The History of Milk Cartons

The inventor of the milk carton is a heavily disputed title. However, many people consider John Van Wormer to be the creator of the milk carton; he took out his patent in 1915. He originally produced his gable-top milk carton using paperboard. Today, milk cartons are still made with paperboard, however, the paperboard is typically now coated with polyethylene to reduce any wetness from the milk soaking through the packaging. Although the milk carton was created in the early 1900s, it took a few decades for it to catch on. However, around the same time that refrigerators became cheaper and replaced iceboxes, people began to move away from glass milk bottles and milk cartons took over.