Custom merchandise for attractions and venues
Custom tote bags
for your gift shop
Tote bags in your design for an attraction's gift shop: cotton canvas, cotton, jute or non-woven, printed or embroidered with your artwork, with a sewn "Made in China" label and your own tag. Any cotton is traced back to the bale before you commit, and the order is quoted landed and planned back from the day the bags go on your shelves.
- Reply within 1 business day
- Landed cost, itemised
- Trading since 2020
- Canvas, cotton, jute or non-woven
- Printed or embroidered
- "Made in China" label sewn in
- Folded and bagged for the shelf
Tote bag fabrics
Custom canvas tote bags, jute and non-woven
Cotton canvas with a gusset 
Jute with cotton handles 
A navy tote, matte finish 
A sewn label and a hang tag 
Folded and bagged for the shelf
At a glance
Souvenir tote bags in cotton, canvas, jute or non-woven
A gift shop tote is a bag people buy, so the fabric and the print have to look right on the shelf. Custom cotton tote bags and canvas totes take a fine print or embroidery. Custom jute bags have a coarse, natural look that suits a bold mark. Non-woven totes are matte and come in many colours. Every bag carries a sewn "Made in China" label, and your own tag if you want one.
Used for
- Souvenir tote bags sold in an attraction's gift shop, in the same design as the cups, beanies and plush
- A season edition: the same bag with new artwork for the holidays, an anniversary or a new exhibit
- Totes for members, season-pass holders or an event held at your venue
- Drawstring bags and zip pouches in the same fabric, to sell beside the totes
Bought by
- Zoos, aquariums, museums, parks and light attractions that sell their own merchandise
- Merchandise managers who plan the shop's bags with the rest of the season's goods
- Not a fit: a few dozen stock totes printed by next week, which a promotional supplier serves better, or bags for the till, which we do not quote
Materials
- Cotton canvas, cotton, jute or jute with cotton, or non-woven polypropylene, named on the spec by the factory
- Every ink, trim and handle named before you commit
- Any cotton traced back to the bale, with the mill named
- A fibre named on a tag only as the full content, and a blend named as a blend
Options
- Totes, gusseted totes, drawstring bags and zip pouches in those fabrics
- Screen print, full-colour transfer, embroidery or a sewn patch
- Handles of the same fabric, or sewn-on webbing
- Colours matched to the Pantone references you send
- Your own sewn label or hang tag beside the "Made in China" label
- A season edition: the same bag with new artwork
Packaging
- Folded and bagged one by one with your barcode, ready for the shelf
- Or packed flat by the carton for the stockroom
- Cartons marked with the design, and a packing list for every carton
Tote bags as part of a gift shop range
A souvenir tote often sits beside the cups, beanies and plush in the same design, and it can carry them home. The gift shop merchandise guide covers which items are worth making in your own design, what each one carries before it ships, and how to order the range a season ahead.
Before you ask
Custom tote bags: what to specify
These are the fields we ask you for. The factory quotes and makes the bags to them, so a fuller sheet brings the first quote closer to the real one.
The bag
A tote, a gusseted tote, a drawstring bag or a pouch, and its size. The shape sets the pattern and how big the print can be.
Fabric
Canvas, cotton, jute or non-woven, and how heavy, on the spec. The hand of the bag and the way it takes a print follow from it.
Artwork and decoration
Print, transfer, embroidery or patch, colours to Pantone, one side or both. Each method holds detail differently, and the sample shows yours.
Handles and finish
How long, fabric or webbing, a gusset, a lining. These decide how the bag carries when it is full.
Labels and tags
"Made in China" sewn in, any fibre named in full, your own tag and barcode.
Designs, quantities and dates
Each design and how many of each, and the day the bags go on your shelves, so the date can be worked back from it.
Price
What sets the price of custom tote bags in bulk
We do not publish a tote bag price. It turns on the fabric, the size, the print, the handles, the packing and how many you order of each design, so you get a landed cost, line by line.
The fabric
Canvas, cotton, jute or non-woven, and how heavy the cloth is, which sets the hand and what the bag costs to make.
Shape and size
A flat tote, a gusseted tote, a drawstring bag or a pouch, and how big it is.
How the artwork goes on
Screen print, a full-colour transfer, embroidery or a sewn patch, on one side or both.
How many ink colours
Each colour in a screen print is set up and matched to its Pantone reference on its own.
Handles and finish
Fabric or webbing handles, a gusset, a lining or a zip, each added to the pattern.
Labels and packing
Your own label or tag, and whether each bag is folded and bagged with a barcode for the shelf.
How many of each design
Each design is set up once, and that setup is spread over every bag in the run.
Landing at your venue
Ocean freight, the customs entry and delivery to your door, each on its own line of the quote.
Itemised on the quote, hidden in a unit price
- The screens or setup for each new design and colour
- A pre-production sample, if the quote includes one, and any rework before you approve it
- Your own labels, hang tags and barcode stickers, if the bags go straight onto the shelf
- The broker's fees for the customs entry, and delivery from the port
Timing
Work back from the day they go on your shelves
We do not publish a production window for tote bags. Plan them with the season: the quote and the artwork early, the sample signed off, and the bags shipped with the season's other goods. Tell us the day they have to be in the shop, and we work back from it.
How the date is set
The date your order has to be placed comes from the day the bags go on your shelves.
- Tell us the bags, the quantity and the day they have to be at your venue.
- We work back through the artwork, the sample, the run, the packing, the cartons and the crossing, and tell you the date the order has to be placed.
- The landed quote follows, itemised line by line.
What goes wrong
Before the first order: the fabric, the label and the cotton
Three things are settled before anything is made. First, we quote fabric bags only: paper shopping bags, plastic carrier bags and laminated woven bags bring import rules of their own, so we do not quote them. Second, every bag carries a sewn "Made in China" label, and a tag that names the fibre names all of it. Third, any cotton is traced back to the bale, with the mill named, before you commit. Bags are quoted for general use. A bag sized or themed for younger shoppers is quoted only as a children's product, with a report from a CPSC-accepted lab on the exact bag and print.
Common failures
- A print that cracks after the bag has been folded a few times
- Colours that drift from the Pantone references on natural, undyed fabric
- Handles that pull out at the seam once the bag is carried full
- Jute that sheds fibres onto the rest of the stock on the shelf
- A bag cut so the logo wraps onto the gusset
- No "Made in China" label, found only when the cartons arrive
- A fibre named on the tag that is not the whole content
Buyer mistakes
- Artwork drawn before the bag size is fixed, so the print area does not fit
- Fine lines and small lettering sent for a screen print on coarse jute
- A team's, character's or sponsor's mark on the artwork without its owner's written approval
Inspection checklist
- The run checked against the approved proof or sample: the fabric, the colours, the print and the handles
- Handles pulled by hand on bags taken from the run
- Prints folded and rubbed on bags from every carton
- The "Made in China" label and your own tag found in bags from every carton
- Carton counts and marks checked, and photos taken before the cartons are sealed
How it gets to you
- Shipped by sea from China in cartons, on their own or in one shipment with the rest of your order
- Tote bags often travel in the same container as the shop's cups, beanies and plush
- A customs broker files the entry when the shipment lands
- Delivered from the port to your venue, warehouse or shop
Each step of the landing is priced on your bags and set out on the quote. How that works Add up a landed cost
What we do on an order like this
- We turn your artwork, the bag and the fabric you want into a spec sheet that the factory quotes and works to.
- We quote fabric bags only. Paper shopping bags, plastic carrier bags and laminated woven bags bring import rules of their own, so we do not quote them.
- Before the first order of each bag, your customs broker reviews how it will be entered on the final spec, and that goes into the landed quote.
- You approve the proof, and the sample if the quote includes one. We check the run against it before it is packed, import the bags and deliver them to you.
Questions
Asked before ordering custom tote bags
Where can we get custom tote bags made?
Promotional suppliers print a logo on stock blank totes and ship them soon, which suits a giveaway. Tote bags made to your own design, in the fabric, size and colours your shop sells, are made to order, which suits a gift shop that plans its range ahead. We run that second route with factories in China, import the bags and deliver them to you with the rest of your merchandise.
How much do custom tote bags cost?
It depends on the fabric, the shape and size, how the artwork goes on, the number of ink colours, the handles, the labels and packing, how many you order of each design, and the freight and customs entry. We do not publish a tote bag price. The quote puts each of those on its own line, and the landed cost calculator on this site adds them up.
Canvas, cotton, jute or non-woven: which tote suits a gift shop?
Cotton canvas is thick and holds its shape, and it takes a screen print or embroidery well. A lighter cotton tote folds small and costs less to make. Jute has a coarse, natural look and suits a bold, simple mark. Non-woven polypropylene has a matte, felt-like surface and comes in many colours. A shop can stock both: a canvas tote at the top of the range and a lighter bag beside it.
Can you make the bags we hand out at the till?
No. Paper shopping bags, plastic carrier bags and laminated woven bags bring import rules of their own, so we do not quote them. We make fabric bags for your shop to sell: cotton canvas, cotton, jute and non-woven totes, drawstring bags and pouches.
What goes on a tote bag's label?
A "Made in China" label sewn into every bag, beside your own label or hang tag if you want one. If a tag or a listing names the fibre, it names the full content, so a jute and cotton bag is named as a blend. This is general information: your customs broker or counsel confirms the marking for your bags.
Where does the cotton come from?
Before you commit, the factory names the mill and traces the cotton back to the bale, and you see that trail. If the mill cannot be named, the answer is no and we look for a cotton that can be traced.
When should we order tote bags for next season?
Early enough that the bags arrive with the season's other merchandise. Tell us the day they have to be on your shelves, and we work back through the artwork, the sample, the run, the packing and the crossing to the date the order has to be placed.
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What an attraction or venue can have made for its own gift shop, to its own design.
See custom merchandise
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See the logo blankets
Custom knit beanies
Beanies knitted to your design for the gift shop of an attraction or venue: your artwork and yarn colours knitted in, a pom-pom, a leather or faux-leather patch on the cuff and your own sewn labels, with scarves to match. You approve a sample before the run, and the order is planned back from the day the beanies have to be on your shelves.
See the knit beanies
Custom souvenir cups
Souvenir cups in your own design for an attraction's gift shop or concession stand: stadium-style cups with lids and straws, colour-changing cups, one-piece aluminium cups and bottles, and light-bulb cups with a silver cap. Every part's material is named before you commit, each cup is marked with where it was made, and the order is planned back from your season's first day.
See the souvenir cups
Custom lanyards
Season-pass, staff and souvenir lanyards in your design for an attraction or venue: your logo printed or woven in, a breakaway clasp if you want one, and the card holder, reel or clip attached before they ship. Every lanyard is quoted made up and landed at your door, and the order is planned back from the day your season opens.
See the custom lanyardsSomething else?
Send it as a sourcing request. Tell us what it is, the quantity and the date, and we will say whether we can get it made, and by when.
Send a requestRequest a quote
A landed quote for your shop's tote bags
Tell us the bags, the quantity and the day they go on your shelves. We return a landed cost that itemises the bags, the packing, ocean freight, the customs entry and delivery.
- Reply within 1 business day
- Landed cost, itemised
We take on the orders we can do well, and we will say so if yours isn't one of them.
