The August / September edition of the PSI journal, the international magazine for promotional products, contains a company presentatie of Recycle Bags. You can also read it here:

Quality saddles for bicycles and foldable shoppers made of recycled PET. Two parallel worlds, one might say. Not for SL Bags. One is the roots, the other is the present and future of the Dutch family business – with a sustainable perspective called Recycle Bags.

Added value instead of non-returnable

As of 1 January 2016, Dutch shops are no longer allowed to provide free plastic bags to customers. That is what gave bag specialist SL Bags the idea of ​​introducing a sustainable alternative to the market. The Recycle Bags brand was born and with it the idea to make reusable bags from recycled plastic bottles. These foldable shopping bags with sewn-in bags, into which you can easily fold the shopper into a small package after use, consist entirely of used, recycled plastic bottles. And that is precisely what SL Bags assures, making Recycle Bags unique on the market.

Encourage others

These bags are not just a product. Behind them is an entire philosophy, according to the company headquarters in Zutphen: “We are a future-oriented company and we want to grow, but not at the expense of people and the environment. Recycle Bags are environmentally friendly, of a high quality and are created under fair conditions. The material is sturdy and durable. This gives the user the opportunity to use this durable bag over and over again. With Recycle Bags, we want to encourage businesses and consumers to no longer use disposable plastic bags and to switch to reusable bags. “SL Bags is particularly proud of its many certifications: Recycled 100 – Claim Standard/Global Recycled Standard, SEDEX – 4 pillar as well as Veritas ISO 9001 & SA 8000. Recycle Bags are available in three foldable versions: as a shopper, a shoulder bag and a backpack. And their creators are convinced that they are also perfectly suitable as promotional products. Logos as well as advertising messages can easily be printed on the bags themselves as well as on the sewn-in bags – by using screen or digital transfer printing or by means of sublimation methods. Either way, the Recycle Bags become ever-changing advertising spaces.

Long tradition

SL Bags has been established on the market as a professional bag manufacturer since 1973. The company originated from the leather processing company VASAD. At the beginning of the 19th century, this family-owned company with its former headquarters in Doetinchem, the Netherlands, was already famous the world over for its high-quality leather bicycle saddles. Today, SL Bags specialises in the design and production of quality bags of different materials. The headquarters is now located in Zutphen, some 25 kilometres away, where sales, administration and logistics are located.

Personal contact is crucial

SL Bags has long since developed into a global player. With its own design studio in the Netherlands and an office and plant in Fujian in Southeast China, the company sees itself as a global partner in the development, production and delivery of world-class bags. SL Bags attaches great importance to creating customised solutions that meet the needs of its customers. According to the company, this high level of service and extensive know-how is what customers value most. At the same time, this is both recognition and an incentive for SL Bags to continue working in such a manner because SL Bags always strives for personal customer contact as a counter pole to the growing digitalisation in communication. And that is one of its principles besides passion and enthusiasm.

Peter van der Sandt, who took over the company from his father in 2003 and is now managing the company in the third generation, can rely on his team at all times. This team includes Marjan van der Linde (administration and logistics), Joris Jansen van den Berg (marketing and sales), Dion de Groot (back-office sales and traffic) and Xiamen, China, Lily Liu (procurement and quality control). Peter van der Sandt himself is responsible for company management, procurement, product development and finance.

Sustainability in all respects

SL Bags is currently building a new, more sustainable office and sales building measuring more than 750 square metres. The energy will be recovered by means of a heat pump (VRF-system) combined with solar panels. As a manufacturer of a sustainable product, SL Bags is also committed to acting sustainably and leading by example. This should be possible with the new location in Zutphen.