Bag FAQs - Questions & Answers about Eco Bags

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Eco Bags

• Are your cloth bags the same as bags for life?
  

  "Bags for Life" is a terms that's become associated with eco-bags but many of them are of little benefit to the environment and some actually are very destructive.
  
   
  Often "Bags for Life" are heavy duty plastic bags, which are fully printed.  Because they're reusable, or simply dyed green, supermarkets label them as eco-friendly but the opposite it true as the manufacturing process is very environmentally damaging.   As such, they're no more eco-friendly then your handbag!
   
  The same can be said of paper bags.  The carbon footprint of paper bags is very high and because their life span is so short, they're probably less environmentally friendly than plastic!
   
  This is why Bag It Don't Bin It only makes cloth bags from sustainable materials such as cotton or jute.  We print with ISO 14001 eco-friendly inks.  The manufacturing process therefore has little impact on the environment and the bags have a lifespan of 6 months to a year.  To get an expert's opinion on "Bags for Life" read Tony Juniper's Greenhouse comment in The Sunday Times.
  
  
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• How eco-friendly are the inks you use to print onto the bags?
  

  Most of our bags are screen printed by hand, using ISO 14001 Environmental Standard inks.  These are the most eco-friendly printing inks in the world and have a minimal impact on the environment, particularly as our
  [http://www.bagitdontbinit.com/our-bag-company.html] skilled  Master Printers print by hand.
  
  We can also print digitally or use the lithographic process to replicate your design if your artwork is photographic.  These are not as eco-friendly as screen printed bags but as we are working towards BS8555 Environmental Management Systems Mark, we ensure that all our production processes have
  the minimal impact on the environment.  Over 90% of our waste is recycled.
  
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• What is the ecological advantage of a cloth bag over a plastic one?
  

  The average shopper uses 342 plastic bags a year and is responsible for 25.14kg of CO 2, whereas a shopper using a single, reusable cotton bag over the same time is responsible for just 0.62kg. 

   

   The manufacturing process of plastic bags is ecologically damaging, unlike cotton or jute, which are made from sustainable crops, grown under rain-fed conditions and are unbleached and undyed, so minimising the environmental impact.

  The oil-based inks used on plastic and some cloth bags are a further environmental liability.  Unlike most or our competitors, Bag It Don’t Bin It uses ISO 14001 eco-friendly inks. We are also implementing an Environemental Management System to British Standard BS8555.

   

  After use, plastic bags get discarded and can enter rivers and the sea, where they kill our marine and bird life.  A branded, natural cloth bag will degrade naturally to dust and in doing so, will help to save our planet.

   

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• I need my bags (100 cotton printed) for a weekend event.  Can you do this?
  

  Yes we can.  We offer a Super Express Service which means we can produce and deliver orders of up to 5,000 bags in 1 - 3 days to any address in the UK.  100 cotton bags is therefore no problem.  We also accept payment by credit card so this speeds up the financial side of things ... and we don't charge for this service either!
  
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• Are you bags fair trade?
  

  Yes, unlike most of our competitors, our bags are made in fair trade registered factories in India.  The factories are also a member of SEDEX, which is an international ethical auditing association.  The ethical provenance of our bags is key.  It would be inconsistent for us to make an ecological product, if the ethical origins of it are compromised in any way. 

   

  We produce an Eco-Ethical Information Pack, giving further information about hte environmental and ethical credentials of our product and company, which we can email you upon request.

  
  
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• Do we get to see a picture of the bag before you go to print so that we can check that it's all correct?
  

  Yes.  We produce and email or fax you an Artwork Approval Form as a PDF file.  This document shows your design or logo on a bag template and indicates the main production points i.e. Pantone Reference colours, number of bags, bag style.

   

  You check this and make any notes for any changes and email it, fax or post it back to us.  You have to approve it before we go to print and we can thereafter use this as our guide, so that we print exactly what you want.

  
  
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• How do we send artwork and can you create designs for us?
  

  The easiest way to send your artwork is to email it as a PDF, Jpeg or EPS file, no smaller than 500kb and no bigger than 5MB.

   

  We produce an Electronic Artwork Guide, which we can email to you upon request.  This gives all the specifics i.e. max print size, converting your artwork for print. 

   

  We have an in-house designer who can create your artwork from scratch and our Company Director is an award winning, international designer, who can always lend a helping hand!  Our Artwork Design Charge is £40 per hour.

  
  
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• Is it possible to have a photographic image printed onto a cotton bag?
  

  Yes it is.

   

  We print using three, different print methods: Screen Printing, which is generally used for simple, flat colour designs and Digital and Lithographic Print, which are used for photographic and fine detail work.

   

  We are able to print photographic work perfectly using the Digital and Lithographic Print Methods.  You can check out what these look like by going go the Printing Options Page of our website: http://www.bagitdontbinit.com/printing-options.aspx

   

  
  
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• Do you have immediate stock availability of bags, and if so, which styles do you have available?
  

  We carry stock of many different styles of cotton and jute bags, which can be printed to your requirements and delivered on our Super Express Service (1 - 3 days) or Express Service (10 days).  We can also make a cotton or jute bag to your style or size requirements on a 10-week lead time. 

   

  We have immediate availablity of several 4oz natural cotton bag styles, including Long Handle, Short Handle, Eco-Messenger and Eco-Backpack.  We have just introduced a new Mini Eco-Bag, which is great for children and other small things.  We have a cotton Kids Must Have Eco-Bag in stock and also carry stocks of heavier weight bags such as Landscape and Portrait Style 8oz Canvas Eco-Bags as well as a Supersize 10oz Canvas Bag.

   

  We carry stocks of three Jute Eco-Bags: Natural Jute and a Small and Large Reinforced Jute Eco-Bag.

  
  
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