CMG’s October Color Alert^®: The Paper Bag

Color Alert^® is an exciting monthly feature from Color Marketing Group^® (CMG), illuminating one color each month from CMG’s World Color Forecast^™ and validating  color predictions in the market.

It’s All in the Bag

How can something so utilitarian, such an everyday commodity influence a color? The Paper Bag grew from CMG North American meetings in 2019, with expectations to appear in 2021. It has emerged as a statement beige of the times. Beige is not boring, it is not plain, and it certainly is not “expected.” It has become a hit with deeper meaning. Long a staple hue in discussions of recycling and sustainability, The Paper Bag has expanded its initial designations of simple and easy to include power and warmth. With its red nuance it certainly has a warm aura, but the added definitions add a quiet power and grand design possibilities. 

Standard Textile fabrics featured: 1) Privacy Curtain in Timberlake/Goldenrod, 2) Healthcare Bedding in Blocks/Handsome, 3) Sonata in Oyster, and 4) Chair in Avenue/Mineral

The Humble Bag

From somewhat humble beginnings as a sturdy commodity to carry groceries or a school lunch, The Paper Bag’s beige color is also a color of building materials from sand to stone. It has come to also represent the bedrock color of the built environment. This hue is something upon which to build, it can support things, and it can sustain in many environments.  

The warm hint it holds also makes it a color to embrace, and perhaps cuddle. It’s the color of fuzzy teddy bears, a wooly sweater, or even the paper for a craft project. A staple for the present, it has a future of adding more warmth and comfort to clothing, home, commercial environments, even automotive. The broad appeal of The Paper Bag will be seen across all industries. 

Keep Calm and Paper Bag On 

In both interiors and fashion camel beige and grey are tried and true classics, counter surfaces often mix the two within an aesthetic, and nature’s landscape is the best example of the two colors in harmony. The Paper Bag is a soothing evolution from the cool grey world that has been prevalent. Though grey will never be entirely gone, The Paper Bag introduces a hue that complements and balances the coldness of pure grey while not dismissing it. 

As with any color, it becomes glamorous with a metallic shimmer, sharp and modern in high gloss, or muted and serene in matte look. It is as important as any other hue, possibly more so, as it redefines itself as a color for all products. 

Standard Textile fabrics featured: 1) Cornice board in Nebula/Mist, 2) Homage in Sage, 3) Chair in Midsummer/Birch, and 5) Veritas in Mineral

How our customers are paper bagging their Interiors 

At Standard Textile, we’re seeing requests for neutral fabrics that utilize earthy browns, delicious caramels, and sandy fawn beige colors. In hospitality and education, customers are pairing paper bag neutrals with a pop of color for furnishings and window treatments, such as solar shades and shadecloths. Fabrics with a strong graphic line guide the eye. Mid to large scale graphic fabrics for furnishings, throw pillows, and accent chairs, are just some ways our customers are incorporating texture and dimension with paper bag colors to their spaces.  

In healthcare, we’re seeing Paper Bag’s neutral beige and brown tones used for furnishings such as chairs for lobbies and offices. Privacy curtains utilizing with neutral toned patterns with greys and browns add a warmth, comfort, and dimension to rooms.  

We got these fabrics in the bag! Check out our fabric gallery for Paper Bag color inspiration for your next project.

Color Marketing Group^® (CMG) is the premier international association for color design professionals. Their mission is creating accurate and relevant color and trend forecast information by connecting global color professionals in their shared passion. Members represent a broad spectrum of designers, marketers, color scientists, consultants, educators, and artists.