Walpole: Firstly, what does it feel like to be the sixth-generation guardian of a 180-year-old family business?
Mark Cropper: First and foremost, I feel incredibly lucky to have been born into a family with such an ancient association with an industry, company and place. ‘The mill’, as we call it in the family, has been a part of my life since my earliest memories but I have only latterly realised how vanishingly rare the business truly is. There are barely any historic mills still operating in Great Britain, let alone in the paper industry and led by the same family in the same place.
Keeping the legacy going demands I constantly look forwards rather than back. Our existence must be earned every day. My greatest desire has always been for the business to feel perpetually young, and I’m fortunate that we are still reinventing ourselves 180 years on, evolving from a traditional mill into a global innovator in advanced materials and sustainable paper and packaging. Two generations ago everything we made was for printing and writing – hardly a recipe for success in today’s digital age. We are still here as we’ve transformed ourselves into one of the world’s most diverse materials manufacturers serving markets as varied as aerospace, renewable energy, and luxury retail.
Another unique attribute of the business that makes it special is its location in the English Lake District. The family has always lived next to the mill and this wonderful location makes us even more determined to sustain the business for future generations.
What fundamental values have stayed the same about James Cropper over the past nearly-two-centuries that the business has been operating?
The family were originally Quakers, the famously trustworthy non-conformist sect, and I believe this has inspired our values down the generations. Acting with care and responsibility are core values of James Cropper today and inform how we interact with our people, customers, community and environment. Our third core value, to be forward-thinking, is similarly deep-rooted. From the earliest years of our business, we have sought out new technologies and markets as they evolved including railways and, by 1900, insulating paper for electric cables.
However, perhaps our most important decision was to begin making coloured papers in the 1850s in response to the chronic shortage of good paper-making fibre. We found unwanted and dirty waste fibres and transformed them into a range of coloured papers making use of the new and emerging dye industry. Our founder – and my three-times great-grandfather – always maintained that “nothing opens itself out to such constant development as paper” and this belief is still a guiding light for us to this day.
You are now the last remaining speciality paper mill in the UK that can offer British-made coloured paper. Why is this important to you?
There were once dozens of colour paper-mills in the UK, and as the single survivor we have a singular responsibility to preserve the art and craft of coloured paper. James Cropper is also one of only a handful of colour mills globally. More importantly, no other papermaker in the world allows customers to customise their colours and other specifications to such an extent and could never begin to do this: it has taken generations to build this capability. Without us anyone wanting coloured paper would have a much more limited choice, so I feel it is fundamentally important to preserve this.
Now many suppliers are outsourcing or reducing their colour offerings, but we’re standing firm. We continue to craft every sheet in our historic Burneside mill using our proprietary dyed-in-the-fibre process. This ensures unmatched vibrancy, depth, and durability. We also have a unique team of colour scientists available to anyone who wants their own bespoke shades. We have over 2,000 live shades but this is just a start. Furthermore, whatever we do can be made time after time to the highest standards of quality and consistency.
Ultimately, keeping this tradition alive in Britain means safeguarding a unique capability that supports creative industries, sustains local employment, and champions sustainable production. It’s not just important to us, it’s essential to the future of our industry in Britain and beyond.
Do you have any impending news when it comes to your coloured paper offering?
Absolutely and it’s something we’re very excited to share. We’ve just launched Coloursource, a curated portfolio of 50 signature shades that celebrates our legacy as the originators of coloured paper. This isn’t just a product launch; it’s an invitation. Coloursource brings together decades of colour expertise into one unified brand, offering unmatched vibrancy, durability, and creative potential.
What makes this moment even more exciting is that, for the first time, James Cropper is directly associated with the product. For over 50 years, people have loved a very well-known coloured paper, without realising it was made by us. Now, we’re stepping forward and owning that story. It gives us the opportunity to help our present and future customers explore new creative directions and push the boundaries of what’s possible in coloured paper.
We’re also opening our doors, literally. We’re inviting customers to visit our Burneside mill, the home of coloured paper since 1856, to experience the development process first-hand. It’s about collaboration, storytelling, and giving our customers the tools to make these colours their own. Please pay us a visit!
Whether it’s for packaging, stationery, or bespoke creative projects, Coloursource is designed to inspire. And for those seeking something truly unique, our colour lab continues to offer market-leading colour matching services. We’ll be debuting the range at LuxePack Monaco this September, and we welcome anyone interested to arrange a tour of our mill located in the unmatched countryside of the English Lake District. Coloursource is more than a product, it’s a statement of intent. We’re not just preserving tradition: we’re evolving it.
