Why a Cotton Drawstring Bag Still Carries Small Parts

Ask anyone who has mailed a handful of bolts in a paper envelope how it went. The corners split, a threaded end finds the seam, and by the time the envelope reaches the other end the parts are loose in a sorting bin. A cotton drawstring bag is an old answer to the same problem, and it's still the answer that works. Lions Industries for the Blind has made them for the General Services Administration since 1995.

What the bag is

Our cloth mailing bag is an all-natural cotton drawstring bag, designed for small unbreakable items: parts, bolts, nuts and screws. The nomenclature in the supply system is Bag, Cloth, Mailing. A drawstring closes the mouth of the bag, and a cloth-lined paper address tag carries the destination. It is manufactured for GSA and issued by the bundle, 50 or 100 to a bundle depending on size.

The words small and unbreakable matter. The bag is built for hardware and similar parts that can take some handling. Anything fragile, such as glass or delicate instruments, belongs in a box with packing around it, not in a cloth bag.

Why cloth holds up better than paper for hardware

Cotton gives where paper tears. A bolt shifts in transit, a screw thread presses against the weave, and the woven cloth flexes around the sharp spot instead of splitting along it. Paper envelopes are fine for flat documents. Metal parts with edges, points and threads are a different load, and a closure that comes open in the mail turns a shipment into a sweeping job for someone at the far end.

The drawstring has its own advantage. It lets the bag be opened, emptied and closed again without destroying anything, so the same bag can go back to work. A sealed paper envelope is finished the moment it is opened.

Weight is the other consideration. Cotton is light, so a bag adds very little to the weight of a parcel, and a bundle of 100 small bags packs flat in a drawer or a bin until you need it. Nothing about it is complicated, and in a supply room that's a point in its favor.

Using one is quick. Pick the size, drop in the parts, pull the drawstring closed and fill in the address tag. There is no tape to cut, no adhesive flap to seal and no staple to find, and the person receiving it has nothing to peel away before reaching what's inside.

The cloth-lined address tag follows the same thinking. A paper tag on its own can tear or fray where it is handled most, and a lining of cloth gives it more body. The destination stays attached, so the address stays with the bag.

Nine sizes, each with its own number

Small parts come in many shapes, so we make the bag in nine sizes. Here they are, with the stock number and unit of issue for each:

• 3 by 4 inches: 8105-00-183-6981, BD/100
• 3 by 5 inches: 8105-00-281-3924, BD/100
• 4.5 by 8 inches: 8105-00-179-0089, BD/100
• 4 by 9 inches: 8105-00-183-6982, BD/100
• 6 by 9 inches: 8105-00-271-1511, BD/100
• 6.5 by 10 inches: 8105-00-174-0836, BD/50
• 8 by 10 inches: 8105-00-290-3360, BD/50
• 5.5 by 14 inches: 8105-00-183-6985, BD/50
• 7.5 by 18 inches: 8105-00-183-6989, BD/50

The smaller sizes come 100 to a bundle and the larger ones come 50. A 3 by 4 inch bag suits a few fasteners or one small component. The 5.5 by 14 and 7.5 by 18 inch bags are long enough for longer pieces. Choosing a size is mostly a matter of how much you're sending and how much slack you want in the bag, since a bag that is packed tight puts the most strain on its seams.

Supplier since 1995

We've supplied the mailing bag since 1995, and the maintenance manual case since the same year. Our products are sewn, embroidered and printed in Kinston, North Carolina, by a workforce of people who are blind or visually impaired, along with employees who have other serious disabilities. Sewing and machine work, both manual and automated, belong to our Textiles department.

Selling to the Federal Government under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act means meeting competitive quality and price standards, and the mailing bag has been doing that for a long time. A product that stays on a supply list for decades usually does so because it keeps doing its job.

Sizing and ordering questions

If you aren't sure which size suits what you're sending, call and describe the item. Knowing the size of the part and roughly how many go in a bag is enough to start the conversation. Your own supply office handles how your unit places the order.

To confirm a size or ask about a bundle, call (252) 523-1019, Monday through Thursday, 7 AM to 5:30 PM, or look at the cloth mailing bags on the products page.