Images Magazine December 2016

63 / 72

IMAGES DECEMBER 2016 61
DECORATOR PROFILE IS
when choosing a supplier, making sure all the
correct accreditations are in place. Communi-
cation is also very important as projects and
shipping can be very complicated.”
The printing factory at the company’s head-
quarters in Sheffield is also Fairtrade, and the
company is in the process of going for living
wage accreditation. Each of the 25 staff is
paid a living wage, and BIDBI also invests in
young talent by offering apprenticeships.
The Diamondback is used for the bulk of
the company’s printing, while the manual
carousel is used for smaller jobs or those that
require a more hands-on approach. Accord-
ing to Richard, the M&R auto has been the
company’s best capital investment thanks to it
doubling BIDBI’s output as well as increasing
the number of printable colours.
The company also offers vinyl, litho and laser
transfer printing services. “We have four heat
presses that take care of heat transfer and
digital printing,” explains Richard. “Two of
the presses have double platens for increased
efficiency and two are the more traditional
swing presses.”
BIDBI also uses a Clean Burn double width
tunnel dryer, which is billed as being “one of
the most efficient dryers in the world”: this
neatly ties in with the company’s emphasis
on positive environmental values, as well as
increasing production efficiency.
All of the bags used by BIDBI are biode-
gradable, made from cotton in the Fairtrade
accredited factories in India. Plastic bags are a
big no-no and only bags that measure up to
its strict eco credentials are allowed. Leather
handles, for example, are not advised because
of the pollution created during the leather
dyeing process. BIDBI uses mainly water-based
printing inks from both Fujifilm Sericol and
MagnaPrint inks, and the company recycles its
waste ink.
Bespoke options
BIDBI offers an eco solution for all, as Richard
explains: “We cater for businesses of all sizes,
from small creatives to blue chip brands. One
of the fundamentals of BIDBI is that we are
equipped to deal with all of our customers’
specific needs and are able to produce the
quantity and quality required. Our account
managers all come from different employment
backgrounds and specialise in different market
sectors, such as publishers, fashion, food and
drink, etcetera.”
The BIDBI bespoke service now accounts for
around 30% of its business, although Richard
says this proportion does fluctuate. Made at
the Fairtrade factories in India, the bespoke
bags have a lead-time of 12 weeks once art-
work is approved, although this reduces to six
to eight weeks if airfreight is selected over the
more cost-effective sea shipment option. As
well as bags, customers can order tea towels,
aprons and T-shirts.
There is a minimum order of 1,000 for this
service, while BIDBI’s off-the-shelf business
has a minimum order of 200. Following
requests for smaller quantities, Julia has now
established Doodle Bag, a website that allows
customers to design their own T-shirt or bags
with a minimum order of one.
As for the future, there is bags (pun in-
tended) of potential. “Our systems here are
good, and the business runs very smoothly,
but there are always improvements that can
be made,” says Richard. “Within the next
year we want to be number one eco bag
manufacturer in the UK. We want to be able
to cater for any size business and give the
best customer service and order management
in the industry.”
w
[This page] Examples of BIDBI’s wide range of stylishly decorated, reusable bags
i