ecoEnvelopes Reusable Envelope Gets USPS Approval

The US Postal Service has approved ecoEnvelopes’ line of reusable envelopes, certifying that the design meets the qualifications for use in the US mail.

More than 80 billion reply envelopes are sent through the US mail each year. Every one million ecoEnvelopes used saves an estimated 250 million BTUs of energy and 37,000 pounds of greenhouse gasses. The envelopes are manufactured on certified papers from managed forests using up to 100 percent recycled content.

The selling point is that bulk mailers such as utilities, credit card companies, and direct marketers can reduce manufacturing, printing, shipping and insertion costs by using one envelope instead of two. The envelopes are designed for use with existing high-speed insertion and processing equipment.

In June, 2007, the USPS received cradle to cradle certification at the silver level from MBDC for human and environmental health.