Polythene Bags for Clothing Subscription Boxes
By The Velocity Wear Team
Need this made?Get pricing for this product— free, no obligation, 50 pieces minimum.
Subscription box packaging for clothing works in two layers: the box outside, and a printed inner bag around each garment that keeps it clean, shows your logo when the lid comes off and carries a size sticker for the packer. Velocity Wear makes these frosted zip-seal inner bags from 50 bags per design, in 10 to 15 working days from artwork approval.
What does an inner bag do inside a subscription box?
It does three jobs the box cannot. It protects the garment: card holds its shape but lets damp through if a parcel sits on a wet doorstep, while a sealed, water-resistant bag keeps the piece clean. It presents it, because the first thing a subscriber sees when the lid lifts is your logo on the bag face, with the garment's colour showing softly through the frosted film. And it identifies it, with a size sticker, so the packer can check the box before it is closed.
Every printed inner bag in the range closes with a resealable zip seal, so the subscriber can keep the garment in it afterwards or use it to send back an exchange if your box allows one.
How do packers pick the right size for each subscriber?
By the sticker. A subscription packing run is a list of subscribers, each with a size, and a table of bagged stock sorted by size. The packer reads the size on the list, takes a bag with the matching sticker and checks it once more before the box is closed. Without stickers, every garment has to be unfolded to find its neck label, which is slow and creases stock that should arrive looking new. A custom label with the cycle or edition name also stops last month's leftovers slipping into this month's boxes; size stickers and labels on garment bags covers the options.
Should the bag design change every cycle?
Usually not. The bag minimum is 50 bags per design, and a design that changes every month means a new order, a new proof and a new production slot every month. Most boxes are better served by one long-running bag and a label that changes.
| Approach | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| One evergreen bag | A logo-only print used every cycle, with a label naming the edition | Monthly boxes with a changing garment |
| A bag per season | New artwork a few times a year | Quarterly boxes and seasonal editions |
| A bag per cycle | New artwork for every box | Boxes where the packaging is part of the collectable |
How many inner bags do you need per cycle?
Start with subscribers multiplied by garments per box, then add a margin for sign-ups before the packing date, replacements for damaged items and a few for photography. A one-garment box for 180 subscribers might order 200 bags, comfortably above the 50-per-design minimum. With an evergreen design, order several cycles at once and store the spares flat. Then count back from the packing date, not the dispatch date: 10 to 15 working days of production after artwork approval, plus freight to wherever the boxes are packed.
Do you need a bag if the box is branded?
In most cases, yes. A branded box is opened once and usually discarded, while the bag stays with the garment, protects it inside the box and carries your brand into the wardrobe. The box sets the occasion; the bag looks after the clothing. The trade-offs between the two are set out in poly bags against boxes for clothing, and the wider picture for direct sellers is in polythene bags for online clothing brands.
Planning your inner bags
Through the enquiry form, send your subscriber count and the garments in the next few cycles, your logo file, whether you want one evergreen design or a new one per edition, the size breakdown, and the delivery country with your packing date. Bags are quoted per size and print, usually within hours on a working day. To test a bag inside your own box first, one or two samples cost £150, credited against the order, via the samples page. The range is on the custom inner bag page, and the printed polythene bag guide covers the rest.