Mailing Bags

Our signature pink Joanie mailing bags are made from Green™ PE, derived from a resin that originates in sugarcane rather than from finite fossil fuel resources that are detrimental to the environment. Sugarcane is relatively fast-growing and renewable, plus it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In a nutshell, Green™ PE is CO2 negative, renewable, recyclable, and sustainable. You can read more about Green™ PE here.

Our warehouse packing team tries to select the most appropriate size mailing bag for your parcel to keep packaging materials to a minimum and to ensure maximum efficiency in transport.

Following customer feedback, in 2023, we investigated alternative sustainable materials for our mailing bags. We made the decision to switch over to paper bags, placing our order at the end of the year. But, as part of our ongoing commitment to prevent waste wherever possible, we have decided to use up our remaining supply of GreenTM PE bags before switching over to the updated paper packaging.

Tags & Labels

All our garment labels are now made from certified organic cotton rather than polyester, as it is a more sustainable material. Rather than create excess waste by discarding our old unused stock of polyester labels, we have chosen to use them up before fully transitioning to the organic cotton versions. 

The tags attached to our clothes are made from certified recycled paper, which means the paper used to make the tags comes from either post-consumer or pre-consumer reclaimed materials. The recycled paper for our tags is sourced from sustainably managed forests. By using responsibly sourced recycled paper for our tags, we are not contributing to the demand for sources of virgin materials, and we are helping to protect the world’s forests.

Our order notes, bookmark parcel inserts, cardboard, and paper for despatch packaging are also all made from recycled paper.

Plastic

As a business, we are actively working towards eliminating virgin plastic, and where a sustainable alternative to non-recycled plastic exists and is attainable for us, we are committed to using it. For now, though, aspects of our garment production, for example zips, buttons, and trims, still rely on virgin plastic, as recycled versions are not yet readily available to us.

All our clear plastic polythene bags are now made from recycled materials, which can, in turn, be recycled again. The clear plastic poly bags that our clothes are packaged in are there to protect your order - they keep the clothes clean and in the best possible condition for you to receive them in. 

All these bags are classed as low-density polyethylene (recycling code PE-LD 04 or LD-PE 04) and are fully recyclable, usually via your recycling bin. It's always best to check the code with your local authority: generally, you can recycle this plastic if your local authority mentions bread bags, frozen food bags, squeezable bottles (like hand cream tubes), bubble wrap and carrier bags that can be stretched. 

On our journey to find the most suitable sustainable packaging, we investigated using both biodegradable and compostable bags. In both cases, the shelf life was either too short, resulting in extra labour to repackage the clothing, or the packaging needed very specific conditions to break down completely. To break down effectively, the bags would need to be composted on a compost heap, something that most of our customers may not have access to.