This Year’s Poppy Appeal Launches with Plastic Free Poppy made with James Cropper Paper

This year’s Poppy Appeal has officially launched with the first ever plastic-free poppy made entirely from James Cropper paper, created in Cumbria.

Working with the Royal British Legion (RBL), and design consultancy Matter, the paper poppy will reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent, is free from single-use plastic and can be recycled in ordinary paper recycling collections.

To celebrate the launch of the Poppy Appeal, James Cropper commissioned Yorkshire-based paper engineer and paper cut designer, Sarah-Louise Matthews to create a 3ft interpretation of the paper poppy. This week, the artwork was proudly installed in the Kendal mill entrance to welcome all visitors. Managing Director, Richard Bracewell attended the unveiling with Master Colour Blender, Tony Bellas who creates the poppy red colour for the paper. They were also joined by members of the James Cropper team who have served in the armed forces.

James Cropper has launched a local initiative – inviting the community to create their own poppy using James Cropper paper. The creations will also be displayed in the paper mill’s reception.

The poppy paper is made from a blend of renewable fibres from responsible sources, 50 per cent of which has been recovered from paper coffee cup production via James Cropper’s CupCycling facility.

The design is part of RBL’s commitment to reducing single-use plastic in all its activities in a drive to be economical, sustainable, and less impactful to the environment. The new poppy, which is available now, maintains the iconic poppy design and leaf shape and can be fastened with a pin, inserted into a buttonhole, or stick on versions are available.

Each year, James Cropper delivers over three miles (5km) of narrow red and green paper rolls, which are made into millions of poppies, at the RBL and Poppyscotland’s poppy factories.

Other partners for this year’s poppy include Sewtec, who designed and built three bespoke machines to transform the iconic poppy to become plastic free, and University College London (UCL) who conducted a lifecycle analysis of the new paper poppy.

With sustainable solutions at the heart of the James Cropper mission, the new poppy contributes to its vision to drive growth of upcycled fibre within the company’s paper products to 50 per cent by 2025: pioneering materials to safeguard our future.

James Cropper’s FibreBlend Upcycled Technology model organises the plethora of fibre blend options available to customers into a clear offer, demonstrating the limitless expertise available to them. From the world’s first technology to upcycle used coffee cups to the industry leading incorporation of used jeans into fully recyclable paper for packaging – transforming waste into beautiful paper and packaging is at the core of the FibreBlend Upcycled Technology mission.

The plastic-free poppy is now available for the 2023 Poppy Appeal alongside remaining stocks of the current poppy, which can be returned to Sainsbury’s stores for recycling.