<PAGE>
                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.8

                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

                                      FOR

                             CORPORATE OFFICERS OF

                            SONOCO PRODUCTS COMPANY


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                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

<TABLE>
<S>                     <C>                                               <C>
ARTICLE I               STATEMENT OF PURPOSE ............................     1

ARTICLE II              DEFINITIONS .....................................   2-3

ARTICLE III             ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION ...................   4-5

ARTICLE IV              DEFERRED COMPENSATION ELECTIONS .................     6

ARTICLE V               CREDITS TO DEFERRAL ACCOUNTS ....................   7-8

ARTICLE VI              ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE ........................     9

ARTICLE VII             AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION .......................    10

ARTICLE VIII            MISCELLANEOUS ................................... 11-12

ARTICLE IX              CONSTRUCTION ....................................    13
</TABLE>


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                            SONOCO PRODUCTS COMPANY
                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
                               FOR KEY EMPLOYEES

                                   ARTICLE I

                              STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

         The purpose of this plan is to provide key employees of Sonoco
Products Company (the "Company") the opportunity to defer receipt of
compensation earned as an employee to a date following termination of
employment. This deferral opportunity is designed to help the Company to
attract and retain outstanding individuals as employees of the Company through
enhancement of the value of the compensation paid to such individuals.


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                                   ARTICLE II

                                  DEFINITIONS

         When used herein the following terms shall have the meanings indicated
unless a different meaning is clearly required by the context.

         1.       "Company": Sonoco Products Company, a South Carolina
                  Corporation, and its corporate successors.
         2.       "Committee": The Administrative Committee appointed by the
                  Board of Directors of the Company to administer this plan.
         3.       "Key Employee": Any person who is serving as an officer of the
                  Company.
         4.       "Participant": An employee or former employee who has
                  deferred fees hereunder and has a credit balance in his
                  deferred compensation account.
         5.       "Termination Date": The date of termination of an employee's
                  service with the Company.
         6.       "Plan": The Deferred Compensation Plan for Key Employees of
                  Sonoco Products Company as contained herein, and as may be
                  amended from time to time hereafter.
         7.       "Plan Year": The period commencing January 1 and ending
                  December 31.
         8.       "Stock EQuivalent Account": The account described in Article
                  V.


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         9.       "Interest Account": The account described in Article V.
         10.      "Compensation": Salary and incentive compensation earned from
                  both the annual and long term plans.


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                                  ARTICLE III

                         ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

1.       Key Employees of the Company are eligible to become participants in
         the plan, subject to approval of the Board of Directors.

2.       An eligible Employee participates in the plan by irrevocably electing
         on an annual basis, in the manner specified herein, to defer future
         compensation at an annual rate for one (I) or four (4) consecutive
         calendar years.

3.       An eligible Employee may elect to defer receipt of an annual minimum
         of $5,000 and an annual maximum of fifty (50) percent of the
         compensation (salary and incentive) earned during the year the
         deferral choice is made.

4.       An eligible Employee becomes a Participant in the Plan upon the
         execution and delivery of a Deferred Compensation Agreement. Such
         Agreement must be executed in all cases on or before December 31 to
         defer compensation to be earned in succeeding calendar years.

         (a)      During the first year of the deferral period, the annual
         amount of compensation to be deferred shall be deferred from salary on
         a monthly basis ratably over the year. For subsequent years where a
         four year deferral is elected the annual amount of compensation to be
         deferred shall be deferred first from any incentive paid during such


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         year, and to the extent such incentive is insufficient to cover the
         annual amount to be deferred, amounts shall be deferred ratably from
         salary payments made during the remainder of the year.

         (b)      The Committee shall be vested with the authority to deny a
         participant the right to defer compensation pursuant to this Plan for
         any Plan Year, provided, however, that any such denial shall apply to
         all participants.


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                                   ARTICLE IV

                        DEFERRED COMPENSATION ELECTIONS

1.       An officer electing to defer payment of compensation may elect
         deferral to be invested in the Interest Account or the Stock
         Equivalent Account.

2.       Subject to such limitations as the Committee may impose, an officer
         electing to defer hereunder shall also elect a Fixed period commencing
         in the January following the ~ Termination Date over which the balance
         in his account shall be paid to him in annual installments and a Fixed
         Period (which may be a different period) over which the balance in his
         Account shall be paid to his Beneficiary or estate in annual
         installments in the event of his death before receiving such balance.

3.       Any Fixed Period Election to defer compensation shall be irrevocable
         and may not be changed or modified thereafter by a Participant.

4.       The fact that an officer has made a particular election with respect
         to a deferral shall not preclude such officer from making different
         elections with respect to new deferrals covering a future period of
         service.


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                                   ARTICLE V

                          CREDITS TO DEFERRAL ACCOUNTS

1.       Deferred compensation shall be credited to the Stock Equivalent
         Account or the Interest Account of a Participant or a combination of
         these accounts, as the Participant may have elected, as follows:

         (a)      The deferred incentive amount shall be credited to the
                  Deferral account on the closing date of the Company's fiscal
                  month in which the incentive was to be paid in cash.

         (b)      The deferred salary shall be credited on the closing date of
                  the Company's fiscal month in which the salary was to be paid
                  in cash.

2.       The compensation credited to a Stock Equivalent Account shall be
         converted on the closing date of each of the Company's fiscal months
         into Stock equivalents as though such compensation were applied to the
         purchase of common stock of the Company as follows:

                  The Participant's Account shall be assigned Stock Equivalents
                  which shall be the number of full and fractional (rounded to
                  the nearest tenth) shares of the Company's common stock that
                  could be purchased with the compensation credited to the
                  Officer's Account, at the closing price of such common stock
                  as quoted by the


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                  National Market System of NASDAQ.

3.       As of the record date for each dividend declared on the Company's
         common stock, each Officer's dividend shall be determined by
         multiplying the cash dividend per share by the number of full and
         fractional Stock Equivalents in the Officer's Stock Equivalent Account
         on the dividend record date. The resulting dividend amount will be
         converted into stock equivalents as though such fees were applied to
         the purchase of common stock of the Company.

4.       The balance in the Interest Account will be credited with interest
         from the date the deferral is credited to the account until payment is
         complete, at a rate equal to the Merrill Lynch ten year high quality
         bond index for December 15 of each preceding year.


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                                   ARTICLE VI

                            ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

1.       This plan shall be administered by the Compensation Committee of the
         Board of Directors.

2.       The construction and interpretation by the Committee of any provision
         of this plan shall be final and conclusive.

3.       The administration of this plan is delegated to the Vice President
         Human Resources who is responsible for executive compensation and
         benefits, or at his election, to the Director of Compensation and
         Benefits.

4.       No member of the Committee shall be personally liable for any actions
         taken by the Committee unless the member's action involves willful
         misconduct.


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                                  ARTICLE VII

                           AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

         The Company reserves the right, at any time or from time to time, by
action of its Board of Directors, to modify, amend or terminate in whole or in
part any or all provisions of the plan, provided, however, that any such
modification, amendment or termination shall not substantially and adversely
affect the benefits then in effect.


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                                  ARTICLE VIII

                                 MISCELLANEOUS

1.       NON-ALIENATION OF BENEFITS. No right or benefit under the Plan shall
         be subject to anticipation, alienation, sale, assignment, pledge,
         encumbrance, or charge, and any attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell,
         assign, pledge, encumber, or charge any right or benefit under this
         Deferral shall be void. No right or benefit hereunder shall in any
         manner be liable for or subject to the debts, contracts, liabilities,
         or torts of the person entitled to such benefits. If the Participant
         or any beneficiary hereunder shall become bankrupt, or attempt to
         anticipate, alienate, sell, assign, pledge, encumber, or charge any
         right hereunder, then such right or benefit shall, in the discretion
         of the Committee, cease and terminate, and in such event, the
         Committee may hold or apply the same or any part thereof for the
         benefit of the Participant or his beneficiary, spouse, children, or
         other dependents, or any of them in such manner and in such amounts
         and proportions as the Committee may deem proper.

2.       NO TRUST CREATED. The obligations of the Company to make payments
         hereunder shall constitute a liability of the Company to a
         Participant. Such payments shall be made from the general funds of the
         Company, and the Company shall not be required to establish or
         maintain any special or separate fund, or purchase or acquire life
         insurance on a


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         Participant's life, or otherwise segregate assets to assure that
         payment shall be made, and neither a Participant, his estate nor
         Beneficiary shall have any interest in any particular asset of the
         Company by reason of its obligations hereunder. The Participant's
         rights to deferred amounts will be the same as an unsecured general
         creditor of the Company, and all property and rights to property,
         including rights as a beneficiary of a life insurance contract
         purchased with deferred amounts, and all income attributable to the
         deferred amounts and property will remain solely the property of the
         Company and will be subject to claims of general creditors of the
         Company. Nothing contained in the Plan shall create or be construed as
         creating a trust of any kind or any other fiduciary relationship
         between the Company and a Participant or any other person.

3.       The effective date of this plan is January 1, 1991.


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                                   ARTICLE IX

                                  CONSTRUCTION

1.       GOVERNING LAW. This Plan shall be construed and governed in accordance
         with the laws of the State of South Carolina.

2.       GENDER. The masculine gender, where appearing in the plan, shall be
         deemed to include the feminine gender, and the singular may include
         the plural, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.

3.       HEADINGS, ETC. The cover page of this plan, the Table of Contents and
         all headings used in this plan are for the convenience of reference
         only and are not part of the substance of this plan.


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