An entrepreneurial Sydney-based company has put a new spin on designer stationery by sourcing its core materials from construction sites and mining quarries.

 

Start-up firm Karst Stone Paper transforms rubble into paper and refined stationery products using a “future-friendly process” that requires none of the materials required for normal paper manufacture – things such as trees and bleaches.

 

 “It’s possible to make beautiful paper without timber, water and waste and using only a third of the usual carbon footprint,” Karst co-founder Jon Tse told Broadsheet.

 

Tse and his co-founder Kevin Garcia discovered stone paper by accident while on a work trip in Taiwan, where they visited a factory that was using stone paper for food packaging, transportation and labelling.

 

Karst’s paper is made by grinding down rubble waste to extract calcium carbonate, which is crushed into a powder and combined with a non-toxic, recyclable binding agent. That material is then used in its range of journals, planners, sketchbooks and notebooks.

 

The company said its product, currently made in Taiwan, is brighter and smother than traditional paper, as well as being waterproof and tear-resistant.

 

From the flagship notebooks that debuted in 2017, Karst has now expanded its range to include multiple notebook sizes and bindings, along with a planner, a notepad, a sketchpad and woodless pencils.

 

Tse and Garcia launched the company with $30,000 in savings two years ago, and have since attracted more than 70,000 customers in 84 countries to generate more than $1.2 million in revenue.

 

The company’s plans include creating A4 paper, expanded online sales, and a network of 200 bricks-and-mortar stores worldwide. The pair are also keen to talk to potential investors in the company.

 

For more go to karststonepaper.com

 

PHOTO: Karst co-founders Kevin Garcia and Jon Tse.