Compressed Packing: How Much Freight It Saves, and What It Does to the Pile

Short answer: compressed bales suit hotels, laundries and distributors who wash towels before use. They cut freight per piece because much more fits in a container. The towels arrive flat and creased, and recover after the first wash. For retail, use cartons.

What compressed packing is

Towels are stacked, pressed under a machine, and strapped inside a woven or plastic wrap. Air is squeezed out of the pile. A bale is a dense block instead of a box that is partly air.

Bales against cartons

How much more fits depends on the towel and the press. Ask for pieces per container both ways on your quote, and check it in the container loading calculator.

What happens to the pile

The loops are pressed flat and the towel feels thinner and harder than the sample you approved. This is not damage. One wash and tumble dry lifts the loops again.

Two cautions:

• Don't judge a compressed towel straight from the bale. Wash one first, then compare it with your approved sample.
• Don't leave towels baled for many months in a humid store. Open bales within a reasonable time and let the stock breathe.

When not to compress

• Retail and gift packs, where the towel must look full on the shelf.
• Velour and embroidered pieces, where sharp creases across the design are slow to wash out.
• Bathrobes, which are better folded in cartons.
• Buyers without handling equipment. A bale can weigh far more than a carton. State a maximum bale weight that your staff can move safely.

What to write on the order

• Packing type: compressed bale or carton
• Pieces per bale and maximum bale weight
• Inner wrap: a polybag inside the outer wrap keeps white goods clean
• Marks on each bale: product, size, colour, quantity, bale number

The packing and labelling guide shows each pack level with diagrams.

The saving in context

Freight is the largest cost added to a towel after it leaves India. In our worked example, it adds $0.97 to $1.72 to a $2.50 towel on part-load rates: see one towel, five destinations. Anything that fits more pieces into the same space attacks the biggest number.

To get your order priced in bales and in cartons, ask us for both.