EcoEnclose Review: A Real-World Look for E-commerce Admins

If you're an admin or buyer for an e-commerce brand looking at EcoEnclose, here's the bottom line upfront: They're a solid, reliable choice for sustainable mailers and shipping supplies, especially if you value free shipping and a straightforward ordering process. Their quality is consistent, and they deliver what they promise. But—and this is a big one for me—their "eco-friendly" claims are specific and certified, not vague marketing fluff, which saved me a headache with our finance team. I've been using them for about 18 months now across a few different brands I manage, and they've become my default for about 70% of our standard shipping packaging needs.

Why You Should Listen to Me (And My Mistakes)

Look, I'm not a sustainability expert. I'm the office administrator for a 45-person e-commerce company that sells home goods. I manage all our packaging and shipping supply ordering—that's roughly $30,000 annually split across maybe 8 different vendors for everything from custom boxes to tape. I report to both operations (who care about unboxing experience and damage rates) and finance (who care about cost and proper invoicing).

I only really started believing in vetting "green" claims after ignoring that advice once. We tried a different "eco" packaging supplier in late 2023 because their mailers were 8% cheaper per unit. The order arrived fine, but when I submitted the expense, finance flagged it. The invoice just said "eco mailers," with no certification details or material breakdown. Our finance director, who's big on compliance, asked me to substantiate the environmental claim for our own marketing. I couldn't. The vendor couldn't provide documentation. We had to eat the cost from our department budget because it didn't meet our internal sustainability reporting standards. That was a $1,200 lesson. Now, I verify certifications before I even look at the price.

Where EcoEnclose Actually Shines (And Where It's Just Okay)

Here's the thing: EcoEnclose isn't the magical, perfect solution for every packaging need. But for their core offering, they're seriously good. Let me break down my experience.

The Big Wins: Free Shipping & Clear Materials

First, the free shipping on orders over a certain amount isn't a gimmick. For our volume, we almost always qualify. This sounds basic, but when you're comparing per-unit costs between suppliers, forgetting to factor in shipping is the oldest trick in the book to make a price look lower. With EcoEnclose, the price you see is much closer to the price you pay, which makes my cost-comparison spreadsheets way simpler.

Second, and more importantly, they tell you exactly what you're buying. Every product page clearly states if something is recycled, recyclable, compostable, or a blend. And they list the certifications—like BPI certification for compostability. This level of detail is what got me out of trouble with finance. I could literally copy-paste from their website into our vendor justification form. According to the FTC Green Guides (ftc.gov), environmental marketing claims must be substantiated. EcoEnclose does that homework for you.

The "Good Enough" Stuff: Quality & Reliability

The quality of their mailers and padded products is consistent. I've ordered maybe 50 cases total, and I've never had a batch with weak seams or inconsistent printing. They're not the absolute thickest, most luxurious-feeling mailers on the market—some premium brands feel sturdier—but for 95% of our shipments (clothing, small home decor), they're totally sufficient. We've had maybe two damage claims in thousands of shipments that were potentially packaging-related. That's a rate I can live with.

Delivery is reliable. They quote realistic timelines, and I don't think I've ever had an order arrive late. In our 2024 vendor consolidation project, where I had to streamline ordering for three brands, that reliability was worth more than a tiny per-unit discount from a less predictable supplier.

The Caveats & What I Still Get Elsewhere

EcoEnclose is my go-to for standard shipping supplies: mailers, poly mailers, tape, filler. Where I don't use them is for custom-printed boxes or super specialized packaging. Their custom printing options are more limited than a dedicated packaging manufacturer like Packlane or Noissue. For our flagship product's box, we needed a specific box style with full-color exterior printing and a custom interior insert. EcoEnclose's offering in that space wasn't the right fit, either on capability or cost-effectiveness for that low-volume, high-impact item.

Also, while they have a decent range of sizes, if you need a truly oddball size, you might hit a wall. I once needed a very long, thin tube mailer for posters. They didn't have it. I had to source that from a specialty vendor. That's not a knock on them—it's just understanding their lane.

A Real Decision I Faced: The Price vs. Principle Weigh-Up

Let me give you a real example of the kind of decision I make, so you see my thought process. Last quarter, we needed to reorder our most common #4 recycled mailer.

• EcoEnclose: $0.87 per unit. Free shipping. 100% recycled content, PCR certified.
• Vendor B (a large general packaging supplier): $0.79 per unit. $85 shipping. Listed as "eco-friendly" but details were buried; upon emailing, they said it was "made with recycled materials" but couldn't specify percentage.
• Vendor C (a cheap online bulk store): $0.68 per unit. $65 shipping. No environmental claims at all, just "white mailers."

The upside with Vendor C was saving about $200 on the total order. The risk was another finance flag, or worse, a customer calling us out for greenwashing if we marketed our packaging as sustainable. I kept asking myself: Is $200 worth a potential compliance note or a social media headache? For our brand, which talks about sustainability, the answer was no. The expected value calculation said go cheap, but the potential downside felt way bigger. I went with EcoEnclose. The peace of mind was worth the premium. For a brand that doesn't market its packaging at all, maybe the math is different.

The Bottom Line for Someone Like You

If you're managing packaging for an e-commerce business that values sustainability—either as a real operational principle or a marketing point—EcoEnclose is a safe, reliable, and legitimately eco-conscious choice. They make the admin side easy with clear info and reliable shipping. They won't be the absolute cheapest, and they won't solve every unique packaging need. But for the boring, critical, repetitive stuff that keeps your operation running? They're a supplier you can set and mostly forget.

Oh, and one last thing I should add: their customer service is fine. Not amazing, not terrible. I've had to contact them a handful of times for order adjustments, and it's been resolved without drama in 24-48 hours. In my book, for a consumable supplier, "no drama" is a huge win.

Real Talk: Don't switch everything to them in one go. Order one batch of your most-used item. Test it in your workflow. See how the pricing lands after shipping. Check the certification docs against your company's policies. That's what I did. It took away the guesswork and turned a marketing claim into a practical, verified purchasing decision.