[Climate Tech Battle⑨] PaperPop Making Furniture from Paper: "Creating a Carbon-Zero Daily Life with Paper Beds"

Interview with Park Daehee, CEO of Paperpop
95% of Paperpop Furniture is Recyclable

At the Paperpop factory in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do, paper furniture is used. The office desks, laptop stands on the desks, partitions between desks, as well as tables and sofas in the break area are all made of paper. The reason for using paper furniture is not only because these products are manufactured at this factory. Paper furniture is lightweight and easy to move, yet sturdy enough to be used in the factory. Above all, using paper furniture in daily life symbolizes sharing the goals of the employees and Paperpop.

On the 12th, Park Daehee, CEO of Paperpop, said, "More than 95% of Paperpop's paper furniture is recyclable," adding, "Most furniture is either buried or incinerated when discarded, but our company aims to create a carbon-zero daily life by promoting paper furniture with a high recycling rate."

Attempts to make furniture out of paper have been made in the past, but they began to receive serious attention when corrugated cardboard beds were introduced in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village. Paper beds will also be placed in the Paris Olympic Village this year. The 'eco-friendliness' of paper furniture fits well with the Olympics. The challenge is how cheaply and sturdily it can be made. During the Tokyo Olympics, paper beds were criticized for being easily crushed and expensive, highlighting the problems that paper furniture needs to solve.

Park Daehee, CEO of Paperpop, is introducing a bed frame made of paper.

The foundation for Paperpop to solve these problems and establish a growth platform lies in production technology. CEO Park explained, "Paper used as furniture material is expensive, so it is not easy to meet price targets," adding, "We lowered costs by enabling mass production through semi-automation with collaborative robot development and self-made connecting components."

Paperpop's furniture varies by type, but even the most expensive bed frame costs less than 100,000 KRW. At such an affordable price, one might assume that paper furniture is not sturdy, but CEO Park firmly shook his head. He said, "We use furniture-grade paper that is different from ordinary paper by mixing it ourselves," and added, "Bookshelves can withstand loads of 100 kg, and beds can support 300 kg."

CEO Park explained the reason for making affordable and sturdy paper furniture as the "best alternative." The best option is to use any furniture for a long time. However, the increase in single-person households who move frequently has led to an overflow of easily discarded furniture. Park said, "It is best to use furniture for a long time, but if that is difficult, paper, which is easy to recycle, can be an alternative." His startup in 2018, after working at a box manufacturing company, was in the same context. The company mainly supplied to food companies, but there was too much paper used once and discarded, and the concern about recycling this led to paper furniture.

Paperpop's Paper Desk and Laptop Stand

The effect of the "alternative" proposed by CEO Park is becoming concrete. Since its founding, Paperpop has sold more than 300,000 pieces of paper furniture and achieved a waste resource reduction effect of 1,500 tons as of 2022. Sales have also increased, and it is expected to grow from about 2 billion KRW last year to 4 billion KRW next year. CEO Park said, "As interest in the environment has increased, the perception of paper furniture has improved," adding, "There have been many inquiries from companies since COVID-19."

Paperpop's vision is to create a virtuous cycle structure in the industry and further expand that structure to the global market. CEO Park said, "By using more than 50% recycled paper as raw material, we have extended the circulation of paper to furniture," and added, "We will enter overseas markets starting with Japan."