How to package clothing orders: a checklist for your first 100

What goes into a clothing order, step by step?

A clothing order needs one thing to travel safely, a poly mailer, and a few optional layers that make the unboxing feel like your brand. Pack each order in this order:

1. Check and fold the garment. Fold it to roughly the width of the mailer, so it lies flat without creases at the edges.
2. Bag it (optional). A frosted zipper bag keeps the folded garment clean and dry inside the mailer, and customers can reuse it.
3. Tag it (optional). A hang tag on the garment carries your logo, the product name and the price; Packuva hang tags come with a pre-tied string. A woven label sewn or heat-pressed into the garment puts your brand on the piece itself.
4. Add a note (optional). A short thank-you note, your care instructions or a returns slip goes on top, where it is seen first.
5. Seal the mailer. Put everything in the poly mailer, peel the strip and press it closed. Packuva mailers have a self-seal, tamper-evident adhesive strip.
6. Label the parcel. Stick the shipping label flat on the side without your logo, or on a plain area, so it doesn't cover the print.

Which mailer size does a folded garment need?

A single folded T-shirt fits a 25 × 35 cm (10" × 14") poly mailer, the size our size finder picks for it. Heavier pieces need a larger bag:

• One or two T-shirts: 25 × 35 cm (10" × 14").
• One sweatshirt or hoodie: 30 × 40 cm (12" × 15.5").
• One jacket or coat: 40 × 50 cm (15.5" × 19.5").

Pick the smallest bag the folded order fits in: a smaller mailer costs less and the garment moves around less. The poly mailer size finder gives the size for other garments and bundles.

What does branded packaging cost per order?

At 100 units, a 25 × 35 cm (10" × 14") custom poly mailer costs $0.649 each, and that is often the only branded item a new brand needs. Each extra item adds its own unit price to every order:

The poly mailer cost guide has the full price table for every common mailer size from 100 to 1,000.

What can wait until after your first 100 orders?

For an online-only clothing brand, a branded poly mailer is the one item worth buying before the first 100 orders; the rest can wait until you know what customers notice.

• Buy first: the custom poly mailer. It is the first thing every customer sees.
• Add when you want a premium unboxing: frosted zipper bags.
• Add when your designs are settled: woven labels. The heat-press backing starts at 100 units; sew-on labels start at 500.
• Add when you sell in shops, at markets or pop-ups: hang tags, which show the price on the garment.

How do you keep clothing dry and private in transit?

A Packuva poly mailer is waterproof and puncture-resistant, with a dark inner lining so nobody can see what is inside, and a tamper-evident seal that shows if the bag has been opened. For a second layer against moisture, put the garment in a frosted zipper bag first.

How far ahead should you order your packaging?

A Packuva packaging order takes 10–21 days from proof approval with standard shipping, so order before your plain stock runs out. The steps are: you upload your logo and get a digital proof within 12 hours; production takes 2–6 days after proof approval after you approve it; then free standard shipping (8–15 days). If you are short of time: express shipping (4–6 days in transit), quoted per order on request.

When is a poly mailer the wrong choice?

• Fragile or rigid items such as glass, candles or framed prints need a box and padding. Packuva makes bags, tags and labels, not boxes.
• Fewer than 100 orders in total: plain stock mailers with a logo sticker cost less until you reach 100.

What else do new brands ask about packing orders?