When there is no other alternative than plastic

Plastic is king...well in some cases. 

Hear me out.

For a while now, I’ve been looking for a better way to package notepads and small greeting card orders without buying new materials. I want to use what I already have because 

1. I don’t have that much space, and
2. I’d rather not invest in new packaging until I’ve cleared my current stock.

When someone orders up to 3 cards, I usually ship them in this green paper envelope. That works… if the weather is nice. But this is Belgium, and if you know Belgium, you know the weather can be very fickle. We can have all 4 seasons in one day. I can’t count the number of times I’ve pulled soggy mail out of my own letterbox. So, I really don’t want my customers to have the same experience.

So I ran a few tests. In total I did 4 tests where I tried another packaging option and then put it in the green paper envelope as I normally would. Then I dunked each one in a bowl of water for two seconds, and checked how well it held up. Here's what I found:

1. Kraft paper (from amazon or bol.com boxes)

I folded the cards and envelopes in kraft paper and after dumping in the water bowl, it got soaking wet (which was not a surprise). Plus, I received the general feedback that it didn't look professional.

2. Glassine bags

I heard that these were more water-resistant so I was hopefull. But it turns out that this soaked water even faster than my Frankenstein kraft paper packaging. 

3. Envelope +  kraft paper or glassine bag

Now you're maybe wondering: why not just put the card in the envelope and then a kraft paper or glassine bag? I did and while it did took longer to get wet, it still got wet. 

4. Plastic pouch

So I exhausted all the viable options I had at home and tried a plastic pouch. As expected. Not a drop. So even though I try to limit plastic and repurpose packaging whenever possible, it seems that this is the most budget friendly that will actually protect the cards (+ it looks professional). So it'll have to do for the time being untill I find a better solution.

Let me know what you think!