The push is anchored around a cartoon "brand ambassador" called Mr Corrugated and involves a short video made by the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO). The video can be seen on YouTube and a new campaign website.

It focuses on the "five easies" of shelf ready packaging for retailers – ease of identification, opening, getting on the shelf, accessing and flattening to recycle. The 2.35-minute cartoon spells out corrugated’s economic, protective and renewable qualities.

A spokeswoman said the campaign launched in Europe about two months ago and was on-going. It included a website, www.mrcorrugated-film.eu and posters while adverts would go into trade press publications.

CPI director of packaging affairs Andy Barnetson, said: "FEFCO’s campaign featuring Mr Corrugated is clever and appealing. The video communicates the message that environmental concerns and economical packaging are not incompatible."

He said the British roll out of the campaign would have a budget on tens of thousands of pounds and adverts would go into magazine titles to be determined. The campaign will run at least until the end of the year and maybe well into 2014.

CPI said its had strengthened its ties with FEFCO to promote the interests of the corrugated packaging industry throughout European. It is pooling resources with FEFCO and seeking to exchange best practice as part of the Europe-wide campaign.

"By collaborating on key issues we believe we can also influence policy makers in Brussels by getting them to recognise the importance of the corrugated industry to the economy and the environment."

Corrugated materials protect around 75% of goods in transit and the sector has led the way on issues such as lightweight packaging and space efficiency in stores and trucks, resulting in fewer lorries on the road, CPI claimed.