Cotton Bag Co, with the help of pupils at Fitzmaurice Primary School in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire has smashed the world record for making the largest jute bag in the World!
After months of planning, crane hire, assembling truss, and some painting, the most gigantic paper shopping bag ever made became reality at Fitzmaurice Primary School in Bradford on Avon on 3rd July 2019 for International Plastic Bag Free Day and Plastic Free July.
To beat the previous world record set in Saudi Arabia by Mayar Foods in November 2018, the bag had to be over 10.99m long and 8.5m wide.The Cotton Bag Co record-breaking bag measured a huge 22.5 metres long, 14.6 metres wide and 3.5 metres deep and was a replica of the landscape jute bags Cotton Bag Co produce.
Key Statistics:
- 22.5m x 14.6m x 3.5m
- 2250cm x 1460cm x 350cm
- 885.8268in. x 574.8031in. x 137.795in
- 73.8189ft x 47.90026ft x 11.4829ft
- Volume = 1,149.75 M3
- Volume = 1,149,750,000 cm3
- Volume = 70,161,905.639 in3
- Volume = 40,602.897 ft3
A Rewarding Finish
Jon Marling, Director of the Cotton Bag Co, explained the reasons behind this ‘literally’ huge project.
“As a bag supplier to a wide range of businesses across the UK, we make every effort to figure out how we can support sustainable solutions using environmentally friendly materials that are easy to reuse and recycle such as jute, cotton, or paper. This is why we felt that International Plastic Free Bag Day was the perfect day for the attempt, especially as it is also Plastic Free July. It has been a really fun project and we are proud to have accomplished it with the help of staff from Varn and the school children at the Fitzmaurice primary school” said Marling.
After hours of painting, assembling truss, and eagerly awaiting the lift executed by Sparrow Crane Hire, Simon Holt from Detailed Surveys in Bradford-on-Avon took the final measurements of the dimensions of the bag in front of witnesses to prove that the bag qualified.
The headmistress of the school added, “Fitzmaurice was delighted to be asked to help with achieving this world record. It has enriched our curriculum and provided the children with a memory they will never forget. The children were so excited to see the bag being lifted – I think we were all blown away with the size of it”.
With the record now ‘in the bag’ the material from the giant bag is being cut up for the children to take home. During the day of the world record attempt, the children decorated the bag with fabric pens. The effort was also supported by Cotton Bag Co’s sister company Paper Bag Co, who achieved a similar record with paper bags.