Should “Cartonboard” be Added to the Dictionary?

A campaign has been launched to make “cartonboard” an official term after a survey found the term is largely unrecognised by consumers.

The campaign, launched in December, aims to raise awareness about cartonboard among the general public.

The European Association of Carton and Cartonboard Manufacturers, also known as Pro Carton, is behind the new campaign. Pro Carton pointed out that according to a survey of 850 shoppers carried out by Coleman Parkes, consumers regularly bought products packaged in cartonboard – but the term is relatively unknown.

The word “cartonboard” is not currently recognised by official English dictionaries.

Cartonboard is used by many household name brands, including Heineken and CocaCola, as a sustainable and recyclable form of packaging for food, drink, cosmetics and other items. While it is sometimes mislabelled as “cardboard”, it is one of the most common types of packaging found in the UK.

Pro Carton’s general manager, Tony Hitchin, commented in a statement made to Printweek, “In the UK we seem to be a bit unsophisticated in our ability to describe different sorts of materials. Cartonboard has been used for many a year but cardboard seems to be the term applied to all manner of products, and this is what we are trying to address.

“We want to raise understanding of the environmental friendliness of cartonboard as a packaging material, its renewable and recyclable and really meets the criteria of a circular economy.”