Shareholders' Equity - Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 10, 2020	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Sonoco		$ 55,211	$ 81,159	$ 135,656	$ 154,822
Denominator:
Basic (in shares)		100,971	100,759	100,915	100,700
Dilutive effect of stock-based compensation (in shares)		138	419	194	429
Diluted (in shares)		101,109	101,178	101,109	101,129
Net income attributable to Sonoco per common share:
Basic (in usd per share)		$ 0.55	$ 0.81	$ 1.34	$ 1.54
Diluted (in usd per share)		0.55	0.80	1.34	1.53
Cash dividends (in usd per share)	$ 0.43	$ 0.43	$ 0.43	$ 0.86	$ 0.84