Choosing The Right Material for Your Promotional Bags

You’ve decided to use a bag for life as part of your marketing campaign but what type of fabric should you choose? There’s a lot of choice so which fabric will suit your design, branding and budget? (Published July 2018 | Updated July 2024)

If your business has decided to use a promotional bag as part of a marketing campaign to promote an event, service or product, then the next decision is deciding what fabric to use. There are many choices of reusable bag material including Laminated Woven PP, Non-woven PP, rPET and Nylon. Your final choice will depend on your budget, target market and marketing goals.

There are 4 key areas to consider when choosing a reusable material for your bespoke promotional bags.

Three Key Factors to Choosing a Material for Promo Bags

1. Function and Purpose

When planning a promo bag, there are several questions to ask yourself to help you get the right bag style for your business.

Who is going to use the bag? Think about your target market and what is practical for them.

Where/how will the bag be used? Do you need an event bag or a branded shopping bag? You may need a specific bag style like a cake bag, bottle bag or a large heavy-duty bag?

Does it need to be waterproof? If so, you need a laminated style made from Woven PP, Non-woven PP or Heat-Sealed NWPP (30-40% cheaper than standard NWPP for large wholesale orders).

What will it be used to hold? Documents and leaflets or bulkier goods like shopping? The heavier the item, the stronger your reusable bags need to be.

How many bags do you need? Your order requirements will affect the material chosen. Our MOQ is 500 units for Nylon and Non-woven PP bags - ideal for those with lower budgets and/or print runs. 1,000 units is the MOQ for laminated Woven PP bags, whilst heat-sealed bags have a minimum order of 10,000 units.

Do you want recycled materials? We stock two types of recycled fabric - 100% Recycled PET Bags are made from recycled plastic bottles and have an MOQ of 1,000 units. Laminated bags made from 70% recycled rice sacks have a minimum order of 5000 units.

The answers to these questions will influence the bag style and material you choose. For example, if you require a branded tote bag, it tends to be made from non-woven PP. Tote bags are also available in a metallic style, heat-sealed for big, bulk orders, or laminated for extra shine.

If you want a laminated heavy-duty bag, it will be made from Woven PP.

And if you only need 500 bags, then Non-woven PP or Nylon are the choices available to you.

2. Price

Price may be the key factor for your business. We all have marketing budgets we need to stick to so your budget may determine the final material choice

Our most economical reusable bag materials are:

1. Non-woven PP

2. Nylon

3. Heat-Sealed NWPP (the cheapest by unit cost, but has a high MOQ)

3. Print & Design

If you already have a design in mind for your bag, it will influence the print method you can use and the type of material (as certain print methods work better with different types of material).

Silk screen printing: Used for non-woven PP, rPET and cotton tote bags. The most intricate designs can be reproduced in perfect detail in single print colours.

Heat transfer: For a photo quality finish use a heat transfer. A tattoo or a decal is created and bonded onto the bag with the use of heat. This method can be used for non-woven bags, cotton bags, or rPET.

Full-Colour Process: Best for laminated woven bags. It is suited to graphic and digitally created artwork where 100% print coverage is desired. It will guarantee a contemporary and vibrant bag with no limit to creativity.

Learn more: Print techniques for reusable bags explained

Take the time to consider these three things when choosing the right fabric for your bag for life and you’ll have an eye-catching bag which will be reused again and again. It will work to maximise your brand and add to the success of your marketing campaigns.