Stora Enso and Enkei Collaborating for a Bright Sustainable Future

The Swedish startup Enkei needed to find a smart and sustainable packaging solution to protect their handcrafted designer table lamp Reminder (001) – without compromising on sustainability, safety or aesthetics. Packed and protected in a combination of corrugated board and the cushioning material Papira^® by Stora Enso – both materials made by Stora Enso – the Reminder (001) can now safely make its way to customers all over the world.

Sustainable and superior protection
“We have extremely high requirements when it comes to sustainability. At the same time, we strive to make the sustainable alternative attractive, and that is why high-quality design is so important to us. We wanted to find a packaging solution that safely protected the lamp, was aesthetically pleasing, and left a low climate footprint,” says Lovisa Sunnerholm, CEO at Enkei.

Papira^® is a bio-based and biodegradable foam made of wood fibers that are sourced from sustainably managed forests. It is fully recyclable within standard paper and board recycling and has high shock-absorbing qualities, ensuring superior protection for delicate items like the Reminder lamp.

“The 5 kg Reminder lamp, made of, for example, fashion waste and a bottom of sustainable concrete, was an exciting packaging design challenge. This is a perfect example of how Papira can provide sustainable cushioning for fragile and heavy items without adding excessive weight and volume to the packaging, all while eliminating plastic,” says Paula Martirez, Business Development Manager at Stora Enso.

Reminder 001 is Enkei’s debut product and serves as a manifestation of their circular production. Their mission is to address the construction industry's waste and pollution challenges via objects referred to as “Circular aesthetics, everyday reminders.” During the process, the packaging design changed over time, to use planks more efficiently but also to reduce costs and materials. Due to Papira’s strong outer skin, we were able to partially cut and use it as a hinge, allowing us to fold the package in place instead of using glue.

“Every decision behind the lamp is carefully taken and every component of the lamp is there for a reason – always with the ambition to prevent valuable resources from being thrown away whilst creating an end result that is desirable,” says Miriam Bichsel, Creative Director at Enkei.

Teaming up with sustainable initiatives
Stora Enso believes that everything made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Working with sustainable initiatives like Enkei is perfect for Stora Enso as we are working on scaling Papira^® from pilot to industrial production. There is much to learn from other pioneers, and we need this kind of collaboration for our iterative process.

www.storaenso.com