1. An envelope for conveying an item from a sender to a recipient and back, comprising: a base panel having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a window; a sender address panel affixed to the base panel by an adhesive region that extends laterally inward from a leading edge of the base panel; wherein the adhesive region, base panel and sender address panel collectively form a relatively rigid leading edge, the adhesive region having a width dimension that aligns the adhesive region under all of an impact region of a processing machine and that aligns all of a pocket away from the impact region; wherein the base panel, sender address panel and a portion of the adhesive region define the pocket for an item; a recipient address panel joined to the trailing edge of the base panel by a detachable joint; wherein the window in the base panel is aligned to permit identifying indicia on the item to show through the window when the item is in the pocket.