Letters From Quarantine | The Paper and Packaging Board Skip to main content
Home
The Paper and Packaging Board
The Paper and Packaging Board
  • About Us
    • Board & Governance
    • Our Staff
    • FAQs
  • The Campaign
    • Media Resources
  • Box to Nature
    • FAQs
  • Industry Resources
    • Sales Toolkit
    • Industry News
    • Industry Good Works
  • Sustainable Thoughts Blog
Productivity

Letters From Quarantine

Letters
June 22, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has forced hundreds of millions of people around the globe to keep their distance for months on end. In spite of that, people have found creative ways to stay connected throughout their isolation. In Italy, people sing opera from their balconies. In the United States, it seems, we’re writing letters.

Instead of dinner or drinks with friends, Saturday night at home has become an opportunity to stay in touch with loved ones the analog way, with pen and paper. One correspondent at Travel + Leisure described her ritual like this:  "I poured myself a glass of wine, lit a candle, and set up stationery cards, stamps, and pens and set out to connect with each of my friends through some old-fashioned letter writing."

She’s not alone. According to the U.S. Postal Service, sales of stamps have been “noticeably greater” during the lockdown than they had been before the virus struck.

Some of these are online sales taking the place of face-to-face purchases and others are the result of people buying stamps as a way to support the Post Office. But there are many additional stamps being bought by others who just want to send a thoughtful note or message of hope.

And that’s corroborated by greeting card companies like Paper Source. Their CEO recently told Bloomberg that sales of their greeting cards have soared by 1,200% since social distancing measures went into effect in March. That includes a 10-fold increase in Mother's Day sales. To take advance of the surge, the company has even added designs for the quarantine era, like expressions distanced sympathy and appreciation for health care heroes.

Of course, none of this is really new.  Back during the global influenza epidemic a hundred years ago, people recorded their thoughts and emotions on stationery or typewriter paper and sent them to family and friends. This letter from the National Archives webpage devoted to the 1918 Flu is written by a young nurse taking care of dying soldiers and it’s a mix of starkness and light that you might expect from a teenager making sense of a tragic time.  It’s just a letter . . . but it’s also a snapshot of history.

We’re living through our own historic moment. Which makes now the perfect time to get out a pen and paper and send something authentic and sweet through the mail. It will surely be appreciated by the lucky recipient, and maybe be discovered by a descendant a hundred years from today.  So make it good.   

And if you need more stamps you can buy them online at https://store.usps.com.

Print IconCreated with Sketch.

The Latest Blogs

US Forest Service Worker Looking at Trees
Resource Stewardship

News Flash: Healthy Forests Make For Happy Forest Workers

Pack Expo P+PB Booth
Campaign Highlight

Pack Expo is a Good Reminder That There Are More Sustainable Paper Solutions Ahead of Us

Kids in the classroom
Learning

The Benefits of Learning on Paper

Packaging prototype sketches
Innovation

Recyclable Packaging Design Competition with Versatile Paper

Letters
Productivity

Letters From Quarantine

Facebook Icon Created with Sketch. Twitter Icon Created with Sketch. Instagram Icon Created with Sketch. Pinterest Icon Created with Sketch. YouTube Icon Created with Sketch. LinkedIn Icon Created with Sketch. TikTok Icon Created with Sketch.

Paper and packaging products are an integral part of our lives. They give us an outlet for our creativity. They help us solve problems and learn about the world around us. They connect us in personal, meaningful ways. And they help us make important contributions to a more sustainable future. Follow us on social for more.

Case and Page
ppb-logo-white

Footer Menu

  • Contact Us
  • Media Resources
  • Company Login
  • HowLifeUnfolds.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Copyright Policy
  • Association Partners

© 2023 Paper and Packaging Board. All Rights Reserved. This website contains links to third party sites. The Paper and Packaging Board  is not responsible for the content or privacy policies of other websites. The paper and packaging character(s) is a trademark of Paper and Packaging Board. Cannot be used or reproduced without permission of the Paper and Packaging Board.

Secondary Mobile Nav

  • Contact
  • Policies
  • Media Resources