5 Facts About Cardboard Packaging

If we say cardboard, what do you think? If your mind goes to cereal boxes and toilet rolls, you’re not alone, but there’s more to cardboard than these shopping list staples. Cardboard now plays an (even more) important role in our lives. As more and more of us turn to online retailers to do our shopping, whether it’s ordering Christmas gifts or treating ourselves to the latest bestseller, we now receive more packages than ever.

You’ve probably experienced the amount of packaging online retailers use to protect the goods we buy in transit, and sometimes, just sometimes, it can be a tad excessive. But if we’re honest, we’d probably prefer our items arrived with us safely, if a little well bundled, rather than broken or damaged.

Protecting our purchases, as well as a plethora of other items in transit, is where cardboard packaging comes in.

At Wessex Packaging, we stock a variety of corrugated cardboard and black conductive cardboard (you can have a look on our cardboard packaging page for more details). Cardboard is one of the most popular choices for packaging, mainly due to its lightweight durability. We thought we’d share a few facts on its history, properties and qualities.

History, Properties and Qualities of Cardboard Packaging

1. The word “cardboard” is actually just a generic term for “a heavy-duty paper of various strengths”, but if we look at the origins of the cardboard box (which is much more relevant for the packaging industry), we know that the first (commercial) box made from paperboard was made in England in 1817, and cardboard box packaging was manufactured for the first time in Germany in the same year.

2. It wasn’t until the 1890s that a cardboard box with layers of corrugated cardboard, which is similar to what’s still in use today in the packaging sector, was developed and used for shipping. By 1903, these corrugated cardboard boxes were starting to replace traditional wooden boxes and crates.

3. Corrugated cardboard boxes are one of the most environmentally-friendly packaging solutions on the market. For a start, they’re biodegradable and non-toxic. In addition, they’re usually made from old recycled cardboard (which is just as strong as new cardboard, don’t worry!)

4. In the UK alone, around 5 billion corrugated cardboard boxes are used per year. This equates to a staggering 83 boxes per person – that’s a lot of cardboard! And that figure is only going to rise… corrugated packaging is expected to increase worldwide by over 4% each year for the next five years.

5. Three separate layers of brown kraft paper make corrugated cardboard boxes; the layers of paper are then crimped and glued together to create the corrugated cardboard. After that, they’re cut, printed, folded and finally glued together to made cardboard boxes.

Did you learn anything from our facts on corrugated cardboard packaging? If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!