Tissue paper is the cheapest and most influential layer in apparel packaging: the first thing a customer sees is not the garment but the sheet wrapped around it. Yet tissue is not a random pick — grammage drives stiffness and wrap feel, paper type decides whether it is acid-free and suitable for long storage, and printing plus sealing decide how complete the unboxing feels. This guide covers how to choose tissue for apparel, how printing and sealing pair up, and the six specs to state on a purchase order.

1. Four Common Tissue Papers at a Glance

Paper Typical weight Characteristics Best for
White tissue (copy paper) 14-17 gsm Thin, translucent, soft, low cost Interleaving, shoe filling, inner-bag wrap
Coloured tissue 22-30 gsm Fuller hand, wide colour choice, prints well Visible wrapping, gift-box liners, brand-colour packing
Kraft tissue (natural or dark) 22-30 gsm Natural fibre look, recyclable, clear eco positioning Eco-themed packing, e-commerce shipping, gift pairing
Acid-free tissue 17-30 gsm No acidic content, resists yellowing in long storage Silk, cashmere and light-coloured premium garments in long storage

2. Choosing Grammage: Light and Heavy Do Different Jobs

14-17 gsm suits the invisible places: interleaving between garments, shirt backing, shoe filling — its job is anti-chafing and shape support, and thicker paper actually distorts the pack. 22-30 gsm suits visible places: outer wrapping, gift-box liners, brand-colour decoration, where some stiffness and a crisp fold edge matter. The test is simple: if the paper has to hold a shape or be the visual lead, choose 22 gsm and above; if it is purely a functional layer or filling, around 17 gsm is better value and keeps pack volume and freight down.

3. Acid-Free and Colour Fastness: Do Not Let Packing Damage the Garment

  • For long storage of light, silk or cashmere garments, use acid-free tissue so acidic content does not yellow or discolour the fabric over time.
  • Check colour fastness for dark tissue (black, navy, wine red): in humid conditions the colour can migrate, so add a white inner sheet for light garments.
  • Where moisture protection is needed in transit, tissue is the inner layer only — pair it with a moisture-barrier bag, since tissue itself offers no water resistance.

4. Printing and Sealing: The Last Step of the Unboxing

Tissue printing is usually a one- or two-colour logo layout, an all-over pattern or a single mark. Lighter sheets absorb ink faster and blur fine detail, so keep small logos on 22 gsm and above; a blind emboss keeps the brand mark without ink at low cost and with real texture. Three sealing options dominate: a round logo sticker, the most common and controllable; ribbon or gold-foil seals for gift and premium lines; and plain folding without a seal, the cheapest but most demanding on wrapping skill. Place the seal on the centre line of the folded garment so the brand mark is the first thing seen on opening.

5. Six Specs to State When Requesting a Quote

  1. Paper type and grammage (white tissue 17 gsm, coloured tissue 25 gsm), and whether acid-free is required.
  2. Finished format, sheets or rolls: sheets are commonly 50 by 70cm or 60 by 80cm, while rolls follow machine width and must match your wrapping process.
  3. Print content and colour count, and whether blind embossing replaces printing.
  4. Sealing method and sticker spec: diameter, shape and material.
  5. Eco claims: whether recyclability, recycled content share or FSC support is needed.
  6. Packing and lead time: sheets or rolls per carton, and the sample versus bulk schedule — tissue is a printed item, so plan it alongside hang tags and paper bags.
💡 Tip: tissue has the best perceived-value ratio in packaging: on the same budget, colour and a logo on one sheet are remembered better than extra accessories. But dark paper with light garments and acidic paper with silk are the two classic failures — colour migration and long-term yellowing — and a single heat-and-humidity storage test at the sampling stage catches both in advance.

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