The trade-off brands should no longer have to make
Packaging has a few seconds to capture attention. For a growing number of brands, it also has to reflect a genuine environmental commitment, and a natural brown finish has become one of the most direct ways to achieve that.
For lithographic printing, the market has developed around bleached paperboards and coated recycled boards, whose light surface meets graphic requirements well. Brown 100% recycled paperboard remains uncommon in this category. Brands looking for that finish sometimes had to recreate it through printing, on a substrate that did not necessarily share the same attributes.
The appearance could be there, but not always the material. That gap is increasingly uncomfortable to maintain as market expectations sharpen.
What the market expects today
90 %
of purchase decisions are influenced by the visual elements of packaging1
92 %
of consumers take sustainability into account when choosing a brand2.
41 %
say they are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging3.
Two other factors weigh in. First, 77% of consumers adjust their purchases during difficult economic periods, which makes packaging an even more decisive differentiator when budgets are tight.
Added to this is pressure from retailers, who are tightening their recycled content requirements.
In other words, an eco-friendly claim printed on the back of a box does not have the same effect as packaging whose appearance reflects the material it is made of, and that consistency should take nothing away from shelf appeal.
Our answer: Cascades lithoURB
Cascades lithoURB is a brown paperboard made from 100% recycled fibres, developed for the lithographic printing on corrugated and folding carton packaging. A distinctive offering in the North American market.
To achieve this, our technical teams worked on the surface of the 100% recycled paperboard. Development required many cycles of testing and optimization to obtain a surface capable of delivering the targeted graphic quality, while maintaining product consistency and operational efficiency. What sets it apart:
- A natural brown finish: the colour of the material helps communicate a brand's positioning visually, while reflecting the use of recycled fibres.
- A uniform printing surface: smoothness and image definition that allow for high-quality graphic reproduction.
- Two possible uses: can be used as the outer liner of corrugated packaging and as the entire structure of folding carton packaging.
- Comparable strength: Corrugated packaging made with Cascades lithoURB is just as strong as packaging made with bleached virgin paper*.
- A complete graphic palette: CMYK printing, water-based inks and more than 1,050 colours available.
* Compared with a corrugated box featuring an SBS (Solid Bleached Sulfate) outer liner and recycled medium and inner liner.
One paper, many applications
Cascades lithoURB is used to create two types of packaging. In corrugated, the paper is printed and then laminated directly onto the medium, becoming the visible outer liner of the box. In folding carton, it makes up the entire package. Various paper thicknesses are available in both cases.
It is of particular interest to companies in food processing, beverages, produce and consumer goods. It is a solution especially well suited to brands mindful of their impact, who find in the paperboard's natural finish an expression consistent with their positioning.
Possible packaging types:
- Sleeve
- Corrugated Tray
- Club Store Packaging
- Shelf-Ready Packaging
Measurable environmental gains
Compared with an equivalent 100% virgin product representative of the North American industry average, Cascades lithoURB paperboard has a significantly reduced environmental footprint4.
- 72 %
GHG emissions
- 64 %
impact on fossil resource use
- 99 %
impact on land use
In practical terms, Cascades lithoURB offers a way to replace virgin content with 100% recycled fibre. In corrugated packaging, it replaces one of the three components of the box. In folding carton packaging, it makes up the entire package. In both cases, the packaging is recyclable.
Cascades lithoURB has already been recognized by the industry, winning the Sustainability in the Food Industry Award from The Shelby Report, and being named a finalist at the first Retail Sustainability Excellence Awards from the Retail Council of Canada, in the Innovative Sustainable Product and Packaging Design and Recycled Content Adoption categories.
Packaging made with Cascades lithoURB can be certified FSC® Mix or 100% Recycled, on request at the time of purchase. It is prequalified as recyclable by How2Recycle® and meets food safety requirements under BRCGS certification.
Support at every step
With Cascades lithoURB, you can combine shelf impact with the visible expression of your environmental objectives in a single packaging solution. Our design and prepress teams support you throughout the project. They advise you on the colours to favour, provide printed samples at the approval stage and ensure the final product meets your expectations.
Would you like to see what Cascades lithoURB could do for your packaging? Speak with a member of our packaging expert team. We are here to support you.
1 ScienceDirect, "True colors: Consumers' packaging choices depend on the color of retail environment," 2021.
2 McKinsey, Sustainable packaging: 2025 Global Consumers View (% US Consumers), 2025 Two Sides Trend Tracker Report, Sept. 2025.
3 McKinsey, Sustainable packaging: 2025 Global Consumers View (% US Consumers), 2025 Two Sides Trend Tracker Report, Sept. 2025.
4 Potential savings based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach in accordance with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. LCA study on Cascades corrugated boxes (2026) conducted by Groupe AGECO,
an independent third party. Assumptions based on 2023 production data, for 1 metric tonne of liner. The industry average is based on the production of white and brown liners.
