The 25,000 Bag Pledge: Why We Chose Perfection Over Compromise

In my forty years in this industry, I have faced countless decisions. But one, from around 1998, stands out as a defining moment for King Fly.

It involved a Hong Kong client, a French end-customer, and a choice that cost us dearly in the short term but became the bedrock of our reputation. The choice was simple: compromise, or scrap the materials for 25,000 bags and start over.

By Shirley Lee
Founder of King Fly | 40+ Years Industry Veteran

The Discovery of a "Flattening" Flaw

The project was a large order of 25,000 transparent, heat-pressed bags. A key design feature was a prominent, embossed logo. As a large portion of the material had been produced, we conducted routine quality checks and discovered a subtle but critical issue:

the beautifully sharp, embossed logo would gradually lose its height and definition over time. It was “flattening.”

A Hard Decision, A Clear Principle

The pressure to continue was immense. But the principle was simple. The client had trusted us to be their guardians of quality. A logo that flattens is a brand image that fades. To ship a product we knew would degrade was to break our promise.

I made the call: all the produced material, enough for a majority of the order, was to be destroyed. We would re-source the correct, higher-hardness material and restart production. The financial loss was substantial. But the trust we cemented with our client was invaluable. They didn't just receive a perfect product; they received a partner who protected their brand as fiercely as they would their own.

A Lesson Forged into Process

This incident happened over two decades ago, but its lesson became our permanent process. Today, for any project involving similar techniques, rigorous pre-production testing to ensure long-term stability is a non-negotiable step. This is why a problem like this has never happened again at King Fly.

In the world of manufacturing, you are defined not by the products you ship, but by the products you refuse to ship.

Our most valuable asset isn't our machinery; it's our unwavering commitment to getting it right. Every single time.

Disclaimer: To honor our highest commitment to client confidentiality, the images featured are for technical demonstration only and do not depict the specific products from the case discussed.