"White label" comes up a lot in print-on-demand discussions, usually in the context of a provider offering "white label packaging" or "white label products," and it's worth understanding exactly what the term refers to, since it's more specific than just "unbranded."
In the POD context, white label typically refers to products and packaging shipped without the print provider's own branding visible anywhere — meaning your customer receives a package that doesn't have "Printful" or another provider's name or logo printed on the box, tag, or packing slip, preserving the impression that the product came directly from your shop rather than a clearly visible third-party fulfillment service.
This matters most for sellers building an actual brand identity where the customer experience is part of what you're selling — a customer receiving a package with a competitor's fulfillment brand plastered across it undercuts the sense that they bought something from you specifically, which can matter more for a niche, identity-driven shop than for a purely transactional, one-off purchase.
Most major POD platforms (Printful, Printify) already default to white-label-style neutral packaging for standard orders — the more relevant question is usually less "is this white label" and more "what specific branding customization is available" (custom packing slips, inserts, tags) beyond the baseline neutral packaging, which is really an extension of the white label concept into active positive branding rather than just the absence of a competitor's branding.
Whether you need to actively pursue white-label or custom branding options depends on how much your specific shop's value proposition rests on brand identity versus pure product/design appeal. A shop selling into a strong aesthetic community (see our piece on building a dark-aesthetic brand) benefits more from investing in this than a shop selling more novelty, one-off, purely transactional items where the customer is less invested in an ongoing relationship with your specific brand.