Overview
Fibre-based packaging can be described simply as packaging made from the fibres of natural and sustainable raw materials. Fibre-based packaging is an essential element of all supply chains with the average consumer interacting with 10 to 20 pieces of packaging each day.
A large number of these packages are built mainly from paper and board or contain paper and board parts, e.g. cardboard boxes. The fibres in paper and board provide the packages with strength and structure. Coatings and additives, e.g. starch, can be combined with the fibres to enable high quality printing, grease resistance and other useful properties.
The pulp and paper industry is at the forefront of environmentally friendly packaging, with the distinct advantage that its basic raw materials are not only renewable, but also recyclable and degradable (i.e. they brake down naturally over time).
Figure 2 :: Packaging Recycling as a Percentage of Total Material Recycling
[Source: www.wasteonline.org.uk]
Packaging demands are constantly shifting to meet the requirements laid down by functionality issues (the shape of the products etc.) economic improvements (anything from better fork lift trucks to bigger shelves at the supermarket) and the introduction of new environmental legislation. In this changing market place, the potential of fibre-based packaging is enormous.
What is it made from?
Fibre-based packaging is made almost exclusively from pulp produced from the raw material, trees and plants. As with all industries, economic factors (money) play a large part in determining the species of trees and plants used. At the international level by far the largest amount of fibre used for papermaking comes from wood pulp, approximately 90 percent of global pulp production. Various other sources of pulp account for the remaining 10 percent.
A breakdown of fibres used for packaging can roughly be classified as follows:
Fibre-based packaging can be described simply as packaging made from the fibres of natural and sustainable raw materials. Fibre-based packaging is an essential element of all supply chains with the average consumer interacting with 10 to 20 pieces of packaging each day.

Figure 1 :: Supply Chain
A large number of these packages are built mainly from paper and board or contain paper and board parts, e.g. cardboard boxes. The fibres in paper and board provide the packages with strength and structure. Coatings and additives, e.g. starch, can be combined with the fibres to enable high quality printing, grease resistance and other useful properties.
The pulp and paper industry is at the forefront of environmentally friendly packaging, with the distinct advantage that its basic raw materials are not only renewable, but also recyclable and degradable (i.e. they brake down naturally over time).

Figure 2 :: Packaging Recycling as a Percentage of Total Material Recycling
[Source: www.wasteonline.org.uk]
Packaging demands are constantly shifting to meet the requirements laid down by functionality issues (the shape of the products etc.) economic improvements (anything from better fork lift trucks to bigger shelves at the supermarket) and the introduction of new environmental legislation. In this changing market place, the potential of fibre-based packaging is enormous.
What is it made from?
Fibre-based packaging is made almost exclusively from pulp produced from the raw material, trees and plants. As with all industries, economic factors (money) play a large part in determining the species of trees and plants used. At the international level by far the largest amount of fibre used for papermaking comes from wood pulp, approximately 90 percent of global pulp production. Various other sources of pulp account for the remaining 10 percent.
A breakdown of fibres used for packaging can roughly be classified as follows:
- Wood fibres: coniferous (softwoods) and deciduous (hardwoods)
- Bast fibre:: flax, hemp, jucie and ramie
- Other stems ('grasses'): straw bamboo, bargasse and maize
- Leaf fibres: esparto, manilla and sisal
- Seed hairs: cotton
- Synthetic fibres and pulps
