Promotional Bags Blog

As I’ve mentioned previously, my preferences in bags changed drastically throughout my schooling career. Here are the most popular bags I recommend for each age bracket.

Pre-school, Kindergarten and Elementary School: Back-to-school isn’t complete without a brand new lunchbox and thermos. By the time kids reach middle school, they’re too self-conscious for whatever reason to carry a lunchbox back and forth from school everyday and switch to paper bags (if they even bring lunch at all). Take advantage of this age group’s eco-friendly instincts by giving them promotional lunch gear!

Middle School & High School: Middle school is no doubt the trickiest age bracket, but tastes don’t change much from middle to high schools. For boys, it’s always all about backpacks– they’ll never carry anything else. As middle school progresses, most girls will switch over to messenger bags or tote bags — and they’ll have many to go with their different outfits.

College: As many have experienced first hand, in college anything goes– bag-wise, I mean. All types and styles can be seen a college campuses. One of the most popular styles I’ve come across is the drawstring backpack, most likely because they’re so versatile. Another kind of bag I would recommend gifting to this group is a nice, big laundry bag– they’ll definitely need one to lug their mountains of dirty clothes to the laundry room and back.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s already the middle of August and back-to-school promotions are gearing up. When I was a kid I actually loved going shopping for all of my custom school supplies. My favorite was always shopping for a unique backpack that would make me stand out from everyone else at school. By the time I hit high school though, that all changed and I would just use imprinted tote bags to carry all my stuff. I’m still stubborn and stick mainly to totes, even though on days I have a lot of classes backpacks are infinitely more convenient for my trek up to campus. They hold a lot more stuff, and a lot of them come with laptop cases built in so I don’t have to worry about my computer getting knocked around.

The reusable tote bag craze is no longer limited to just grocery shoppers. At the mall yesterday I noticed a lot of shoppers at Forever 21 taking advantage of these branded reusable shopping bags. The cute graphics make shoppers want to carry the bag around and pay the few extra dollars for it, but it still has the store’s logo on it, which gives them free advertising. At Steve Madden they gave out their reusable shopping bags for free if you bought a pair of shoes. These bags are great because you can reuse them, but I’m waiting to see stores get innovative with their design– why not give out something like a promotional drawstring backpack to make your brand stand out more?

Here’s a pretty funny one: a picture of one of the first plastic bags ever used, circa 1970. Apparently, this super hi-tech gadgetry was so innovative at the time that it required detailed instructions to show consumers how to use it to carry their goods. Where’s the disclaimer about the trillions of pounds of plastic waste that buildup in landfills as a result of their new invention? Seems like someone didn’t think things through.

Plastic bags may have been the “sack of the future,” but these days, it’s all about reusable tote bags. These totes don’t require plastic to make them, and in many cases they’re made from organic or recycled materials. But the real eco-friendly benefit comes from the fact that you can use them over and over, eliminating the need for new bags. This helps to get away from the “use-and-dispose” mindset which is creating a lot of problems for our planet.

The latest trend in promotional bags is definitely one you’re going to want to take advantage of. Non-woven reusable tote bags are made from 100% polypropylene - a sturdy material that makes them both tear-resistant and water-repellent. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly alternative to plastic shopping bags, non-woven totes are a great choice. Not only can these bags be reused over and over, but they can be fully recycled when their long lives come to an end.

Non-woven tote bags offer a lot of room for customization and creativity, making them perfect for company branding purposes and other promotional campaigns. The bags are available in virtually every color in the rainbow, and then some! This makes it easy to find bags that match your brand’s color scheme to create professional marketing giveaways. With all of these benefits, you’d expect to pay a lot - but that’s not the case! Promotional non-woven tote bags are extremely affordable, and can be purchased for as low as $1.45 each! If you need a bag for trade shows, direct mail, or client gifts, you simply cannot go wrong with non-wovens.