Eco friendly packaging for a small online business mostly means four swaps: kraft paper tape in place of plastic tape, honeycomb paper in place of bubble wrap, kraft paper or EcoFlo loose fill in place of foam fill, and a box that fits the product in place of one that is too big. All four can be made with stock items, one at a time, as your current supplies run out.
This guide takes each swap in turn: what changes when you pack, the from price of the paper option, and when the plastic version still does the job better. It finishes with what to order first.
In This Guide
- Quick picks for a paper based packing bench
- What does eco friendly packaging mean for a small online business?
- Should you swap plastic tape for kraft paper tape?
- Can honeycomb paper replace bubble wrap?
- What can you use instead of foam fill?
- How do right-sized boxes and large letter boxes cut packaging?
- How much do the swaps cost, and what should you order first?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick picks for a paper based packing bench
If you only change three things, these cover the seal, the wrap and the box for small flat orders.
Best for sealing boxes with paper
Kraft Paper Tape
Brown paper packing tape for cardboard boxes, a paper based option in place of plastic tape.
- 48mm x 50m hotmelt or 75mm x 50m
- Packs of 6 rolls
- Matt kraft finish that matches brown boxes
From £14.00 ex VAT (£16.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for wrapping in place of bubble wrap
Honeycomb Paper Rolls (80gsm)
80gsm paper that opens into a cushioning honeycomb pattern when you stretch it.
- 395mm or 500mm wide
- 250m per roll
- Sold as single rolls
From £28.00 ex VAT (£33.60 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for small flat orders
Royal Mail PIP Large Letter Boxes
Die cut cardboard boxes 20mm deep, so a slim product goes out in a box its own size.
- Mini, C6, DL, C5 and C4 sizes
- Packs of 50, supplied flat
- Fold up by hand
From £5.00 ex VAT (£6.00 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productWhat does eco friendly packaging mean for a small online business?
For a small online business, eco friendly packaging means using less packaging per order and using paper based materials where paper does the job. We sell plain stock packaging only, and every swap in this guide uses it.
The table shows the four swaps. Prices are the lowest on each product page, before volume discounts.
| What you use now | Paper based swap | From price ex VAT (inc VAT) | Keep the plastic option when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic packing tape | Kraft paper tape, packs of 6 | £14.00 (£16.80) | Cartons are heavy or cost per parcel is tight |
| Bubble wrap | Honeycomb paper, 250m roll | £28.00 (£33.60) | Goods are very fragile or must stay dry |
| Foam fill | Kraft paper roll, or EcoFlo loose fill | £25.00 (£30.00) or £13.00 (£15.60) | You pack at volume and already run an air cushion machine |
| One big box for everything | Single wall boxes in the right size, or PIP large letter boxes | £0.35 (£0.42) per box, or £5.00 (£6.00) per pack of 50 | Never. A box that fits uses less of everything |
We describe these products by what they are made of. The tape, honeycomb wrap, kraft rolls and boxes are paper or cardboard, and EcoFlo loose fill is described by its manufacturer as biodegradable. Check what your council collects before you tell customers how to dispose of anything. For why shoppers notice paper packaging, see our guide to paper packaging for online orders.
Should you swap plastic tape for kraft paper tape?
Swap to kraft paper tape if you send standard parcels in brown boxes and want the seal to be paper too. Kraft paper tape is brown paper packing tape in two sizes, 48mm x 50m with hotmelt adhesive and 75mm x 50m, both in packs of 6 rolls, from £14.00 ex VAT (£16.80 inc VAT) per pack.
At the bench, three things change:
- Width. The 48mm roll is the everyday width for postal boxes and single wall cartons. The 75mm roll covers the flap seam on a larger box in one pass.
- Tape gun. Check the width before you load it. Our pistol grip tape guns take 50mm or 75mm tape.
- Roll changes. Each paper roll is 50m. Our standard brown packing tape is 66m, with 132m and 150m rolls available, so you will change paper rolls more often.
Plastic tape is still the better choice for heavier cartons, and when cost per parcel is tight. Brown tape starts at £4.50 ex VAT (£5.40 inc VAT) for 6 rolls, about a third of the paper tape price, and the rolls are longer. If your margin is thin, keep plastic tape and make one of the other swaps first.
A cheaper first step. One strip along the centre seam is enough for most light parcels, whatever the tape. See using less box, fill and tape.
For self-adhesive kraft tape against gummed tape, read the paper tape guide.
Can honeycomb paper replace bubble wrap?
Honeycomb paper can replace bubble wrap for bottles, glass, cosmetics, gifts and homeware. Honeycomb paper rolls are 80gsm paper that opens into a pattern of small cells when you pull it, and those cells cushion the item. Rolls are 250m long, 395mm or 500mm wide, from £28.00 ex VAT (£33.60 inc VAT) per roll.
Wrapping with it works like this:
- Pick the width: 395mm for bottles, jars and cosmetics, 500mm for gifts, homeware and wider items.
- Pull a length off the roll and stretch it all the way so every cell opens.
- Wrap it round the product the way you would a sheet of bubble wrap.
- Close it with a strip of paper tape, then fill any gap left in the box so the item cannot move.
Bubble wrap still does the job better for very fragile goods and for anything that must stay dry. Small bubble wrap has 10mm bubbles on a plastic film that bends round corners, edges and handles, and plastic film does not soak up water the way paper does. It also costs less to start: from £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT) for a 100m roll. A mixed bench is normal: honeycomb paper for most orders, and one roll of bubble wrap kept back for breakables and wet weather.
The two wraps are compared product by product in honeycomb paper vs bubble wrap.
What can you use instead of foam fill?
In place of foam fill, use scrunched kraft paper for most boxes and EcoFlo loose fill for awkward shapes. We do not stock polystyrene foam chips.
Best for filling gaps with paper
Kraft Paper Rolls
Strong brown paper for wrapping products and filling the empty space in boxes.
- Centre-feed boxed rolls: 200mm x 250m or 375mm x 300m, 70gsm
- Standard roll: 500mm x 200m, 90gsm
- Sold as single rolls
From £25.00 ex VAT (£30.00 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productThe centre-feed kraft paper rolls sit in their dispenser box on the bench and the paper feeds out as you pack. Pull a length, scrunch it and push it into the gaps until nothing can move. The 375mm x 300m roll suits medium boxes and the 200mm x 250m roll suits small ones. Kraft paper starts at £25.00 ex VAT (£30.00 inc VAT) per roll.
EcoFlo packing peanuts come in 5 cubic feet bags in white, blue or mixed colour, from £13.00 ex VAT (£15.60 inc VAT) per bag. The manufacturer describes EcoFlo as biodegradable. Pour a layer into the bottom of the box, sit the item on it, then fill round and over it until nothing moves when you shake the closed box gently. Plan where the bag will live, because 5 cubic feet of loose fill takes floor space that a boxed paper roll does not.
Keep a plastic fill if you pack a lot of light parcels and already own an inflator. Air cushion film stays flat on a 300m roll until the machine fills it, from £20.00 ex VAT (£24.00 inc VAT) per roll. The air cushion machine is from £300.00 ex VAT (£360.00 inc VAT), which is hard to justify for a few parcels a day. All the fill types are set side by side in void fill compared.
How do right-sized boxes and large letter boxes cut packaging?
A box that fits the product cuts packaging because there is less cardboard, less empty space to fill and a shorter seam to tape. Of the four swaps, this is the one that usually saves money as well as material.
To pick the size:
- Measure the product's length, width and height.
- Add room for the wrap you use.
- Pick the next internal size up.
- Pack one order and shake the closed box. If the product moves, add fill. If you had to force the flaps shut, go up a size.
Single wall cardboard boxes run from 5 x 5 x 5" (127 x 127 x 127mm) to 24 x 18 x 18" (610 x 457 x 457mm), from £0.35 ex VAT (£0.42 inc VAT) per box with a minimum of 5 per size, so you can keep two or three sizes on the shelf. As a guide, 5 x 5 x 5" to 7 x 5 x 5" (178 x 127 x 127mm) suits candles, mugs and gifts.
For slim products, Royal Mail PIP large letter boxes are die cut cardboard boxes 20mm deep, which sits inside the Royal Mail Large Letter thickness limit of 25mm. They come in five sizes from Mini (101 x 101 x 20mm) to C4 (325 x 225 x 20mm), in packs of 50, from £5.00 ex VAT (£6.00 inc VAT) per pack. Check Royal Mail for the current length, width and weight limits.
When a bigger or stronger box is right. Do not size down so far that a breakable item touches the box wall. Heavy or fragile goods are better in double wall boxes, from £0.59 ex VAT (£0.71 inc VAT).
How much do the swaps cost, and what should you order first?
Order the box sizes first, because right-sized boxes cost from £0.35 ex VAT each and reduce how much tape and fill you need. Then replace tape, wrap and fill with the paper versions as your current stock runs out. Plastic packaging you have already paid for is better used up than thrown away.
Most of these products have volume pricing: the price per pack, roll or box falls as you buy more, and the tiers are on each product page. A pack of 50 large letter boxes at the from price works out at 10p a box ex VAT. For wrap and fill, pack ten typical orders from a new roll and see how far it went before you buy in bulk.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 delivery is free on every order with no minimum, so you can try a single roll without paying postage. Orders placed by 2pm Monday to Friday leave our Manchester unit the same working day. Click and collect in Manchester is free and usually ready within 2 hours, and there is same-day van delivery within 10 miles of Cheetham Hill. Regular buyers can open a trade account.
Browse cardboard boxes, packing tapes and protective packaging, or call 0161 706 1246 if you are not sure which size to start with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest eco friendly packaging swap for a small business?
The easiest eco friendly packaging swap is a box that fits the product. A right-sized box uses less cardboard, less void fill and less tape, and single wall boxes start from £0.35 ex VAT (£0.42 inc VAT) each with a minimum of 5 per size.
Is sustainable packaging more expensive than plastic packaging?
Some paper based packaging costs more than the plastic version and some costs less. Kraft paper tape is from £14.00 ex VAT for 6 rolls against £4.50 for plastic brown tape, and honeycomb paper is from £28.00 for a 250m roll against £9.00 for 100m of small bubble wrap. Right-sized boxes usually lower the cost per order, because you use less board and less fill.
Do you sell biodegradable packaging?
We stock EcoFlo loose fill, which its manufacturer describes as biodegradable. EcoFlo comes in 5 cubic feet bags from £13.00 ex VAT (£15.60 inc VAT). We do not describe our other products as biodegradable: the tape, honeycomb wrap, kraft rolls and boxes are described as paper or cardboard.
Is honeycomb paper as protective as bubble wrap?
Honeycomb paper does the same cushioning job as bubble wrap for bottles, glass, cosmetics, gifts and homeware, as long as you stretch it fully so every cell opens. Bubble wrap is still the safer choice for very fragile goods and for items that must stay dry.
Can I get custom printed eco packaging from Pack Solution?
No. Pack Solution sells plain stock packaging and does not offer custom printed boxes, tape or bags. Kraft paper tape, honeycomb paper and brown cardboard boxes all have a plain brown finish.
