it is hard to conjure the gumption to re-use them. However, quite a few of our shipments come in Priority boxes that are good for another run, so we save each one we get and re-use them.
6. Our bubble wrap and packing peanuts are 100% used. I think the last time I bought bubble wrap was 2001. We get enough Styrofoam and soybean peanuts to cover ALL of our packages. And it seems that every time we get dangerously low on bubble wrap and are almost in need of actually buying some, we get a box filled with it from some vendor! Any packaging materials that are obviously dirty or have a cigarette odor, we throw away, but we keep and re-use all the rest.
7. Our ziplock bags are mostly new. Since we use thousands more of these bags than we get, there is simply no way to bag the beads without buying new bags. The larger bags, on the other hand (ones in which we pack marbles, chip strands, and other larger items) are often re-used.

So while your box, envelope, or ziplock bag might be new, the environmentalists out there can rest assured that all of the inner packing materials are on their second run (or perhaps more...). We cannot use ALL used materials, but we can at least save where we can.