FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

For quantities under 100 please visit Jute Bags Direct.
For standard, undyed, unprinted stock bags: 100.
For printed bags (stock items* only in natural jute or cotton): 250.
For dyed bags, edge-to-edge print and non-stock styles: usually 500.

*Stock items are:

C1 cotton shopper
S1 large jute shopper
S3 medium jute shopper
P1 handy bag
P3 delegate bag
P6 courier bag
P9 sandwich bag.

Please note: these minimums cannot be split between different styles, colours or prints.
 

That depends on:

How quickly you need the bag

Our options are (cheapest first):
12-14 weeks approx
6 weeks approx
1 week approx.

For further explanation see "What's the lead time?" below.

How many you want. 

Most expensive is 250-499 bags. We print these in the UK, and costs are much higher than Indian print.
Orders of 500 bags and above can be produced in our Indian factory much cheaper.
We have price breaks at 1000, 2500, 5000, 7500, 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000+

The style of bag.

Small and simple bags are cheaper than large ones with lots of added extras like stiffened bases and zips.
Short, flat handles are cheaper than long and/or padded handles.

Print and coverage.

Print is priced per impression. The more colours you want, the more it costs.
Metallic inks and heavily printed bags (more than 50% coverage) attract additional charges.
 

Whether the bag is dyed.

Natural undyed cotton and jute are the cheapest option.
Dyeing is an additional process which costs extra.

Your choice of textile

- 5oz cotton is generally the cheapest.
- Jute is next and represents excellent value for money.
- Juco is more expensive
- 10oz (or heavier) cotton is generally the most expensive
 

For UK print: about a week. This is only available for stock bags*.
For dyed bags or non-stock items there are two service levels:
- Express. We can air freight your bags in approx 6 weeks.
- Standard. We ship the bags by sea in 12-14 weeks.

*Stock bags are available in natural only and are:

C1 cotton shopper
S1 large jute shopper
S3 medium jute shopper
P1 handy bag
P3 delegate bag
P6 courier bag
P9 sandwich bag.

Our C1 basic cotton shopper in 5oz cotton, printed 1 colour 1 side.

The cheapest jute bag is style P1.

Possibly - but much depends on the exact nature of your requirement and of your graphic. Lead times start from your signed-off order or sample approval, so if these take a long time then your order will fulfilled later.

Containerised shipping of goods across the world is very economical but prone to delays - so if your delivery is time critical, make sure you allow at least 15 weeks or consider using our express service.

It’s best to call us to discuss this in detail, but all lead times are approximate.

We don't have one! We are manufacturers and the infinite variations of style, material, print, dye and so on make this impossible.

We are happy to give you a prompt quote based on your requirements - once we know what you need, how quickly and so on. Please don't hesitate to ask us.

Yes. That is what we do all the time.

• Our artworkers can put together your artwork and make minor alterations, like adding a web address or changing a colour. There is a small charge for this service.
• If your graphic is poor resolution we may need to redraw it. Additional charges will apply.
• We don’t create graphics from scratch. For that you need to brief a graphic designer. We are a bag manufacturing company - not a design agency!

Ideally, an .eps vector file with the fonts outlined.
For UK print this is the only acceptable format. If you cannot generate this, we can do it for you. Additional charges will apply.
For Indian print we can accept hi-res .pdf and .jpg files (min: 300dpi).
Graphic designers please note! For ease of handling file size should be 750MB or less.
 

Yes. Our Indian factory is ETI/SEDEX audited and meets all European norms.

No. Jute is not Fairtrade certified and we do not supply Fairtrade cotton.

Beware of any supplier claiming to supply Fairtrade jute. It doesn't exist.

We can supply organic cotton but special minimums will apply. Jute and juco are not certified organic yet, mainly because jute is intercropped with rice. So the farmer would have to convert to organic rice production as well – a major commitment.

All our jute bags come from our factory in Kolkata in Bengal, in northeast India.

Some of our cotton bags are made in Madurai which is in Tamil Nadu, southern India.

We print UK stock in Nottingham.

Some are but we usually print in India. If you have time to do this and your order is 500 or more, it’s usually cheaper and the result is better.

Yes - all our customers receive trade prices.

No, we don't currently supply any of the major UK supermarkets. But we do supply many other household names.

- Most of our jute bags are lined with our exclusive degradable LDPE. This improves the appearance, hygiene, performance and longevity of the bag.
- We also supply unlined jute bags which are stiffened with a REACH-compliant, food safe additive.
- Cotton bags are not lined.

Cotton requires substantial irrigation, pesticide and artificial fertilisation, so we believe jute and juco cause less damage to the environment.

Yes. We can heat transfer a photographic image onto a cotton bag. This process doesn't work on jute.

Generally no – we love to show off the quality of our product. However, we do charge if we have to sample a bag with your actual print or to your design. This is because there are costs involved in producing a speculative bag.

Yes, although it’s not necessary and slows down our production process (and hence the lead time for your order) considerably.

Before committing to an order, you will usually sign off on a computer-generated image of your bag. We promise to match it - and we keep that promise!