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Tote Bag
Tote bags have grown quite popular over the last several years, mainly because of their reputation as excellent alternatives to plastic bags. Not only are they helpful to the environment, but they’ve also become a fashion item because of the custom styles of their designs.
Tote Bag Definition & Meaning
Tote bags are basically large shoulder bags with parallel handles but without a zipper or anything that fastens them, and they’re typically made of fabric.
Tote bags are often regarded as reusable shopping bags and grocery bags made of quality fabric, but they can also be used to carry personal items such as wallets and phones.
What Is a Tote Bag?
A tote bag is a large bag with parallel handles that can be put on either shoulder for carrying, like carrying a woman’s leather purse. It has a wide opening but without zippers or buttons to fasten it. Tote bags are mainly used as shopping bags often sporting brand logos or personalized art as the printed design.
10 Types of Tote Bags
Bookstore Tote Bag
Bookstore tote bags proudly flaunt a bookstore company’s logo in their print designs. People who love buying books in bookstores likely have a dozen of this type of tote bag in their closet. They often look classy, neat, or vintage, and some of their print designs are complemented with quotes from famous authors.
Sports Tote Bag
Many sportswear shops have manufactured sports tote bags as an alternative to plastic bags; it’s their way of promoting environmental protection and going green. Sports tote bags often look befittingly sporty—having a design that appeals to an athlete, a coach, or anyone who loves sports apparel and gear. The name and logo of the sportswear companies are front and center on sports tote bags.
Feminism Tote Bag
Personalized feminism tote bags are stylish tote bags used by women’s rights activists and supporters of women in general. These types of tote bags have a dominant pink color scheme and drawings of feminine objects such as floral patterns. They can be created DIY and can be presented as gifts to feminist friends.
Wedding Tote Bag
Tote bags aren’t just for shopping or mere alternatives to plastic bags used by business establishments; they can also serve as guest giveaway gifts at wedding events, hence the existence of wedding tote bags. Wedding tote bags mostly have a floral luxury design that fits the motif and theme of the occasion. The names of the newlywed couples are the centerpiece of their prints.
Quote Tote Bag
Quote tote bags have a creative design layout presenting inspirational quotes and messages to society. Some travelers use these kinds of tote bags because they’re fashionable and good for storing personal items on the go. Other people simply collect quote tote bags because they admire their aesthetics and they value the words of wisdom they present.
Birthday Tote Bag
Birthday tote bags have the same purpose as wedding tote bags, but they’re for birthday party guests. Every birthday tote bag has a unique design depending on the theme and motif of the birthday party. They contain giveaway gifts and their print designs often feature the birthday celebrants’ names as the centerpiece.
Art/Design Tote Bag
Art/design tote bags have very creative aesthetics, some of which are custom-made according to a person’s artistic preferences or fashion sense. Some of these tote bags have beach-theme designs, funny illustration designs, and other types of design styles. They’re perfect complements to outdoor outfits and functional as shopping bags.
Education Tote Bag
Education tote bags are tote bags made for teachers and students. Their designs present quotes about the value and importance of education. Many schools and universities also make education tote bags as promotional or advertising material to entice potential enrollees.
Library Tote Bag
Library tote bags are made for book lovers and people who love spending their free time in libraries. Such tote bags are good for carrying books on the go. Their designs are quite fancy and include messages about the beauty and adventures of reading books.
Restaurant Tote Bag
Restaurant tote bags are used by restaurants as the packaging for takeout food for their customers. These types of tote bags sport the restaurant’s logo at the center of their print design. Restaurants use them as alternatives to plastic bags and brown bags because they’re durable and reusable.
Tote Bag Uses, Purpose, Importance
Tote bags are among the most versatile bags that anyone can ever use. Because of that, they can be utilized for multiple purposes and serve more than one function.
Reusable Shopping Bags
Tote bags are most known as reusable shopping bags—alternatives to plastic bags and brown bags. Their fabric material is durable enough to carry heavy loads of grocery items and shopping items. People who don’t want to stockpile plastic bags in their houses use tote bags for their shopping.
Environmental Protection
The use of tote bags helps protect the environment because it reduces plastic usage and plastic waste. Plastics have been one of the main culprits of environmental degradation, especially in the Earth’s bodies of water. Many companies worldwide have adopted the use of reusable tote bags as a gesture of support to the environment.
Storing Personal Items
Tote bags can serve as storage for your personal items while you’re on the go. Stuff such as car keys, snack bars, wallets, reading glasses, coin purses, and many more can be stored in personal tote bags. They would help make your travels convenient, and of course, you would be able to travel light.
Promotional Merchandise
Some companies use tote bags as promotional merchandise bearing the image of their brand logo. It’s their way of spreading brand awareness for their business. They often sell their merch tote bags at affordable prices to entice people to use them for shopping instead of brown bags and plastic bags.
Fashion
Others opt to use tote bags instead of typical purses, shoulder bags, or backpacks. That’s because tote bags, especially those with stylish aesthetics, are uniquely fashionable. They’re perfect complements to outfits that people typically wear going out to parks, malls, and cafes to hang out with friends.
What’s in a Tote Bag? Parts?
Front and Back Panels
The front and back panels make up the body of the tote bag. The front panel is where the tote bag print is featured; however, some tote bags have prints on both panels. Also, there are tote bags with both panels having no prints whatsoever, just a plain color.
Gussets
The gussets are the pieces of fabric that connect the front and back panels and enable the tote bag to fold and extend. Not all tote bags have gussets, but most shopping tote bags have them to accommodate more items.
Handles
The handles of tote bags typically measure 50 cm net length to fit the shoulders of the average man and woman. They’re made of the same fabric as the panels and the gussets, and they’re attached parallel to each other.
Tote Bag Print
Printing the print design is the final touch of creating a custom tote bag. Whichever side of the tote bag it’ll be printed, that side of the tote bag will be considered the front side. Among the most common tote bag print designs are business logos, quotes, and floral patterns.
How to Design a Tote Bag?
1. Choose a standard Tote Bag Size.
2. Determine the type of tote bag design you want.
3. Choose from the Tote Bag Templates.
4. Personalize the selected tote bag design template.
5. Insert additional visuals if needed such as business logos.
6. Save, download, and print the design on a blank tote bag.
Tote Bag vs. Backpack
A tote bag is a type of bag made almost entirely of durable fabric and typically used as reusable shopping bags or grocery bags, or in other words, environment-friendly alternatives to brown bags and plastic bags.
A backpack is a type of traveling bag with shoulder straps that enable a person to carry it on his/her back; it’s also known as a knapsack.
What’s the Difference Between a Tote Bag, a Handbag, and a Satchel?
Tote bags are mostly made of fabric and large enough to store multiple items; they’re often used as reusable shopping bags and some businesses use them as alternative packaging for sold goods,
Handbags are small bags with straps that can be worn over one shoulder and are typically used for storing personal items; women are the ideal users of handbags, more commonly known as purses.
Satchels are just like handbags but with much longer straps that allow people to wear them diagonally across their bodies; they’re traditionally utilized to carry books, but today, they’re often used to carry personal items.
Tote Bag Sizes
Tote bags also come in different sizes and people can choose any tote bag size depending on the type of items they plan to store in it. There are various standard tote bag size options to take note of.
- 13 x 13 inches
- 15 x 15 inches
- 16 x 16 inches
- 18 x 18 inches
Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
Designing a tote bag print takes a lot of artistry and it requires the mind’s creative juices to be flowing. Sometimes, it’s hard to come up with a design from scratch, even professional designers face such a problem. For that reason, it is recommended to check out tote bag ideas for design references.
- Library Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- School Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Coffee Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Love Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Flower Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Smiley Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Retro Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Small Business Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Travel Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
- Advocacy Tote Bag Ideas and Examples
FAQs
What makes a tote bag special?
Among the reasons why tote bags are special is because they help protect the environment since when people use them, the usage of plastic is reduced, and other than being environment-friendly bags, they’re also quite fashionable as bags for your personal items.
How do you decorate a plain tote bag?
There are plenty of ways to decorate a plain tote bag such as the following: drawing illustrations using fabric paint or fabric markers, using vinyl transfers, using iron-on transfers, tie-dyeing, or embroidering.
Why are tote bags trendy?
Tote bags have been very trendy over the last few years because they’re both fashionable and functional; they work well as bags for any sort of item and they go well with almost any type of outfit, some people would say that they’re just simple and cool.
Can we travel with a tote bag?
Yes, tote bags are functional travel bags, and they’re most especially ideal for people who love to travel light and bring plenty of personal items; airports and airline service companies even allow the use of tote bags for passengers.
Why are tote bags practical?
Tote bags are practical because they’re lightweight, they’re durable, can carry lots of items, and they’re very cheap compared to traditional bags made of leather and other expensive material.
How long do tote bags last?
Tote bags can last for over a year depending on the quality of the fabric they’re made of; some tote bags can last even longer if used cautiously or if they only carry lightweight objects.
Why tote bags are good for business?
Tote bags are good for business because people pay to purchase them as packaging for their items unlike plastic bags, and also, they’re good for a business’s reputation as an environment-friendly organization.
What is the best material to line a tote bag?
Cotton fabrics are the best type of material to line tote bags.
Can you put Mod Podge on a tote bag?
Yes, you can beautify a tote bag with Mod Podge.
What paint is used on tote bags?
Acrylic paint is the best type of paint for beautifying tote bags because they dry up fast, they enable multiple layers of paint, and they don’t easily wear off over time.
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