Glassine Envelopes

Glassine is paper made smooth and semi-transparent through processing. It resists grease and dust, and it lets the product show through.

Brands use glassine envelopes as inner packaging: for t-shirts, prints, greeting cards, photos, stickers, small accessories. Stationery retailers sell them as-is, because crafters and small sellers buy them by the pack.

Glassine is the natural replacement for the plastic polybag. It is paper-based and contains no plastic film. If you are phasing polybags out of your packing process, glassine is the closest one-to-one swap: same job, same protection against dust and handling, and no plastic film.

It is also a pleasure to open. The translucent surface shows the product before the customer touches it, which is why premium apparel and print brands use glassine as the first layer of the unboxing. How plain and waxed glassine differ, and what each means for recycling claims, is set out in our e-commerce packaging guide.