Raising the Standard: Our Fairtrade and Organic Cotton Bags

  • Richard Robinson
  • 20th June 2018

Understanding Our Range

We took our three most popular bag styles and replicated their specifications to create the Fairtrade and Organic range. With a traditional cotton tote bag, a shopper style and a heavyweight luxury canvas bag, there's a product for each price point and use case. 

We're proud of our ethical foundation here at BIDBI, and we are always looking for ways to move forward to not only have the products that our clients want, but to be at the forefront of the ethical bag game. Working closely with our trusted suppliers, we have come up with a range of super eco-ethical bags that tick all the boxes when it comes to sustainability. Our range of Fairtrade and Organic bags are available in our three most popular shapes, giving options to our clients at every price point and fulfilling the needs our vast customer base that use our products for a plethora of reasons. This range of bags are made solely from Fairtrade Certified Cotton and Organic Cotton. Together, these two certifications make for a product that has the full spectrum of accountability from crop to completion, meaning at every stage of the supply chain the ingredients used are sustainable and the people manufacturing them are paid properly and work in safe conditions.

Raising The Standard

This range of bags are certified by the Fairtrade Foundation, the UK based charity that endeavours to empower producers in third world countries by sticking to internationally agreed standards that protect not only the workers rights but also the environment by setting a minimum price for goods, lobbying governments for change and driving awareness to the public. By using Fairtrade Certified Cotton, this means that every stage in the production chain carries the mark, from the farmers that cultivate the crop, to the machinists that construct our bags. Farms and factories that hold the Fairtrade standard support the welfare of their workers, and in addition we regularly visit our partner factories to independently verify the conditions that our product are produced in. 

In addition to the Fairtrade Certification these bags are also constructed using Certified Organic cotton. A product that is Organic is produced without any chemicals and synthetics such as pesticides and fertilisers that not only harm the eco-system but can also be highly toxic to the farmers.

Fairtrade Certified Cotton

These products are produced using only Fairtrade Certified Cotton. This means that at the very beginning of the production chain, the cotton farmers are paid a living wage and work in safe conditions. The certification allows farmers to work together to grow their businesses and guarantees a minimum price for their crop.

Organic Cotton

Organic Cotton is grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides and any other synthetic or artificial chemicals. This is the way cotton is meant to be grown. This ensures the cotton is GM free, vegan friendly and not harmful to the farmers and workers processing the crop. By choosing organic cotton you can be sure that you are buying a product that comes from not only a sustainable crop, but one that actually helps the environment. 

Fairtrade Made

Not to be mistaken with Fairtrade Certified Cotton, Fairtrade Made covers all aspects of the labour used in the creation of our bags. All of our factories that make our bags have the certification, which means that workers are paid a living wage and work in safe and open working conditions. Our entire range is Fairtrade Made, so you can rest assured that whichever product you choose from BIDBI, it was not made in a sweatshop where working are treated poorly. 

The Range

The Tote Bag

Our Fairtrade & Organic Cotton Tote Bag almost needs no introduction. It's the classic tote bag shape, constructed from 5oz natural cotton. It's our most popular style of bag and the one that's most often used as a daily bag. The organic cotton is super smooth, so prints look sharp and vibrant on this one.  

The Shopper Bag

Our second place in the bestsellers chart, the Fairtrade & Organic Shopper Bag is a heavier variant of the classic tote, with a larger capacity due to it's bottom gusset.  

The Luxury Bag

This is the big one in the range. The Fairtrade & Organic Luxury Shopper Bag is made from 10oz cotton canvas, and has side and bottom gussets. 

Better Cotton Bags

The weave on these bags is fine and soft, so even the heavier canvas is lovely and smooth, which is ideal when adhering prints to. The stitching and construction is also great, produced to the highest standard. These bags all have a Fairtrade logo woven label stitched into the right side, come with our Fairtrade swing ticket and have the usual care label with the addition of the Fairtrade logo. Whilst these products are more expensive than our standard range, they command a higher retail price that consumers will be willing to pay, as the credibility and provenance of the product is clear to see. 

A big part of the BIDBI mission is to source the most environmentally and socially conscious products we can and to constantly improve the ways we work, who we work with, and the information we provide to our customers. This past year has been a busy one for our sourcing department, who have procured a range of brand new products that we think are the most responsible range of cotton and canvas tote bags available on the market today. We have taken the time to put together a manufacturing process where every person and product in the production chain is carefully considered and the result is 3 additional products to our core range that provide an extra option for our clients that want an ethical bag that is made to the very best quality standards.

By selling products that have both these certifications we believe we are supplying the most ethical and environmentally conscious cotton bags that have a supply chain that has real provenance and a foundation of trust and quality.