A paper bag is a bag made of food-grade kraft paper these paper bags can be used to pack and store food and non-food items. This disposable container will come in handy at any time- for packing groceries at the supermarkets,  new outfits at the department stores, pastries at the bakery, takeaway coffee at the coffee shops but also for cleaning windows, storing onions and garlic, or making compost…

This ordinary thing, called a paper bag, still has a magical appeal to everyone who is amazed by how mundane things are designed and made.

History of paper bags

Let’s rewind to the beginning of the 18th century. Storekeepers came up with the idea of making paper bags. They needed containers into which purchases could be packed  and carried home so they cut, folded and pasted sheets of paper.

Half a century later, in 1852, Francis Wolle, a school teacher, patented a ” Machine for Making Bags of Paper”. This machine cut the paper of suitable length off a roll, folded it, appled glue to the edges and pasted and lapped it. Wolle’s machine could produce 1800 paper bags per hour. However, the paper bags he produced were far from perfect. The bags resembled a large mailing envelope therefore bigger objects could not fit in it. However, Wolle’s machine spurred the present day use of paper packaging.

Later on, Margaret Knight invented a machine that could automatically cut, fold, and glue flat-bottomed paper bags after she had realised that square bottomed bags are quite more practical than Wolle’s envelope-shaped bags.. Knight’s invention revolutionized the paper bag industry by replacing the work of thirty people with one machine. Since her machine turned out to be very profitable, she established her own company for paper bag production.

These square-bottomed bags did not look as the paper bag that we use today: they did not have pleated sides. It was Charles Stilwell, a mechanical engineer , who added this feature and so now the bags could be easily folded, stacked and stored. This Stillwell’s design is also known as the S.O.S. bag, or “self-opening sacks.”

However, this is not where the story ends. In early 20th century, Lydia and Walter Deubener, grocers from Saint Paul, noticed that their customers struggled to carry all the groceries home by hand. After experimenting for a while, they thought up how they could improve the design of the paper bag and get around this problem. They realised that if they punch holes into the sides of paper bags and attach a string which ran under the bag  and doubled as a handle and bottom reinforcement, then the customers could carry up to 10 kg of groceries in a bag. This add-on was revolutionary. They sold 50 of these bags in just few hours, so they patented this bag in 1929.

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The word “paper” originates from Ancient Greek word papyrus. Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material produced from the giant water reed and ancient Egyptians used it for writing long before paper was used in China.

Invention of paper

Historical sources suggest that paper was invented about 2 centuries ago in China by Cai Lun (Ts’ai Lun) who soaked mulberry bark, hemp and china grass and old rags, which contine cellulose, into water, mashed the mixture into pulp, pressed it to have the water extracted,and sun dried on wooden frames the thin sheets he got. It is believed that Cai Lun got the idea by observing bees and wasps make their nests.Cai Lun was widely acknowledged for his invention.

Since paper was not as expensive as silk and easier to make and use than wooden strips it immediately became a more popular alternative to these materials that had been used for centuries. It is credited for spreading literature as books,and newspapers became accessible to everybody. Since the paper was versatile it was used for making a variety of products, from hats to packaging.

The art od papermaking reached Korea around 6th century where they mixed fibers of hemp, rattan, mulberry, bamboo, rice straw, and seaweed to get the pulp. The quality of paper changed as different fibers were used. From Korea, this art spread to Japan thanks to a Korean monk. In Japan it was mostly used for official records and documentation until the rise of Buddhism after which the demand for paper grew rapidly.The material was made finer over the centuries as different fibres were experimented with. Bamboo replaced hemp as it grows much quicker and isn’t as expensive. Chinese paper was of such high quality that it was traded to foreign states along the Silk Road.

It wasn’t until 12th century that paper reached Europe and around the same time it started to be used in the first paper money

The origins of cardboard box

First cardboard boxes were produced in England all the way back in 1817.  These boxes were produced for commercial use but they differed from the boxes we use today. They were made from paperboard and were not corrugated. It was not until 1871 that corrugated or pleated cardboard was patented and started to be used as a shipping material.
Only three years later, first machine for mass production of corrugated cardboard boxes was produced. Not long afterwards, in 1890, a machine that produced  pre-cut  cardboard boxes was invented.   From then on, the production of cardboard boxes soared as the demand grew.
Given the fact that cardboard boxes are versatile and customisable they have become  the quintessential packaging material when it comes to food and beverage consumer packaging, shipping, storage, small consumer goods packages. The fact that cardboard boxes are used in 90% of retail shipments is not surprising since it is  a perfect solution if you want cost effective packaging. The low cost and at the high level of protection cannot be surpassed by any other alternative.
Cardboard boxes are the right choice when looking for eco-friendly packaging. Cardboard boxes can be reused and recycled since the corrugated board, which is used in cardboard boxes production, comprises of recyclable materials such as old newspapers and used cardboard carton.