The corrugated card mentioned previously is composed of three layers - two outer ones and a fluted inner piece giving a great deal of rigidity to the whole structure ( Check the section on simple structures ). It generally has no print surface applied
although a separate label would be the cheapest way of adding an attractive finish to advertised a particular product.  More usually a simple one or two colour name and logo is seen.

White card products are obtained by bleaching the pulp in some way.  Traditionally this relied heavily on the use of chlorine but as environmental concerns and Health & Safety regulations have grown alternative bleaching processes are used.  The use of Peroxide is a now ore frequently found - with hydrogen and water being the by products - but expense and additional energy is used in creating whiter and more attractive products.  If we are truly concerned about our environment then the whole issue of packaging should be carefully considered.
         
Some countries use far more than others and this clearly relates to the wealth of the country.  Those countries that are now developing rapidly are still far behind the countries that have high domestic levels of income.
Food products account for over 25% of the total uses for carton board with non-food,/general packaging accounting for another 25%

Display graphics accounts for about 15%, Confectionery and frozen foods another 15% ,   Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, 10% and finally Tobacco products the remaining 10% - of the current total of about 700,000 tonnes of board each year. 
That's a lot of packaging and if designs for the containers are not as efficient as they possible can be then a lot of waste is created.

Corrugated boards have even more production volume and approach 2,000,000 tons per year - So perhaps now it is easier to see why you are asked to make sure that NETS tessellate and that waste is kept a minimum !

Of course many modern packs also use
plastics to keep food clean and fresh..
The combination of these raises more environmental issues as not only are plastics a finite reserve - coming as they do mainly from fossil fuels - but issues of biodegradability are raised.  Clearly manufacturers can argue that their card and board packs are more easily bio-degradable and possibly more easily   recycled.  Plastics after all need to be sorted into their types before being recycled.  Food for thought !