Eco & Sustainable Packaging · MOQ 500 pcs
A tote in undyed recycled cotton, with the print kept to water-based ink so fabric and print stay in the same material family.
Overview
The environmental case for a reusable bag rests on one number: how many times it is used. A thin tote that tears after twenty trips is worse than the single-use bag it replaced, which is why this one is built from a heavier recycled canvas with bar-tacked handles rather than a light promotional sheet.
Recycled cotton also sidesteps the harder problem with conventional cotton, which is water rather than carbon — growing virgin cotton is water-intensive, and ‘organic’ does not change that. Recovered fibre does not need to be grown. The material is left undyed and unbleached, so the bag carries the natural cast of the recovered stock rather than a uniform colour.
Specification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Recycled cotton canvas, undyed; weight confirmed per order |
| Handles | Same fabric, bar-tacked and box-stitched at the top fold |
| Water-based ink or embroidery; no plastisol transfer | |
| Recycled content | GRS chain-of-custody available on request, stated per order |
| Sizes | Cut to order; standard tote proportions or your own dimensions |
| Gusset | Flat, or with a bottom gusset so the bag stands up loaded |
| MOQ | 500 pcs per design and per fabric weight |
| Lead time | 15–20 days after sample approval, before transit |
| Price basis | Indicative $0.40–1.20 per piece at 500 pcs, ex-works |
Variants
The single biggest lever on both price and reuse count. We will tell you the weight we think your use case needs, and it is usually heavier than the brief assumes.
Water-based screen print sits in the fibre and keeps the fabric recyclable in principle. Embroidery avoids ink altogether. Plastisol is cheaper and is a plastic layer on the cloth.
Undyed keeps the material in its natural state at the lowest processing cost. Dyed cotton allows brand colour at the cost of a dye bath — we will say what that means for the claim you are making.
Materials
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Recycled cotton canvas | Fibre recovered from production offcuts and returned textiles. It avoids the water demand of growing new cotton, which is the larger environmental issue with cotton tote bags. |
| Undyed finish | No dye bath and no bleach, so the colour variation you see is the recovered fibre itself rather than a controlled shade. |
| Water-based ink | Print that bonds to the fibre instead of forming a plastic film on top of it. |
Best for
High-frequency reuse where the bag has to survive hundreds of trips rather than a campaign.
A tote the customer keeps because it is sturdy, which is the only way the reuse argument holds.
Where the bag is compared side by side with thinner giveaways.
Long-life use where a natural, unbranded-looking cotton suits the organisation.
Free quote
Send the basics and you will get an itemised price plus a 3D mockup with your branding.
What you get
Reply within one business day. No obligation, and no design files needed to start.
FAQ
Three answers about what can and cannot be claimed for a cotton bag.
Keep looking
The default printed tote: 10oz cotton canvas, sized to your product, with the handle and print method chosen around how much weight it has to carry. This is the spec most brand retail and event programmes land on, and the point in the range where the extra fabric starts buying something a customer can feel.
Jute and laminated linen shoppers sit above the cotton line at $0.98–1.85 a piece: heavier and more structured than a cotton tote, and increasingly bought as a gift bag with a printed brand panel rather than as a give-away. It reads craft and heritage, which is either the point of the brief or the reason to avoid it.
The retail carrier bag rebuilt around recycled paper content rather than a premium finish. It carries the flecked, slightly grey cast of recycled stock, and it needs no laminate to survive a walk home.
Get a free quote
Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. You will get an itemised factory-direct price, a recommended structure and a 3D mockup — no design files needed to start.
Free quote
Two minutes to fill in. No design files needed to start.