Tag Archives: Bag Makers

The Power Of Bags

12 Feb

[Report highlights sent to us from Christopher Duffy, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Bag Makers, home of the Big Thunder. Report does not point to eco-bags specifically, but facts shown should apply to any branded bag.]

Big Thunder Tote

In a recent study, the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) conducted a national survey of end buyers to determine the effectiveness of promotional products versus other advertising media. ASI was interested in determining the motivations, influences, uses and impact promotional products had on recipients. From this information, ASI was able to formulate the “cost-per-impression” promotional products have over more traditional media such as prime time TV, cable TV, national magazines and newspapers.

The study’s results highlighted some very favorable findings for the effectiveness of BAGS as an advertising vehicle. Here are some of those highlights for you:

In The Bag!: Bags were reported to be one of the most frequently-used promotional products, nearly 6 times per month – even more than shirts or caps.

Very Impressionable: Bags made the highest number of marketing “impressions” during their use, approximately 1,084 per month. This was more than twice the number for caps or writing instruments, and 3 times number of impressions made by shirts.

Staying Power: Even more remarkable, bags were kept a long time, nearly 7 months. That’s more than 7,200 marketing impacts over the life of the bag!

User-Friendly: 88% said their reason for keeping a bag was because it was considered “useful”. The second most cited reason was its “attractiveness”.

Total Recall: 82% of recipients said they could clearly identify the advertiser who gave them the bag and 45% said they now had a “more favorable” impression of the advertiser. Best of all, 59% reported doing business with the advertiser after receiving the bag!

Highly Cost Effective: The overall “cost-per-impression” for bags averages only $0.001. That’s less expensive than traditional media such as prime time TV ($0.018), cable TV ($0.005) or national magazines ($0.045). When measured against other promotional product categories, bags scored equally as well. Bags have a lower cost-per-impression than calendars ($0.003), drinkware ($0.004), shirts ($0.005) and business accessories ($0.008).

All of this points to something we’ve known all along: that bags are functional, mobile and valuable — making them extremely effective marketing and branding vehicles. Companies who use bags to promote their business get a better return on their advertising investment and greater exposure and impact for their message.

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News Release: Got Safe Bags?

19 Nov

[Bag Makers issued this release to the promotional products industry on 11/18/2010 via email. Thought it was worth posting. I have also contacted Gemline and Jetline Promo by phone and have been provided documentation on their safety measures and lead-free status. Expect more of this in the coming weeks as topic heats up. If you’re ordering bags from anyone we suggest you ask for third-party safety documentation. Bravo to Bag Makers to move so fast on this issue]

Industry Leader: Big Thunder from Bag Makers

Got Safe Bags? Here’s Our Committment To Sell Safe Bags.

Recent events in the news have drawn attention from some of your customers regarding the product safety of some reusable bags. Here at Bag Makers we want you to know that all of our non-woven polypropylene bags are entirely safe for your customers, including our very popular Big and Little Thunder Totes. What exactly does safe mean?

Each one of our non-woven totes is independently tested and fully compliant with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) –not only today, in which the legal threshold is 300 ppm (parts per million) for lead content, but also come August 2011 when the legal limit drops to just 100 ppm.

While lead is one of the primary heavy metals regulated by the CPSIA, Bag Makers’ has expanded our product safety testing to include other heavy core metals as well, namely mercury, chromium, and cadmium. We’re very pleased to tell you that all of our non-woven totes are heavy metal-free for each of these materials. In addition, this level of compliance also encompasses the imprint inks we use. The truth is, we’ve been fully compliant for years, giving great focus to the quality and safety of the bags you provide to your customers. It’s our commitment to you and our market to offer only the best, safest bags to sell.

Please rest assured we’re hard at work making sure your clients can be completely comfortable about the bags they’re using to promote their business. So the next time they’re looking for safe, reusable bags be sure to show them the Bag Makers line of totes, and give them the peace of mind that comes along with a safe, quality product.

Talk With Our Product Safety Specialist: For more information on our product safety compliance initiatives, we invite you to contact Ms. Christi Policht, Product Safety Compliance Officer here at Bag Makers at 800-458-9031 ext. 3075 or via e-mail at christi.policht@bagmakersinc.com.

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Lead Found In Reusable Bags

16 Nov

[Reprinted from Counselor® PromoGram® Volume 765 / November 16, 2010]

An investigative series published in the Tampa Tribune claims its independent testing found lead in several reusable grocery bags sold by five different retailers in Florida. The report has led U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to call for a federal investigation to determine the scope of the public health risk. “Federal agencies need to put a ban in place for reusable bags that have lead in them,” Schumer said. “Any situation where lead bags are coming into contact with the food being purchased by Americans needs to be immediately investigated and resolved.”

The bags, sold at Winn-Dixie, Publix, Sweetbay, Wal-Mart and Target, contained levels of lead that fall within current government allowances, but are higher than the soon-to-be-enacted federal standard of 100 parts-per-million in paint and children’s products. Although painted illustrations on the bags contain lead in a form that is not easily leached, lab experts say over time toxins can be released as threads wear down and paint flakes off. Also, if the bags were to be thrown away, the lead levels are elevated enough to cause potential hazards in places like landfills, according to guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Within the ad specialty industry, suppliers have been quick to react to the report with a mix of concern and skepticism. “This issue absolutely illustrates the risk we have in the industry with non-compliance and how critical it is that every shipment be tested,” said Jeff Lederer, executive vice president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Prime Line (asi/79530). Joe Hoffman, vice president of business development at supplier Jetline (asi/63344), believes bags are generally very safe. “I would be surprised if these were non-laminated, non-woven polypropylene totes,” he said. “It’s possible that the bags in question used lead-based inks under a laminated layer. They mention elaborate photography as decoration, which is really not an option on the most common grocery totes.”

Christopher Duffy, senior vice president of marketing at Counselor Top 40 supplier Bag Makers (asi/37940), contends that the report wrongly lumps all reusable bags together. “The bags in question have been of a very specific type of material and construction, made using a gloss laminate shell and a different series of inks,” he said. “As such, there is a danger here that all reusable grocery totes will be grouped into the same category, and this would be a mistake to do.”

This is the second time in recent months that the safety of reusable grocery bags has been questioned. Following testing, grocery chain Wegmans announced in September it would stop selling two bag designs because of elevated lead levels. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to respond to Schumer’s call for an investigation, and the government agency has not announced plans to investigate lead levels in reusable grocery bags.

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Video: Big Thunder From Bag Makers

15 Feb

Bag Makers, Inc. has come out swinging in the nonwoven tote category with their new Big Thunder nonwoven tote bags. These bags are made from #5 plastic and like other nonwovens can be recycled wherever #5 plastics are accepted.

The Big Thunder’s claim to fame is not that it is eco-friendly – it is as much as any other nonwoven tote. The Big Thunder’s claim to fame is that it is huge – at 13W x 10 x 15H – and made on 100 GSM material the highest in the industry for standard run bags. That is a whopping 10 inch gusset. The bags rings in with a EQP price of just $2.22.

If you are an green organization whose business requires a big bag to promote your big idea, your bag has arrived.

Here is Anna Marie from Bag Makers showing the Big Thunder off at the 2009 ASI show in Dallas.

For more information on the Big Thunder visit the Bag Makers website or email us at info@proformagreen.com

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