HOW CUSTOM TOTE BAGS CAME TO BE THE "IT" BAG

Tote bags have held their place in popular accessories for decades. You may have found housewives using them to aid in household chores in the mid-twentieth century. In the later decades, conscious shoppers began using them as an alternative to paper and plastic bags from grocery stores.

Now, tote bags are all the rage, and it seems like everyone has at least one. The difference today? People want to carry custom tote bags.

Businesses sell them. Companies give them away for free. People give them as gifts.

What's the big deal? Read on to find out why custom tote bags became the bag of the twenty-first century

Tote bags have held their place in popular accessories for decades. You may have found housewives using them to aid in household chores in the mid-twentieth century. In the later decades, conscious shoppers began using them as an alternative to paper and plastic bags from grocery stores.

Now, tote bags are all the rage, and it seems like everyone has at least one. The difference today? People want to carry custom tote bags.

Businesses sell them. Companies give them away for free. People give them as gifts.

What's the big deal? Read on to find out why custom tote bags became the bag of the twenty-first century.

Custom Tote Bags Are Great Branding Tools, and Not Just for Businesses

If you're in the business of, well, business, then you know how important branding is. Logos are one of the most important components of a brand because your logo is visible almost every time a customer interacts with your business. Whether it's posted on your sign, your business cards, or your website, this is the image that customers will see the most.

In fact, it's important that they see it as often as possible. Why? Because this builds brand recognition and people are a lot more likely to come to you for your products or services when they already know who you are.

Printing your logo, or even a slogan associated with your business, is a great way to increase brand recognition. The joy of tote bags is that they're functional, and people will carry them around when they're shopping. You've got yourself some walking advertisements!

Even better is the fact that businesses aren't the only ones doing the branding. Studies have shown that people use brands to further their self-expression, wearing or carrying products with brand names that suit their desired lifestyle. In other words, your brand becomes appealing to people when it helps them to brand themselves.

Take, for example, the New Yorker tote bag of 2017 and 2018. The magazine began offering it as an incentive for new subscribers to sign up for a subscription and suddenly, that bag was everywhere. It became so popular that longtime subscribers began requesting them, too, and the magazine distributed over 500,000 of those bags to paying customers.

What about the New Yorker tote bag made it so desirable? Perhaps that it was useful but more importantly that it conveyed to others the sophistication and intelligence of the bag's wearer.

Personal Branding and Ethics

When you're marketing to members of the Millenial and Gen Z generations, you may want to think about your company's ethical views. Research has found that over 60% of young people prefer to purchase products and services with strong ethical practices.

Chances are, these consumers consider ethical or political action a part of their personal brand. If your company sources their products ethically or gives back to the community, you should consider finding a way to communicate these actions through a custom tote bag. That way, you can advertise your ethics to consumers, and they can advertise their loyalty to ethical brands to the rest of the world.

If you really want to pack a punch, market your ethical practices on an eco-friendly custom tote bag! Going eco-friendly sends the message to consumers that you care about the environment without having to say so in your customized print.

Personal Branding and Small Businesses

Custom tote bags aren't for big businesses, alone. As much as some people love major international brands, there are tons of people who prefer to support local small businesses. In fact, plenty of people go out of their way to avoid promoting huge corporations, and would much rather be seen sporting local wares.

In fact, 93% of people actually prefer small, local businesses to the big guys. Why? Because they feel more likely to find unique products and enjoy the experience of exploring niche shops rather than getting everything at a one-stop-shop store.

There's no better time to take advantage of the love for small businesses than the holiday season! Whether you're giving away your custom tote bags for free or charging a small fee to boost your sales, your customers will be happy to purchase something with your logo on it that they can include in their gift or keep for themselves. Having something branded contributes to the authenticity of their support of small businesses and will take your customer's personal branding to the next level.

Personal Branding and Regional Pride

We've all heard (and perhaps participated in) arguments about whose regional stores are the best. Sometimes, you never know how much you love a grocery store or restaurant until you don't live anywhere near one anymore!

For people who have relocated for work or school, regional swag is important. It sets them apart from their peers and sends a signal that they're from another state or city. It's a talking point and a source of pride to show your love for the places you can only find back home!

Custom Tote Bags Are Fashion with a Function

In this day and age, it seems like everybody is on the go. Recent statistics show that Millenials are now the largest single generation in the workforce. At the same time, more Americans aged 65 and older are continuing to work than in previous decades.

That means that more people now than ever need their fashion to be functional. They need bags that will hold their computers, their paperwork, and their lunches. Tote bags are the perfect solution, as they're not divided up into tons of pockets that are too small to carry everything at once!

Tote bags are also multi-functional. You might look a little strange loading your groceries into your purse or briefcase, but a tote bag is a suitable substitute for a traditional shopping bag.

Plus, unlike purses and other handbags, tote bags are totally unisex. Men can feel just as comfortable carrying around a tote bag as women can, which doubles the market for them.

Let's look a little closer at why people value the functionality of a custom tote bag.

Custom Tote Bags Reduce Waste

There are tons of reasons to cut down on single-use plastic, and one of the biggest ways to do so is by turning down plastic shopping bags. It may seem like a small contribution to the planet, but a single family uses approximately 1,500 plastic bags per year. That's a lot of plastic.

What happens to all of these plastic bags after we use them to carry home our purchased goods? They end up in landfills, where they take at least 500 years to break down completely. Alternatively, they end up in the ocean, killing 100,000 marine animals per year.

Although plastic bags are recyclable, most cities don't give people the option to recycle plastic bags from home. Instead, designated containers are placed around town to collect plastic bags, and most people don't go out of their way to make sure that they're plastic bags end up there.

In fact, only 1% of plastic bags actually get recycled each year. That means that over 3.9 billion plastic bags aren't recycled annually, and they're clogging up our land and our oceans.

Tons of people use their custom tote bags not only to show off their style but to reduce their own carbon footprint. In some cities and states, tote bags may be the best option as more local and state governments pass legislation banning plastic bags.

Custom Tote Bags Are Affordable

The function of custom tote bags doesn't begin once they're in use. They begin when businesses and consumers make the decision to purchase them.

In 2018, it was reported that the cost of living in America was growing at a faster rate than it had for ten years. For a lot of Americans, that means that showing off their fashion with expensive goods isn't attainable anymore.

In fact, it seems that being money-conscious is seen as trendy and admirable by a lot of people. Hashtags like #fashiononabudget and #affordablefashion have hundreds of thousands of posts on social media sites, indicating that younger generations are invested in finding new and affordable ways to stay fashionable.

While it may be harder to sell your big-ticket items, this thriftiness is actually great news for businesses! Custom tote bags aren't just affordable for consumers, but for businesses, too.

Custom tote bags will almost always come at a discounted price when purchased in bulk. Better still, BagzDepot offers a rewards program for account holders that will get you vouchers for our products. Plus, you can get 20% off your next purchase each time you refer someone to our store!

The more you save on our high-quality custom tote bags, the better prices you can offer to your customers! It's a win-win for everyone.

Custom Tote Bags Are Functional Gift Wrap

Custom tote bags aren't just popular to purchase. They're also popular to give as gifts!

Custom tote bags are more personal (and, let's face it, more practical) than baskets. They're also more useful and less work than gift wrap. With custom tote bags, you can put every gift you're giving in a bag that is, itself, a gift!

Custom tote bags make great gift holders for company events. Whether you're hosting a holiday party and want to give out some party favors or you're gifting your employees with company swag, use a custom tote bag to tie it all together. Customize it with your logo, the dates of the event, or a slogan that means something to you and your team so they always remember where they got their tote from!

Use custom tote bags for community events, like fundraisers or festivals. Giving a little something to attendees is a wonderful way to show your appreciation for their support and participation. Plus, they'll make great reminders (and incentives) for the community to attend the next big community event!

Custom tote bags are also perfect for major life events, like weddings or baby showers. You can use the same design from your invitations or come up with something totally new that will make your guests smile! Even if it's a day for celebrating you and your life's accomplishments, it's always nice to show your guests some love and thank them for coming with some fun treats that they can take home!

Need some more ideas for custom wedding tote bags? We've got you covered!

No matter what you put inside them, you can't go wrong with gifts that are put together inside of custom tote bags!

It's No Wonder Custom Tote Bags Are "In"

There are so many reasons to love custom tote bags that it's hard to imagine a time before they were in style.

They give businesses a way to share their branding with the outside world and consumers a way to express to the world what they're interested in. They're also more environmentally friendly than plastic shopping bags and more affordable than other options like purses and briefcases.

If you're looking for ways to show off your company's branding or commemorate an event, consider us for all of your custom tote bag needs. We have tons of designs and sizes to choose from and can print just about anything on our customizable totes! If you have inquiries about our products, pricing, or shipping times, contact us today and we'll respond quickly so that you can get your order rolling as soon as possible!