As early as the Han Dynasty-specifically in 105 BC-Cai Lun invented the art of papermaking. In 61 AD, this Chinese papermaking technology was transmitted to Japan via the Korean Peninsula, and by the 13th century, it had reached Europe. In 1985, the excavation of a Yuan Dynasty tomb in Yuanling, Hunan Province, yielded examples of commercial packaging paper from that era that seamlessly integrated packaging, advertising, and branding; indeed, traditional commodities such as Pu'er tea have long utilized simple, unadorned paper packaging.
With the advent of the 19th century, the packaging industry began to undergo comprehensive development; notably, corrugated paper was invented in the United States in 1856.
Currently, paper-based materials widely employed in the packaging sector include traditional packaging papers and paperboards, novel functional paper-based packaging materials, paper-based composite packaging materials, and molded pulp packaging materials. Paper-based composite packaging materials first emerged around 1980, and in 2020, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a revised version of the "Plastic Restriction Order."
In 2026, Guizhou Dongyi Environmental Packaging Technology Co., Ltd. developed a stone-based eco-friendly paper packaging material utilizing calcite (calcium carbonate) as its primary raw material; this material possesses properties such as water resistance, tear resistance, and biodegradability.