Choosing the Right Material for Bulk Toiletry Bags: Canvas vs. Nylon vs. Leather?

Choosing a material for your custom toiletry bags is overwhelming. Make the wrong choice, and you risk a product that feels cheap, doesn't last, or clashes with your brand's identity.

The best material for your toiletry bag depends on your brand's target audience and goals. Nylon is best for durable travel gear, canvas offers a natural, stylish feel, and PU leather provides a premium, luxe look without the high cost of genuine leather.

As a manufacturer since 1990, I've learned that the material of a bag is its most important feature. It’s what your customer sees and touches first. It tells them about your brand's quality, price point, and even its values. I’ve helped countless brand owners navigate this choice. I remember when Alisa, the founder of an Australian natural skincare brand, came to us. She was torn between the eco-friendly feel of canvas and the sleek look of vegan leather. We had to break down the pros and cons of each one to find the perfect match for her brand story. This guide will do the same for you, making this crucial decision simple and clear.
 

Is nylon the go-to choice for durability and travel?

Your customers need a bag that can handle the rigors of constant travel. You worry that a less sturdy material will tear or get soaked, reflecting poorly on your brand's quality.

Yes, nylon is the top choice for durability and travel. This synthetic polymer is known for its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, high resistance to abrasion and water, and ease of cleaning, making it ideal for frequent travelers who need reliable performance.

Nylon is a true workhorse material. When we talk about nylon, we're talking about a family of strong, resilient synthetic fabrics. Think of seatbelts or parachutes—that's the level of toughness we're starting with. For a toiletry bag, this means it can be tossed into a suitcase or a gym bag day after day without showing signs of wear. It's naturally water-resistant, so minor spills inside or outside the bag aren't a disaster. It’s also incredibly lightweight, which is a major plus for anyone trying to avoid excess baggage fees. We often recommend nylon to brands that need a bag to be, above all else, functional and long-lasting. Its smooth surface is also a great base for bold, screen-printed logos.

Advantages and Ideal Markets

Nylon's key advantages are its rugged durability, lightweight nature, and excellent water resistance. It holds its shape well and is very easy to wipe clean. This makes it the perfect material for travel companies, airlines, men's grooming brands, and outdoor or adventure-focused businesses. It’s also a fantastic option for promotional gift-with-purchase items where longevity is key to keeping a brand's logo in front of the customer for years to come.
 

Is canvas the leader in of style and eco-friendliness?

Your brand has a natural, stylish, and sustainable ethos. You feel that synthetic materials like nylon or plastic would feel out of place and alienate your core customers.

Absolutely. Canvas, typically made from cotton, is the top choice for brands prioritizing a natural aesthetic and eco-friendliness. Its sturdy, textured feel and ability to be sourced organically or recycled make it perfect for lifestyle, wellness, and sustainable brands.

Canvas has a timeless appeal that synthetic materials just can't replicate. It’s a plain-woven, heavy-duty fabric that feels substantial and high-quality in your hands. There’s an honesty to canvas that customers can connect with. Because it's a natural fiber, it’s breathable, which means it’s less likely to trap moisture or odors—a great feature for a toiletry bag. It's also one of the best surfaces for printing, allowing for crisp, vibrant logos. For eco-conscious brands, this is where canvas truly shines. We can source GOTS-certified organic cotton, which is grown without harmful pesticides, or recycled cotton canvas, which helps reduce textile waste. This allows you to build a powerful story around your product that goes beyond its good looks.

Advantages and Ideal Markets

The main advantages of canvas are its stylish, natural appearance, its inherent durability, and its strong eco-friendly credentials. It’s perfect for brands in the natural beauty and skincare space, boutique hotels, lifestyle and wellness companies, and any business targeting consumers who value design and sustainability. Alisa ultimately saw canvas as a strong contender because its organic feel directly mirrored the natural ingredients in her products.
 

Is PU & vegan leather the way to get premium aesthetics on a budget?

You want the luxurious, high-end look of leather for your brand. However, the high cost and ethical concerns of using genuine leather put it completely out of reach.

Yes, PU (polyurethane) and other vegan leathers are the ideal solution for achieving a premium look affordably and ethically. This synthetic material masterfully mimics the texture and appearance of real leather, offering a luxe aesthetic accessible to a wider market.

PU leather gives brands the ability to project an image of luxury without compromise. It’s an engineered material made by coating a fabric base, like polyester, with a flexible polymer. The technology has become so advanced that it can replicate the exact grain, texture, and softness of many types of real leather, from smooth nappa to textured saffiano. This versatility is a huge advantage. It's also water-resistant and much easier to clean and maintain than genuine leather. For brands wanting to appeal to ethically-minded consumers, "vegan leather" is a powerful marketing term. It delivers that sophisticated, high-end look while assuring customers that no animals were harmed, a value that is increasingly important to today's shoppers.

Advantages and Ideal Markets

The clear advantages of PU leather are its high-perceived value, lower cost compared to genuine leather, and its vegan-friendly status. It's easy to clean and available in a vast range of colors and textures. This makes it perfect for fashion and cosmetic brands, corporate gifting programs, and subscription boxes that want to provide a product that feels expensive and luxurious. It’s also the best material for subtle branding techniques like debossing.
 

Have you met the future: sustainable materials like RPET?

You want to be a leader in sustainability, but feel limited by traditional eco-materials. You're looking for an innovative option with a powerful environmental story that sets your brand apart.

Meet RPET, a game-changing sustainable material. Made from recycled plastic bottles, RPET fabric is a durable, versatile polyester that directly tackles the problem of plastic waste. It offers the performance of synthetics with a compelling eco-friendly narrative.

RPET is one of the most exciting materials we work with at Rivta because it perfectly aligns with our "Green Mission." The process is incredible: used PET plastic bottles are collected, cleaned, and shredded into tiny flakes. Those flakes are then melted down and spun into a strong, soft polyester yarn. This yarn is then woven into a fabric that has all the great properties of virgin polyester—it's durable, water-resistant, and lightweight—but with a fraction of the environmental footprint. By choosing RPET, you are actively helping to divert plastic from landfills and oceans. You are creating a product with a built-in story of positive change. For Alisa’s brand, this became the winning choice. It combined the modern performance she needed with a sustainability story that was even more powerful than that of standard canvas.
 

Material Showdown: A Side-by-Side Comparison Table

Feeling stuck between the options? Sometimes seeing the key features side-by-side makes the decision crystal clear. This table breaks down our top materials based on what matters most to you and your customers.

Made your choice? Here's how to proceed with your bulk order.

You've chosen the perfect material for your brand. Now you need a clear path forward to turn your idea into a finished product without any confusion or costly delays.

Once you've selected your material, the next step is to partner with an expert manufacturer. We will work with you to finalize your design in a technical "tech pack," create a physical pre-production sample for approval, and then manage the entire bulk production process.

Bringing your custom bag to life is a collaborative process. After you decide on a material—let’s say you’ve chosen RPET like Alisa did—you'll work directly with our team. First, we'll refine all the other details: the exact dimensions, the type of zipper and puller you want, the interior pockets, and your logo application. We put all of this information into a document called a tech pack, which serves as the official blueprint for your bag. Next comes the most important step: the physical sample. We create one single bag for you to hold, test, and approve. You can check the color, feel the material, and test the zippers. Once you give your final approval on the sample, and only then, we begin the bulk production run, with our quality control team overseeing every stage. It’s a straightforward, risk-free process designed to ensure the final product is exactly what you envisioned.
 

Conclusion

Choosing the right material is the first and most critical step in creating a custom toiletry bag. It sets the foundation for your product’s quality, style, and brand story.