In many cases, cardboard packaging is made from corrugated cardboard – a brilliant invention inspired by the fashion industry, where corrugated paper was used in the mid-nineteenth century to stabilize the towering top hats of the time. Corrugation massively improves the structural strength of paper. A pleating machine for fabric provided the first machines for the production of corrugated paper. Corrugated cardboard is made from at least three layers of paper – the more layers added, the stronger the cardboard becomes. The result is packaging material that fulfils a range of requirements; as well as being light and straightforward to work with, it protects against dirt, moisture, pressure and impacts. But that’s not all: corrugated cardboard is a “circular” product, which means it can be made predominantly from recycled materials and then recycled itself after use.