The History of the Cardboard Box

THE HISTORY OF THE CARDBOARD BOX It may be the most simple of inventions but the cardboard box still plays an important role in our everyday lives. From transporting goods and products to playing a vital role when moving home or buying groceries - the cardboard box is a real Jack of all trades, and master of most. But believe it or not the story of this most versatile of items is far from straight forward. Take a trip through time and follow its fascinating journey. The first commercial cardboard box is produced in England by Sir Malcolm Thornhill -more than 200 years after the Chinese invented cardboard as a In France, cardboard boxes were popularised by silk manufacturers transporting Bombyx mori moth eggs from Japan. No unauthorised persons beyond this point means to wrap food. ШИ As a way to market to the masses, The Kellogg brothers were the first to use cardboard boxes for their 1817 1840 cereal products. 1850 The first patent for a card- board product was used for the high hats worn by English gentlemen in the 1850s. A factory accident in New York led to 20,000 paper bags being ruined - however, Robert Gair realised he could use them to create folding box templates, 1856 Making the most of his discovery, Gair later invented a machine to produce pre-cut cardboard boxes by using flat pieces that could be folded together. 1879 1890 Cardboard is safe to dispose of as it has no toxic constituents and Approved personal protective equipment must be worn at all times is biodegradable. By the turn of the century, wooden crates and boxes were US biscuit manufacturer Nabisco began using cardboard boxes for packaging and distributing their products. being replaced by corrugated paper shipping cartons. Cardboard boxes were used to 1896 protect the gas masks given to every citizen in the UK following the outbreak of World War 2. 1900 1939 Cardboard is used to ship 90% of all products in the USA An area in London that was home to around 200 homeless people living in cardboard boxes became known as "Cardboard City". Melbourne architect Peter Ryan designed a whole house composed largely of cardboard boxes. 1983 2005 2009 In the UK alone, 7 million tonnes of cardboard for packaging and boxes were produced by the end of 2009. Most cardboard boxes today are made from re-used material and 70% of cardboard around the world is recycled. 2014 In France there is a museum of cardboard which features early products & boxes of different shapes & sizes Infographic produced by OWebrevolve for PECPAC PEC Packaging The packaging specialist for industry