Burlap Sacks

What Are Burlap Sacks Made From?

Burlap sacks are woven bags made from natural jute fiber, a plant-based material grown primarily in tropical regions like Bangladesh and India. The jute plant, scientifically known as Corchorus olitorius, produces long, strong fibers that are spun and woven into a coarse, breathable fabric. That fabric is what most people recognize as burlap.

Because burlap is made from natural plant fibers, it’s biodegradable, compostable, and tough enough to handle heavy loads. The open weave allows airflow, which makes these sacks ideal for storing and transporting agricultural products. That breathability helps prevent moisture buildup, especially when the bags are used for crops like coffee beans, cocoa, potatoes, onions, or grain.

In industrial settings, burlap sacks are commonly used throughout the coffee supply chain. Coffee exporters fill them overseas, importers receive them at ports, and coffee roasters unload and discard them once the beans are processed. That cycle creates a steady stream of used sacks that still have plenty of life left.

You’ll typically see standard capacities in the 50kg to 70kg range for coffee sacks, though sizes can vary depending on the original application. Some feature printed markings that show the country of origin, farm cooperative, or exporter. Others are plain and unmarked. Either way, the core material is the same durable jute weave that’s been trusted for agricultural storage for decades.

At their core, burlap sacks are simple, functional, and built to breathe. That’s exactly why they continue to show up in agriculture, landscaping, construction, and creative reuse projects long after their first job is done.

Types of Burlap Sacks Commonly Available

Inventory changes based on what comes out of the supply chain, but there are a few common types of burlap sacks that tend to show up again and again.

Used Coffee Bean Sacks

These are the most recognizable burlap bags on the market. Originally used to transport green coffee beans, they’re typically stamped with country of origin, exporter details, or cooperative markings. You’ll often see names from coffee-growing regions in Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, or Guatemala printed right on the fabric.

Most coffee sacks were built to hold 50kg to 70kg of beans, so they’re durable and sized consistently. They may carry a faint coffee aroma and light wear from handling, but structurally they’re usually still solid. The printed graphics make them popular for decor, upholstery accents, wall art, and DIY projects.

Agricultural Burlap Bags

Beyond coffee, burlap sacks are widely used in agriculture for crops like potatoes, onions, cocoa, and grains. These bags are valued for their breathable weave, which allows airflow and helps reduce moisture buildup during storage and transport.

Agricultural facilities, food processors, and distribution centers often generate surplus sacks during cleanouts, spec changes, or packaging transitions. Some are plain and unmarked, while others may include basic labeling tied to the original product.

Burlap Sandbags

Burlap is also commonly used for sandbags in construction and flood control applications. The woven jute fabric is strong enough to contain sand or soil while still allowing some drainage, which can be useful for erosion control and temporary barriers.

These may show up as unused surplus or lightly used inventory from municipalities, contractors, or construction sites. They’re typically more uniform in appearance and may not have decorative printing like coffee sacks.

Specialty and Printed Burlap Sacks

From time to time, specialty sacks come through the surplus stream. These might include uniquely printed coffee bags, cocoa sacks with bold graphics, or export bags with multilingual labeling. Some are highly decorative and sought after for retail displays, event decor, or creative reuse.

Since this is second-life inventory, quantities and designs vary. Mixed lots are common, and each batch tends to reflect whatever came out of a recent warehouse cleanout or import cycle.

Where These Burlap Sacks Typically Come From

Most burlap sacks start their life overseas in major jute-producing regions like Bangladesh and India, where the fibers from the Corchorus olitorius plant are harvested, processed, and woven into heavy duty bags. From there, they enter global agricultural supply chains.

A large percentage of the used burlap sacks on the market come from the coffee industry. Coffee exporters fill them with green coffee beans, ship them internationally, and once the beans arrive at U.S. ports and move through importers and coffee roasters, the empty sacks are set aside. Roasting facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers often accumulate stacks of these bags with no plan to reuse them internally.

Burlap sacks also come out of agricultural operations that handle crops like cocoa, potatoes, onions, and grains. When facilities upgrade packaging, switch to super sacks or bulk containers, or clear out storage space, those traditional jute bags become surplus inventory.

Construction companies and municipalities can generate burlap sandbags after flood control projects or erosion management jobs wrap up. In other cases, unused overstock from emergency preparedness programs ends up sitting in warehouses until it’s cleared out.

In short, these sacks aren’t produced for resale. They’re byproducts of real working industries. Coffee importers unload empty bags. Agricultural processors shift packaging specs. Warehouses free up space. Instead of heading to the waste stream, those burlap sacks move into secondary markets where they can take on a second life.

Sell Us Your Surplus Burlap Sacks

If you’ve got stacks of empty burlap bags taking up warehouse space, we’re interested.

Coffee roasters, importers, agricultural processors, and distribution centers often accumulate used jute bags faster than they can reuse them. Maybe you switched packaging formats. Maybe you wrapped up a large shipment. Maybe they’ve just been sitting in a corner collecting dust. Either way, surplus sacks don’t need to head to the dumpster.

repurposedMATERIALS buys bulk quantities of used and unused burlap sacks from facilities across the U.S. We look at volume, condition, prior contents, and location to determine fit. Printed coffee bean sacks, plain agricultural bags, sandbags, mixed lots, pallet quantities. If they’re still functional, there’s a good chance we can put them back into circulation.

Moving excess inventory frees up space in your building and keeps usable material out of the waste stream. If you’ve got burlap sacks you no longer need, send us the details on quantity, size, prior use, and location, and we’ll take it from there.

Why Buy Your Burlap Sacks from repurposedMATERIALS

At repurposedMATERIALS, burlap bags aren’t a novelty item. They’re part of a much bigger second life supply stream. We work directly with coffee roasters, agricultural processors, warehouses, and facilities that generate surplus inventory on a regular basis. When they need space back, we step in and redirect those sacks before they end up in the waste stream.

Inventory moves through our six U.S. locations in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, and Carolina, so what’s available is always tied to real industrial cleanouts and supply chain shifts. That means you might find pallet quantities of used coffee bean sacks one week and plain agricultural jute bags the next. Some loads are heavily printed with origin markings from places like Brazil or Ethiopia. Others are simple and unmarked. It depends on what just came out of the field or warehouse.

Because this is reclaimed inventory, pricing usually reflects surplus conditions, not brand new retail packaging costs. You’re buying functional material that’s already proven it can handle 50kg to 70kg loads in active supply chains. Light wear, minor fraying, or a faint coffee aroma can be part of the deal, and we’re upfront about condition so you know what to expect.

If you need a few for a DIY project, want bulk quantities for landscaping or erosion control, or you’re sourcing for resale or decor, we can help you move quickly without paying new pricing for new fiber. And if you’re sitting on stacks of empty sacks yourself, we’re always open to connecting supply with demand and keeping useful materials in circulation.