Home › Guides › Material comparison
Canvas vs Non-Woven vs RPET: Which Bag Should You Choose?
Three materials cover most promotional and retail bag programmes. Here is the honest trade-off between them — what you are buying, what you are giving up, and how to decide.
By QIYOU · Wenzhou Qiyou Trading Co., Ltd. · 温州齐游贸易有限公司
The short answer
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| The bag kept and reused for years | Canvas / cotton |
| Maximum units for a fixed budget | Niet-geweven stof |
| A credible recycled-content story | Gerecycled PET |
Canvas / cotton: the keeper
What it is: canvas is a woven fabric construction, not a guarantee of cotton content. Specify the fibre composition and weight in g/m² or oz/yd² separately.
Why people choose it: it feels substantial, takes embroidery beautifully, ages rather than degrades, and a 10–12 oz tote can genuinely last years. For brand merchandise and retail, it is the default because the bag itself carries a quality signal.
What it costs you: more per unit than non-woven, heavier to ship, and it can shrink unless pre-shrunk fabric is specified. Fine detail in a one-colour screen print can clog — the fabric texture eats small type.
Non-woven: the volume workhorse
What it is: spun-bonded polypropylene, specified by grams per square metre — 80 g, 100 g, 120 g are the common promotional weights.
Why people choose it: unit cost. For a conference, a retail promotion or a giveaway at scale, non-woven delivers the most bags per pound spent, and it prints in full colour well.
What it costs you: it feels thinner and more disposable, and it will not survive years of daily use the way canvas does. The laminated version (a film layer bonded to the fabric) looks noticeably more premium and takes sharper print — if your budget allows one upgrade, this is usually the one worth taking.
RPET: the recycled option
What it is: recycled polyester content, which can be used in woven or non-woven fabric. Specify recycled proportion, construction, weight and finish. Recycled does not mean biodegradable, and a supplier certificate alone does not establish the content of every product.
Why people choose it: it lets a brand make a recycled-content claim that is actually true, which matters for corporate ESG reporting and for retail customers who read the label.
What it costs you: a higher unit price, and a documentation burden. If you are going to say "recycled", be ready to back it up — ask your supplier for the recycled-content documentation and keep it with the order.
Do not claim what you cannot document. Sustainability claims that cannot be evidenced are a regulatory risk in the EU and a reputational risk everywhere. It is better to say nothing on the bag than to print a claim you cannot defend.
How to decide in five minutes
- Is it a keeper or a giveaway? Keeper → canvas. Giveaway → non-woven.
- Does a recycled claim matter to your audience? If yes, and the budget allows → RPET.
- How much weight will it carry, regularly? Agree actual contents and a finished-bag load test; fabric weight alone is not a rating.
- How detailed is the artwork? Compare suitable print routes on the same fabric and approve a sample.
- What is the deadline and quantity? Tight and small → digital print. Large and relaxed → screen print.
Frequently asked questions
Is non-woven cheaper than canvas?
Yes, typically by a significant margin per unit, which is why non-woven dominates high-volume promotional giveaways. Canvas costs more but is expected to be kept and reused, so the cost per impression can be lower.
Is RPET worth the extra cost?
It is worth it when a genuine recycled-content claim supports your brand or your client's ESG reporting, and you can obtain the supporting documentation. If the claim is not important to your audience, the money is usually better spent on a heavier non-woven or a laminated finish.
Which material prints best?
There is no universal ranking by material name. Fibre, surface, coating, artwork and the printing system all matter. Compare samples on the actual fabric; conventional sublimation needs suitable polyester or a compatible coating.
Browse our bag ranges
More buying guides
About QIYOU
QIYOU is the brand of Wenzhou Qiyou Trading Co., Ltd. (温州齐游贸易有限公司), based in Cangnan, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. Bags are produced on our own production line; notebooks, acrylic products, badges, playing cards and gift boxes are supplied through partner production lines. Materials and processes are confirmed for each project.
Need a quote for a specific bag?
Send your spec — material, size, print, quantity and destination — and we will come back with pricing and options. In-house sampling, so you approve the real thing before the bulk run.
Vertel ons wat u nodig heeft
Stuur een tekening, een foto of een ruwe idee, samen met de hoeveelheid en het land van bestemming. U ontvangt een offerte en een monsterplanning.
- Contact
- Howard Xu
- Bedrijf
- Wenzhou Qiyou Trading Co., Ltd.
- Adres
- Nr. 80, Anzi-dorp, Chixi-stad, Cangnan-county, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
- [email protected]
- WhatsApp / Telefoon
- +86 137 3695 1266 · bellen
- Minimale bestelling
- Tassen 50 · notitieboekjes 50 · badges 50 · standees 50 · geschenksets 50
- Betaling
- Bankoverschrijving (T/T) op basis van pro-formafactuur — geen kaartbetaling mogelijk op deze site