This is a question that comes my way a lot! In all honesty before starting to create these amazing colour-in bags I had absolutely no idea myself.
It is in fact a 100% synthetic material made by Dupont. They are responsible for bringing many innovative fabrics and materials to the market in the last 200 years. Tyvek has been around since the mid 1950’s and is used in many different ways, from PPE, sterile packaging, industrial packaging, envelopes and more recently fashion and design-led items.
The bags look like brown paper, feel like brown paper but they are so much more than they appear. Tyvek is created from spinning high-density polyethylene fibres (HDPA) together and bonding them with heat (no chemicals). The unique process results in the Tyvek becoming water resistant, whilst remaining tear resistant and durable. The Jex gifts for kids range is focused on developing products that are built to last, making Tyvek the perfect material.
One of the main things we love about Tyvek is that we can make colour-in bags without the use of pens. Initially we tried crayons but they didn’t allow for precise colouring or writing. Never did we think pencils would stand out on the fabric as much as they do, the colour really pops and looks almost like chalk. Obviously, we are delighted that using sustainably sourced pencils means we are reducing the use of plastic pens which is a triumph. Finally….did you know, the bags can be washed time and time again and the pencil comes out, so the kids can keep getting creative!