Shareholders' Equity - Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 10, 2020	Sep. 27, 2020	Sep. 29, 2019	Sep. 27, 2020	Sep. 29, 2019
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Sonoco		$ 83,449	$ 92,064	$ 219,105	$ 246,886
Denominator:
Basic (in shares)		100,974	100,778	100,935	100,727
Dilutive effect of stock-based compensation (in shares)		271	408	220	431
Diluted (in shares)		101,245	101,186	101,155	101,158
Net income attributable to Sonoco per common share:
Basic (in usd per share)		$ 0.83	$ 0.91	$ 2.17	$ 2.45
Diluted (in usd per share)		0.82	0.91	2.17	2.44
Cash dividends (in usd per share)	$ 0.43	$ 0.43	$ 0.43	$ 1.29	$ 1.27