A jute bag starts as a plant. Understanding the steps shows why some bags last for years and others tear on the first load.
1. Growing and retting
Jute is sown at the start of the rains and cut after about four months. The stems are bundled and sunk in slow water for one to three weeks. This retting rots the glue between the fibre and the stem. Clean water and the right timing give pale, strong fibre; dirty water and too long a soak give weak, dark fibre.
2. Stripping and drying
The fibre is stripped from the stems, washed and dried in the sun. Fibre that dries slowly or gets wet again can mildew, which later shows as weak patches in the cloth.
3. Softening, carding and spinning
The fibre is softened with a little oil and water, then carded and drawn out into slivers and spun into yarn. Even yarn makes even cloth.
4. Weaving the hessian
The yarn is woven on looms into hessian cloth. The weave and the weight of the cloth decide how much a bag can carry and how fine a seed it can hold.
5. Cutting, stitching and checking
The cloth is cut to length, folded and stitched into bags. Each batch is checked for weight, size and stitching before it moves on.
6. Counting and baling
Bags are counted into bundles and pressed in a hydraulic baler. The bale is strapped with steel bands and labelled with the count and weight, so it can be loaded, stacked and shipped without damage.
See our jute bags from Bangladesh for sizes, quality checks and how to order.
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