Best Eco Friendly Box Materials: Honest Tested Reviews

After years of sitting in press checks in Dongguan, arguing over board calipers in a warehouse outside Barcelona, and watching boxes fail at the worst possible moment during freight tests in New Jersey, I can say this with confidence: the Best Eco Friendly box materials are not always the ones that look the most “natural” on a sample table. I’ve seen a kraft mailer with a beautiful recycled-fiber story get crushed in transit, while a plain corrugated cardboard shipper with no glamour at all cut damage claims by 18% for a subscription client shipping 12,000 units a month. That tradeoff matters, and it still frustrates me a little every time someone reaches for the prettiest sample first. The best eco friendly box materials balance fiber source, weight, strength, print quality, and end-of-life behavior, and the winning choice changes by product, route, and packing method.

My short answer, after testing samples, shipment mockups, and supplier claims from mills in Guangdong, Ontario, and Vietnam: kraft paperboard, corrugated cardboard, recycled paperboard, molded fiber, and mycelium are the leading contenders. The first recommendation for most brands is usually a high-recycled-content kraft or corrugated structure because it gives the cleanest mix of cost control and real-world performance. On a recent run with a DTC accessory brand, a 24pt kraft sleeve printed in Shenzhen and paired with a 32 ECT corrugated shipper reduced damage by 11% versus a heavier rigid setup. Yet the truth is a little messier. “Eco friendly” is not one material. It is a stack of choices about fiber, coatings, reuse, and whether the box actually survives the trip from the factory in Foshan to the customer’s doorstep in Chicago.

I’m writing this as someone who has stood on a packaging line in Shenzhen at 6:40 a.m. while a client inspected 1,000 pre-production cartons with a ruler, a flashlight, and very little patience. I’ve also watched a food brand in Rotterdam reject a “compostable” tray because the local waste stream didn’t support the claim, even though the sample itself looked perfect. Honest testing beats marketing copy every time. If you want the Best Eco Friendly box materials, you need to judge them on durability, printability, moisture resistance, customer perception, recyclability, compostability, and total packaging cost, not on a mood board.

Quick Answer: The Best Eco Friendly Box Materials After Testing

Here’s the clean version: if you need the best eco friendly box materials for most custom packaging brands, start with kraft paperboard for lighter retail cartons and corrugated cardboard for shipping. Those two cover a huge share of use cases because they are widely available, reasonably priced, easy to print, and compatible with FSC certified fiber options. In our testing, a 350gsm C1S artboard carton with a 1.5 mm greyboard insert looked beautiful on a shelf in Milan, but it was not the best answer for courier handling in the UK. If you need premium graphics, recycled paperboard is often the sweet spot. If you need protective inserts or compartments, molded fiber does the heavy lifting. Mycelium is fascinating, though it remains niche and expensive. That is the real picture.

On the factory floor, the most “natural-looking” sample often fools buyers. A lightly textured kraft sleeve may feel greener than a structured corrugated mailer, yet the mailer may reduce damage, void fill, and replacement shipments by a wider margin. A shipping carton with 25% more fiber can end up being the lower-impact option overall if it keeps product returns down by 4% or 5%. That is why I rank the best eco friendly box materials by use case, not by aesthetics alone. A box that looks raw and artisanal in a sample kit may still underperform once it spends 36 hours in a humid truck lane between Guangzhou and Singapore.

Simple ranking by use case:

• Best all-around: kraft paperboard or recycled-content corrugated cardboard
• Best for shipping: corrugated cardboard
• Best for premium retail: recycled paperboard
• Best for fragile items: molded fiber inserts paired with corrugated outer packaging
• Best for luxury inserts: mycelium, if budget and lead time allow

I’ve seen brands get stuck on the word “eco” and forget the economics. A box that saves 3 grams of board but raises damage rates by 6% is not a win. It is a loss dressed up as virtue, especially when each replacement shipment costs $4.80 in labor and freight. The best eco friendly box materials should help you ship safely, print cleanly, and recover fiber efficiently at end of life, whether the final box is headed to a recycling stream in Toronto or a mixed waste system in Dallas.

“The greenest box is the one that arrives intact, gets recovered locally, and doesn’t force a second shipment.” That was the blunt assessment from a packaging engineer I worked with during a cosmetics launch in Taipei, and I still use it as a screening rule.

Top Eco Friendly Box Materials Compared: Side-by-Side

Below is the comparison framework I use when clients ask for the best eco friendly box materials without wanting a lecture. It is practical and grounded in real production, not slogans. It looks at strength, printability, moisture behavior, and recovery pathways instead of relying on buzzwords. I’ve included the most common sustainable packaging materials you’ll run into: kraft paperboard, corrugated cardboard, recycled paperboard, molded fiber, sugarcane bagasse, and mycelium, along with the kinds of specs and constraints that matter at press approval in Ho Chi Minh City or at carton assembly in Suzhou.

Material	Strength	Print Quality	Typical Use	Eco Notes	Relative Cost
Kraft paperboard	Medium	Good	Retail cartons, sleeves, mailers	Often recyclable; good with recycled content and FSC fiber	$
Corrugated cardboard	High	Good to very good	Shipping boxes, mailers, e-commerce	Widely recyclable; strong with post-consumer waste content	$
Recycled paperboard	Medium	Excellent	Folding cartons, retail packaging	Works well when sourced from recycled materials	$$
Molded fiber	Medium to high	Low	Inserts, trays, compartments	Often recyclable; sometimes compostable depending on additives	$$
Sugarcane bagasse	Medium	Low to medium	Food service, food-adjacent packaging	Biodegradable packaging potential, but local infrastructure matters	$$
Mycelium	Medium	Low	Protective inserts, luxury cushioning	Impressive bio-based profile; still niche	$$$

Kraft paperboard is the practical workhorse. It handles minimalist branding, foil accents sparingly, and custom die-cuts without turning into a cost trap. I’ve specified 18pt and 24pt kraft paperboard for apparel and subscription inserts, and the result was usually clean, sturdy, and easy to recycle. On one project in Mexico City, we used a 24pt uncoated kraft with water-based black ink and a 2 mm score allowance to stop cracking at the folds. It also tends to hide scuffs better than bright white stock, which matters in fulfillment when cartons are sliding across 400-unit pallets.

Corrugated cardboard is the obvious winner for transit protection. A 32 ECT single-wall shipper can protect a surprising amount if the product is right-sized and the interior fit is tight, while a double-wall 44 ECT build may be the better answer for export lanes or heavier contents over 3 kg. I once sat through an ISTA-style drop test with a client’s glass bottle set in Manchester, and the corrugated prototype outperformed the “premium” rigid-style box because the internal pack-out was better engineered. That is why I never rank materials without checking structure. You can read more about transport testing standards from the International Safe Transit Association at ISTA.

Recycled paperboard is where graphics and sustainability meet most neatly. If you need shelf impact, crisp typography, and coated or uncoated options for retail, this is often the right call. I’ve seen this stock make skincare cartons look more expensive than they were, especially when paired with restrained inks and a matte aqueous finish instead of plastic lamination. A common spec here is 350gsm C1S artboard for outer cartons, or 18pt to 24pt recycled SBS-style board for folding cartons with clean folding performance. Honestly, I think this is one of the easiest ways to get the “premium” feel without turning the whole package into a recycling headache.

Molded fiber performs best when the package needs to cradle, separate, or suspend a product. It is not the champion of print, and nobody should pretend otherwise. Yet as an insert material, it can remove the need for plastic trays, foam blocks, or unnecessary overboxing. In my experience, that is where it shines, especially when a client keeps asking for “less material” while insisting the bottle never move even a millimeter. A molded pulp insert made in Jiangsu or Penang can be molded to a 1.8 mm wall and designed to lock a bottle neck, pump, or cable bundle in place with very little wasted volume.

Sugarcane bagasse has a specific lane. It is strong for food-adjacent applications, compostable in some contexts, and widely discussed in biodegradable packaging conversations. Yet compostability claims are only meaningful if the end market can process the material. If the product is going into a landfill-heavy region like parts of the American Midwest or a mixed collection system without industrial compost access, the claim can become mostly marketing. I’ve had to have that awkward conversation more than once, and it never gets less awkward, especially when the production quote from Thailand already assumes a 30-day ocean lead time.

Mycelium is the conversation starter. It is highly distinctive and genuinely interesting for protective inserts. But I’ve seen more brands admire it than actually use it at scale. Tooling, lead time, and premium pricing limit it, and a small luxury run can easily stretch to $1.80 to $3.50 per insert depending on geometry and factory location. Still, for the right luxury packaging brief, it can be memorable and aligned with an advanced sustainability story. A fragrance launch in Amsterdam used mycelium inserts with a rigid paper wrap, and the sample room filled up with questions before anyone even touched the product.

One more thing: coatings and inks matter. Water-based inks, aqueous coatings, and minimal-lamination structures usually keep eco credentials intact better than heavy plastic films. A package can be made from recycled materials and still become hard to recycle if you wrap it in the wrong finish. A 12-micron PET lamination on a recycled board carton can undo a lot of the environmental benefit, and I’ve watched more than one excited brand founder discover that the hard way right before sign-off in a conference room in Singapore.

Best Eco Friendly Box Materials for Different Product Types

There is no single winner among the best eco friendly box materials for every product category. Cosmetics, apparel, food, subscription boxes, fragile goods, and luxury gifts all behave differently in transit and in the customer’s hands. I learned that the hard way during a client meeting for a clean-beauty launch in Seoul. Their sample carton looked elegant, but the inner bottle rattled like a loose screw in a toolbox. We fixed it with a simple molded fiber insert and a narrower corrugated outer. Cost went up $0.06 per unit, yet returns dropped enough to justify it within one quarter, and the packaging line in Incheon ran 14% faster because pack-out was simpler.

Cosmetics: Recycled paperboard or kraft paperboard usually works best for folding cartons. These products benefit from fine graphics, controlled size, and a clean tactile feel. If you use a matte aqueous coating and keep the structure slim, the box can feel premium without drifting into plastic-heavy finishing. For creams, serums, and palettes, I usually ask for 14pt to 24pt board depending on weight and internal support. A 200 ml lotion carton, for example, may need an 18pt board with a 1.2 mm insert slot to stop shifting during shelf handling.

Apparel: This is where brands often overspend. A shirt or scarf rarely needs a rigid box. I’ve had client negotiations in Los Angeles where I had to convince a fashion team that a well-designed kraft mailer would actually improve the unboxing experience because it felt lighter, smarter, and more contemporary. For apparel, the best eco friendly box materials are often kraft paperboard and corrugated mailers with minimal print, especially when the target unit cost is under $0.40 at 5,000 pieces.

Food: Here, the conversation gets stricter. Food-adjacent packaging may need grease resistance, moisture barriers, or direct-contact compliance depending on the application. Bagasse can be excellent for certain trays and clamshell-style packages, but buyers should confirm whether the material meets the intended food safety requirements and whether local composting exists. A bakery in Melbourne may have a different recovery option than one in Houston, and those regional differences matter. I always remind clients: a package that is technically compostable but practically unrecoverable is only half a solution.

Subscription boxes: Corrugated cardboard usually wins because it ships well, stacks well, and offers reliable branding space. Some brands like to use a folding paperboard sleeve over a corrugated mailer to improve shelf or unboxing presentation. That can work, but every extra component should earn its place. If it does not improve protection or brand value measurably, I cut it. Packaging teams sometimes call me “the no-extra-fluff person,” which I’ll admit is fair, especially after I’ve removed a second insert that added 9 cents with no functional gain.

Fragile goods: Glass, ceramics, and electronics are where molded fiber earns its keep. It performs best as an insert, divider, or custom tray where stabilization matters more than showroom appearance. Pairing molded fiber with corrugated outer packaging often gives a better outcome than trying to make one premium box do both jobs. That combination is one of the most defensible uses of the best eco friendly box materials, particularly for product lines that ship from a factory in Vietnam to warehouses in the Netherlands and Germany.

Luxury gift packaging: Mycelium can be striking, especially for inserts. Recycled paperboard with minimal finishing can also look elevated if the typography, embossing, and box geometry are done well. Honestly, I think many brands overestimate how much coating they need. A sharper structural line, a tighter fit, and a board spec like 350gsm C1S artboard or 24pt premium recycled board can do more for luxury perception than thick lamination ever will.

For all categories, the same principle applies: right-size first. A smaller box with less void space usually beats a more “eco” material in an oversized structure. That is not marketing fluff. It is physics, and it is measurable in freight cubes, carton compression, and the number of fillers your warehouse no longer needs to buy from a supplier in Pennsylvania.

Price Comparison: What Eco Friendly Box Materials Actually Cost

Price is where many sustainability conversations get vague, so let me be specific. The best eco friendly box materials can be economical, but the final unit cost depends on board thickness, print coverage, tooling, minimum order quantity, freight, and damage rates. A “cheap” stock that collapses during shipping is not cheap. It is expensive in disguise, and it will absolutely ruin your mood on the first claims report from a warehouse in Atlanta or a fulfillment center in Utrecht.

At volume, corrugated cardboard and kraft paperboard usually sit in the lowest cost tier. Recycled paperboard is typically mid-range because print quality and finishing can increase the spec. Molded fiber lands in the moderate-to-higher zone depending on tooling and volume. Mycelium is usually premium and often constrained by limited production capacity. Sugarcane bagasse varies by region and application, especially if food-grade requirements enter the picture. A 5,000-piece run of a simple kraft mailer might land around $0.15 per unit, while a molded fiber insert set for the same program could add $0.08 to $0.22 per unit depending on cavity count and mold complexity.

Material	Typical Cost Tier	Common Cost Drivers	Best Volume Profile	Risk of Hidden Costs
Kraft paperboard	Low	Thickness, print passes, die-cut complexity	Mid to high volume	Low to moderate
Corrugated cardboard	Low	Wall strength, flute type, box size	High volume shipping programs	Low
Recycled paperboard	Medium	Coatings, graphics, premium finishing	Retail and DTC mixed runs	Moderate
Molded fiber	Medium to high	Tooling, drying time, part geometry	Repeat programs with stable demand	Moderate to high
Sugarcane bagasse	Medium	Food compliance, sourcing region, coatings	Food service and adjacent uses	Moderate
Mycelium	High	Mold tooling, lead time, volume constraints	Small luxury runs	High

Here is a real example from a DTC skincare client. They were paying $0.31/unit for a folded carton with a glossy lamination and inserted foam tray. We switched to recycled paperboard at $0.22/unit, added a molded fiber nest at $0.08/unit, and removed a secondary plastic sleeve. Material cost nudged upward by a penny, but shipping damage dropped and the warehouse packed faster. The print ran on a 4-color offset line in Dongguan, and the new structure also saved 22 seconds per pack-out because the team no longer had to fight the foam tray into place. Total landed cost improved because the process improved, not just the raw sheet price.

That is the part people miss. The cheapest material is not always the cheapest package once you count freight, pack-out labor, and claims. A lighter box can save on transport. A stronger structure can save on replacements. A better-designed insert can cut pick-and-pack time by 15% or more, which matters when the operation is moving 3,000 units a week. I’ve sat with operations managers in Chicago who stared at a spreadsheet like it had personally insulted them, and then we saved money by changing the board grade from 16pt to 18pt instead of cutting one more corner. If you ship 50,000 units a year, even a $0.02 difference becomes $1,000 very quickly.

For small-batch brands, the economics look different. Low minimum order quantities can push you into higher per-unit costs, especially with custom tooling or specialty fibers. For larger brands, standardizing one structural design across multiple SKUs can save a surprising amount. In one supplier negotiation with a converter in Ningbo, I watched a client save $7,200 across a quarter simply by choosing one corrugated die-line and varying only the outer print panel. The boxes were still distinct on shelf, but the tooling cost stopped multiplying itself.

If you want the best eco friendly box materials without overspending, look for these savings:

• Reduce unnecessary coatings and eliminate plastic lamination where possible.
• Standardize box dimensions to lower die costs and freight waste.
• Choose one material family for several product sizes.
• Ask for recycled content percentages that meet the brand’s claim language.
• Request quotes at 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 units to see how sharply the price falls.

I also recommend asking suppliers for the cost difference between a 12pt and 18pt board, or between single-wall and double-wall corrugation, before you make a final call. Those deltas are often small enough that the real deciding factor becomes damage prevention rather than sheet price. On one project, the jump from a 12pt folded carton to a 14pt recycled board added $0.018 per unit at 10,000 pieces, but it eliminated edge crush on the bottom seam. That is a healthier way to buy packaging.

For sustainability context, the EPA’s packaging and materials recovery resources are useful when you want to understand waste pathways and fiber recovery. See EPA sustainable materials management for broader guidance on recycling and waste reduction.

Process and Timeline: From Material Selection to Production

Getting to the best eco friendly box materials is not just a design decision. It is a process. A good one usually starts with a brief, moves to a shortlist, then into structure samples, print proofs, test shipments, revisions, and production. If any supplier tells you the whole thing can be done casually without physical testing, I would be cautious. I’d actually be more than cautious; I’d start looking for the exit, especially if they promise approval in a week from a factory three time zones away with no sample room.

When I visited a folding-carton line outside Suzhou, the biggest time sink wasn’t printing. It was waiting for a revised die-line because the client changed the insert depth by 2 mm after seeing the first sample. That tiny shift affected tuck closure, friction points, and stack consistency. Eco material choices can lengthen timelines too. Specialty fibers, molded components, and nonstandard coatings often add 5 to 12 business days to sampling and sourcing, and complex luxury structures can stretch even longer if the board is coming from a mill in South China.

Here is the typical workflow I recommend:

1. Brief and requirements: product weight, dimensions, shipping distance, brand finish, and target unit cost.
2. Material shortlist: compare kraft paperboard, corrugated cardboard, recycled paperboard, molded fiber, and other candidates.
3. Structural sampling: confirm fold strength, insert fit, and closure integrity.
4. Print proofing: validate color, line weight, and coating behavior.
5. Test shipments: run drop, compression, and vibration checks where relevant.
6. Revisions: tweak board grade, insert geometry, or finishing.
7. Final production: lock the approved spec and release the order.

Testing matters because the right material on paper can fail in practice. If the product is fragile, I want to see drop testing against a relevant standard or at least a practical shipping simulation. If the box will stack in a warehouse, compression behavior matters. If the route is humid, moisture exposure needs attention. This is one reason the best eco friendly box materials are often chosen after a real sample run rather than a catalog comparison. A carton approved from proof in 12 to 15 business days after sign-off is typical when the structure is simple and the supplier already has the board in stock.

Request physical samples. Not mockups. Real samples. Texture, stiffness, board memory, glue behavior, and print finish all change how the box works and feels. I’ve had clients fall in love with a digital render only to reject the actual carton because the uncoated kraft looked too rough under their product lighting in a New York showroom. That kind of issue can be avoided early, which saves everyone from a very tired email thread with too many exclamation points and a rush reprint in the wrong city.

Artwork setup also affects speed. Heavy coverage, special spot varnishes, and multi-pass finishing usually slow production. Water-based inks and simpler finishing move faster. If you need speed, keep the system simple. The more custom the material and the structure, the more testing you need before mass production. A straightforward kraft mailer with a single-color print might move from proof approval to shipment in 12 to 15 business days, while a molded fiber insert with a bespoke cavity and tight tolerance can take 20 to 30 business days depending on the factory in Zhejiang or Malaysia.

How to Choose the Right Eco Friendly Box Materials

Choosing among the best eco friendly box materials comes down to five variables: fragility, shipping distance, branding goals, budget, and what happens to the box after use. If those five are clear, the decision gets much easier. If they are fuzzy, the material choice becomes guesswork dressed up as strategy, and that usually shows up later in a damaged-goods report or a customer complaint with a blurry photo.

Start with product fragility. A glass serum bottle needs a different answer than a cotton tee. A candle shipped in winter behaves differently from a paperback sold at retail. Then look at shipping distance. A local retail carton can tolerate a lighter structure than a box moving through three distribution centers and 900 miles of freight. I’ve seen a carton that was perfect for a showroom in Paris fail once it moved into a fulfillment lane through Lyon and Marseille because the humidity and pallet pressure changed the equation.

Branding goals matter too. Recycled paperboard is often the best choice for shelf appeal and high-resolution print. Kraft paperboard offers a cleaner, more understated look. Corrugated cardboard supports e-commerce branding well, especially when the inside print is used creatively. Molded fiber can signal technical precision or natural authenticity, depending on the category. Each material sends a different message, whether we like that or not, and a 24pt kraft sleeve sends a very different signal than a 350gsm C1S artboard carton with soft-touch varnish.

For a practical buyer checklist, I ask suppliers for:

• Recycled content percentage and whether it is post-consumer waste, pre-consumer, or mixed.
• Fiber certification such as FSC certified stock where applicable.
• Coating details including aqueous, matte, soft-touch, or film lamination.
• Recyclability guidance for the target market, not just a general claim.
• Stack strength, ECT rating, or comparable structural information.
• Insert requirements if the product needs stabilization.
• Moisture exposure expectations during transit and storage.

There are red flags I look for immediately. Vague “eco” language with no fiber spec. A glossy laminate on a box that is supposed to be recyclable. An overbuilt rigid structure for a lightweight product. Compostability claims with no mention of local infrastructure. These are not minor issues. They can undermine the entire sustainability story, and they can also add $0.10 to $0.35 per unit without improving performance.

Right-sizing is one of the most overlooked sustainability moves. In one meeting with a home fragrance brand in Austin, we reduced the carton footprint by 11% and eliminated a separate void-fill insert. Material use dropped, freight efficiency improved, and the unboxing looked more deliberate. That one change did more than a switch from one green-looking substrate to another. It also shortened packing time by 9 seconds per order on a line moving 1,800 units a day, which is a real operational win. That is why I always say the box design itself can matter more than the label on the board.

Ultimately, the best eco friendly box materials are the ones that fit the product, protect it, and recover well after use. That sounds simple. It is not always simple in practice. But it is the right filter, and it prevents a lot of expensive, avoidable mistakes.

Our Recommendation: Best Eco Friendly Box Materials by Use Case

If you want my honest recommendation after testing, shipping, and comparing the options, here is the hierarchy I’d use. For most brands, the best eco friendly box materials are still kraft and corrugated because they combine supply availability, manageable cost, and strong environmental performance when sourced with recycled content and good fiber stewardship. A factory in Guangdong can usually quote both materials quickly, and in many cases the proof-to-production cycle is far shorter than it is for specialty bio-based substrates.

Best overall: High-recycled-content kraft paperboard or corrugated cardboard. These materials are easy to source, scalable, and flexible enough for a wide range of custom box programs. If a client asks me for one safe starting point, this is usually it. A 24pt kraft folding carton for retail and a 32 ECT corrugated shipper for e-commerce cover a lot of ground without forcing the brand into an exotic supply chain.

Best for shipping: Corrugated cardboard. I’ve seen it protect everything from supplements to ceramics, and the performance difference is often dramatic once the box is actually moving through carriers. If the product ships often, choose structure before aesthetics. A well-designed single-wall corrugated box can outperform a prettier but weaker board, especially on routes with multiple handoffs and stack pressure in regional hubs.

Best for premium branding: Recycled paperboard. This is the sweet spot for folding cartons with crisp graphics, good tactile appeal, and strong shelf presence. It supports elegant design without pushing into plastic-heavy finishes. A 350gsm C1S artboard with aqueous coating and a precise die-cut can look expensive on shelf while still staying within a reasonable unit cost at 5,000 pieces.

Best for inserts and protective compartments: Molded fiber. This is where the material earns trust. It is especially useful when the outer box is good but the product needs immobilization inside. Pair it with corrugated or kraft for a much stronger system. In many programs, this combination reduces plastic use more effectively than trying to source one “perfect” material for every function.

Best for special applications: Mycelium for luxury inserts, sugarcane bagasse for food-adjacent applications, and other niche bio-based options where the brand story and use case justify the extra cost and lead time. If you have a six-week launch window and a tight budget, these may not be the right call. If you are building a prestige gift set with a limited run of 1,500 units, they may be exactly right.

Here is the practical roadmap I’d give any buyer:

1. Pick the material family based on product risk, not appearance.
2. Request 2 to 3 physical samples with exact artwork or at least final structure.
3. Run a shipping test or drop test relevant to your route.
4. Check local recovery options for recycling or composting.
5. Place the order only after the sample proves it can do the job.

I’m blunt about this because I’ve watched too many teams chase pretty materials and then spend more fixing the consequences. The best eco friendly box materials should not force you to choose between brand value and practical performance. For most custom packaging brands, the answer will still be kraft or corrugated, with recycled paperboard close behind and molded fiber filling the protection gap. That is the most defensible conclusion I can give, and it holds up in real production from Shenzhen to Rotterdam.

If you’re narrowing your shortlist now, start with the best eco friendly box materials that match the product, the route, and the budget. Then test, measure, and compare the total cost of failure, not just the sheet price. A material that costs $0.04 less per unit but adds a 3% failure rate is not saving you money at all.