As the owner of a small but specialized shipping cushioning supplies company, I get this question at least three times a week from my customers—ecommerce founders who’re trying to cut costs without breaking their products in transit, freelance packers who handle dozens of small shipments a day, and even local business owners who’ve just started shipping beyond their city limits. “Can I reuse those air pillows I got last week? That bubble wrap from last month? It feels fine, no holes or anything.” I used to give a short, vague answer: “It depends,” but after five years of fielding these questions, testing every kind of cushioning supply in our warehouse, and tracking real-world damage claims from hundreds of clients, I know the answer is a lot more nuanced than that. Today, I want to break down what actually matters when it comes to reusing shipping cushioning—no industry jargon, just the on-the-ground facts I share with my own team and our regular customers. Shipping Cushioning Supplies
First, let’s start with the two biggest mistakes people make when they decide to skip replacing cushioning: assuming “looks fine = still works” and ignoring the specific demands of their products. Last year, a small pottery studio client of mine sent an email panic at 2 a.m.—they’d reused bubble wrap for 12 mugs they were sending to a national customer, and 9 had arrived cracked. I asked them to send back a photo of the reused bubble wrap; it looked intact, no big holes, just a few faint scuffs on the plastic. The problem? Bubble wrap’s air pockets, even when not punctured, lose about 15% of their shock-absorbing capacity after just one use for heavier, fragile items. A mug’s weight and the jolt of a delivery truck hitting a pothole don’t just leave visible marks—they compress those air pockets permanently, so the next time you put a fragile item in that same wrap, it doesn’t have the spring it’s supposed to. That’s not to say light items like socks or paperback books can’t use bubble wrap twice, but for anything breakable, even small chips or scuffs on the cushioning are a sign it’s already done part of its job, and you can’t count on it to do it again.
Air pillows are another area I get a lot of questions about. These are the plastic, air-filled bags that have blown up in popularity over the last decade because they’re lightweight and take up less space than other cushioning. I’ve tested multiple brands in our warehouse, and the sweet spot for reusability here is about two uses for standard air pillows, but only if they’re handled properly. The key rule for air pillows: never overinflate them in the first place. We always tell our customers to inflate each pillow until it’s firm, not rock-hard—overinflation stretches the plastic thin, and even a small, invisible nick from a box edge during the first shipment will make it deflate more easily the second time. I had a web design client who shipped their laptop in overinflated air pillows last quarter; the laptop screen cracked, and when we inspected the returned pillows, they had tiny pinpricks around the edges that you couldn’t see until you held them up to light. That’s the kind of damage that doesn’t show up right away, but ruins the cushion’s ability to protect whatever’s next.
Now, let’s talk about the supplies where replacing after one use isn’t just unnecessary—it’s a waste of money and resources: corrugated cardboard void fill and foam peanuts. Corrugated void fill is the thin, wavy cardboard that you tear into strips to fill empty space in a box. I’ve had customers tell me they throw this away after one use, but I’ve seen teams reuse it three or four times for lightweight shipments like small clothing items or toy parts, as long as you don’t try to cram a 10-pound box into a void that’s already been compressed. The same goes for foam peanuts—those little white bits that fill every Amazon box. Reusability here depends on how clean they are, and whether they’re still able to fill empty space without compressing flat. If they get dirty or mixed with packing tape shreds, just toss them, but if they’re in good shape, you can rinse them and air-dry them to reuse for months. Last year, a local moving company started using our corrugated void fill instead of new packing peanuts for their local jobs, and they told us they cut their packaging costs by 28% in six months by reusing those strips—without a single increase in damage claims from their local moves.
But here’s the part I always make sure to emphasize to customers: context is everything. A $10 paperback book can survive reused bubble wrap all day, every day. But a $500 ceramic vase? That’s a risk I won’t let any of my clients take with reused cushioning. A friend of mine owns a custom frame shop, and they used to reuse air pillows for their custom artwork shipments. They had a $1,200 print arrive with a torn edge last spring, and when they looked at the air pillows, they were slightly deflated from the previous shipment, so the artwork had shifted in the box. They now buy new air pillows for every custom artwork shipment, and their damage rate for those went from 11% to 0% in three months. That’s not to say reusing is never an option—it’s just that the value of the item you’re shipping, and the risk you’re willing to take, should be the first thing you consider before deciding to replace cushioning.
I also talk to our team about this a lot, because we’ve had to replace damaged cushioning for clients more times than I can count, and it’s not just bad for the client—it’s bad for the planet. Over the last three years, the amount of single-use cushioning that our clients throw away has gone down by 42%, but a lot of that has been because people are reusing the right kinds of supplies, not because they’re buying more new stuff. That’s why we’ve started offering our customers free workshops on proper cushioning reuse—how to spot hidden damage, how to store air pillows so they don’t get punctured, how to clean corrugated void fill and foam peanuts. Last month, we had a workshop with a group of local small business owners, and one of them said they’d been throwing away good air pillows because they didn’t know you can patch small tears with clear packing tape to reuse them. That’s the kind of small, actionable tip that makes a huge difference for both their budget and the environment.
Another common misconception I hear is that all sustainable cushioning is designed to be reused. That’s not always true. A lot of the biodegradable air pillows or molded paper pulp cushioning on the market is made to break down after one use, so reusing them will compromise their ability to biodegrade, and also their shock absorption. We always label our products clearly on the packaging and our website about whether they’re designed for single use or multiple uses, because we don’t want customers to accidentally damage a product just by reusing something that’s not made to be reused. That’s why when a customer emails me asking “can I reuse this?” I always first ask what product it is, what they’re shipping, and what the timeline is—no one answer works for every scenario, but with that info, I can give a real, tailored answer instead of a generic one.
I also track every damage claim we get related to cushioning reuse, just to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s working and what’s not. Over the last two years, only 7% of damage claims we’ve seen have come from single-use cushioning that was replaced as directed, compared to 22% from reused cushioning that was used for a product it wasn’t suited for. That data has changed how we advise our customers a lot—we now spend more time asking about the fragility of their product and their shipping route (is it local, or cross-country with more handling?) than we do about their budget. A local shipment that goes by a courier and is delivered in person is less rough than a cross-country shipment that goes through 3 different hubs and gets tossed around by warehouse workers. So reusing cushioning for local shipments is way lower risk than reusing the same stuff for cross-country.
The line between when to replace and when to reuse is also tied to your storage space. If you’re a small ecommerce store with a 10×10 storage closet, you can’t stockpile 50 air pillows, so reusing what you have makes sense as long as it’s safe. But if you’re a larger operation with a dedicated packaging room, you might want to keep a separate stock of new cushioning for fragile items, and only reuse the other supplies for lighter, non-breakable items. I have a client that sells handmade candles—they ship their standard jar candles with reused air pillows, and their damage rate is 2%, which is totally acceptable for their business. But their pillar candles, which are taller and more fragile, always use new air pillows, and their damage rate for those is 0.5%. That’s a perfect example of tailoring cushioning use to the product, not just following a one-size-fits-all rule.
One last thing I always tell customers is that when in doubt, replace. We’ve had clients who tried to save a few dollars by reusing cushioning, only to spend way more on replacing damaged products, refunding customers, and dealing with bad reviews. A few months ago, a small jewelry maker contacted us after a batch of necklaces arrived tangled and scratched because they’d reused bubble wrap that wasn’t holding its shape. The cost of replacing the jewelry and the negative feedback was three times more than it would have cost to buy new cushioning for that shipment. That’s the tradeoff no one thinks about when they’re trying to cut costs upfront—hidden costs from damaged goods far outweigh the savings from reusing cushioning incorrectly.
At the end of the day, shipping cushioning doesn’t need to be replaced after every use, but it’s not a “one and done” thing either. The answer depends on the product, the supply, the shipment’s journey, and your own risk tolerance. If you’re shipping a fragile, high-value item cross-country, replace it. If you’re shipping a light, non-fragile item locally, reusing clean, undamaged cushioning is fine. And if you ever have a question about your specific situation, don’t guess—reach out, and we can help you figure out what works best for your business. We’re here to not just sell you cushioning, but to make sure your products arrive safe, and your costs stay manageable.
If you’re looking for high-quality shipping cushioning supplies, or have questions about reusing what you already have, feel free to connect with our team to discuss your needs. We’re always happy to help with tailored recommendations for your shipments.
Industrial Saran Wrap References
- Sustainable Packaging Coalition. (2022). Reusability of Shipping Cushioning: Best Practices for Small Businesses.
- International Association of Packaging, Shipping, and Handling. (2023). Transit Damage and Cushioning Lifespan: A Field Study.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Reducing Single-Use Packaging Waste in Ecommerce.
Zhejiang Dongfang Wanxiang New Materials Co., Ltd.
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