Cellophane, a thin film of regenerated cellulose, usually transparent, employed primarily as a packaging material. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and water makes it useful for food packaging.

As well as packaging a variety of food items, there are also industrial applications, such as a base for such self-adhesive tapes as Sellotape and Scotch Tape, a semi-permeable membrane in a certain type of battery, as dialysis tubing (Visking tubing), and as a release agent in the manufacture of fibreglass and rubber products. Cellophane is the most popular material for manufacturing cigar packaging; its permeability to moisture makes cellophane the perfect product for this application as cigars must be allowed to “breathe” while in storage.