While tote bags are traditionally made of canvas, there are no actual limitations to what a tote bag is made of. As long as it can be lugged around, it's a tote bag!
Tote Bags are available for branding in a variety of colors, materials, and styles. Both Jute and canvas bags remain popular and can be purchased as basic grocery totes or with more advanced features, including lamination, zippers, side pockets, and additional accents.
Lately, suppliers have been expanding their bag materials to include jute, cork, and recycled cotton for enhanced sustainability and a unique look and feel. Branded totes are versatile, functional, inexpensive.and they are proven to increase brand awareness.

About Tote Bags --

The word "tote" as in "to carry" can be traced back to the 17th century. It was a time of great exploration, political unrest all over Europe, and new scientific ideas proposed by innovators like Isaac Newton. With many nations interacting for the first time, words like "tote" were adapted into the modern language. In fact, "tote" actually derives from the Swahili word "tuta," which means "to pile up or carry." As per the Oxford English Dictionary, 'tote' is a word of American origin. While tote bags are traditionally made of canvas, there are no actual limitations to what a tote bag is made of. As long as it can be lugged around, it's a tote bag!

History and Origin / Timeline

In 1886 Jasper Meek was a creative genius who changed the entire advertising industry with the very first promotional tote bag. These popular advertising items were used to bring more customers into Cantwell's Shoes in Coshocton, Ohio. In 1944 the Maine-based outdoor store/company L.L. Bean introduced its iconic Boat & Tote, a oversized canvas carryall. The original model of this bag was used for the practical purpose of carrying wood and snow during household chores. They called this canvas as an "ice bag". Later in the 1960s, it was re - introduced as a "boat bag" with the same features but with colored trim.

Totes for your brand

Tote Bags are available for branding in a variety of colors, materials, and styles. Both poly and canvas bags remain popular and can be purchased as basic grocery totes or with more advanced features, including lamination, zippers, side pockets, and additional accents. Lately, suppliers have been expanding their bag materials to include jute, cork, and recycled cotton for enhanced sustainability and a unique look and feel. Branded totes are versatile, functional, inexpensive.and they are proven to increase brand awareness.

The ecological impact of Tote Bags

These reusable bags, usually made of cotton, are often presented as an ecological alternative to plastic bags. Because they're easy to print on, they have become fashionable items and ideal marketing materials for brands, NGOs and institutions. The result: more and more tote bags have been produced in recent years. But according to several studies, they aren't as eco-responsible as we might think.... They may not harm marine biodiversity as much as plastic do, but the production of cotton and tote bags requires more water, energy, pesticides and more fertile land. Producing and transporting them also emits more CO2. To contribute less to global warming than a single-use plastic bag, a tote bag has to be reused between 52 and 131 times and up to 7,100 times when you take other factors into account. The ecological impact really depends on its usage: A tote bag should be reused as many times as possible and we shouldn't accumulate lots of them.