Impact at a glance.

Paper

Waste

Upcycling

Momigami

Oil

Paper

Animal

Free

Less Virgin

Feedstocks

Biobased

Fabric

FSC

Certified

Testing

CO2

Emission

Impact

Partnership

Limits

01. Paper Waste

Waste-to-Treasure

Global Problem

20% of ROYO

ROYO selected paper waste because:

Produced and discarded in large quantities
Rich in usable cellulose fibre
Commonly generated by packaging and logistics
Already available as an existing material resource
Capable of being broken down and reconstructed
However, not every discarded box can be used immediately. Tape, labels, coatings, food residue, moisture and mixed materials can affect whether cardboard is suitable for recovery.

Designed for a short first life, fibre inside still holds value.

The world generated approximately 2.56 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2022. Without stronger action, the World Bank projects this could reach 3.86 billion tonnes by 2050, an increase of about 50%. Around one-third of global waste is currently uncollected or openly dumped.

In the World Bank’s earlier global waste-composition dataset, paper and cardboard represented approximately 17% of municipal solid waste. Applied to the 2.01 billion tonnes of waste recorded in that dataset, this was equivalent to roughly 342 million tonnes of paper and cardboard waste a year. This is an older global benchmark based on 2016 data and should be labelled accordingly rather than presented as a current estimate.

At the same time, the world continues to produce paper at enormous scale. FAO reported that global paper and paperboard production reached 401 million tonnes in 2023. Production is not the same as waste generated in that year, but it shows the volume of paper-based material continuously moving through the global economy.

ROYO’s response

ROYO takes selected cardboard waste, breaks it down into pulp and reconstructs the recovered fibres as part of a new surface material.

The currently published ROYO composition contains:30% cardboard waste pulp

The remaining composition includes waste cotton pulp, wood pulp, water-based resin and surface-finishing components needed to create strength, flexibility and protection.

The impact is not simply that ROYO contains waste. It is that a material originally designed for packaging is given a new function in furniture, fashion, interiors and branded products.

02. Upcycling

Recycling vs Upcycling

Material Yield

Not returned to the same place. Given a new function.

Recycling usually turns a waste material back into a raw material for another production cycle. The new output may have a similar, lower or different purpose.

Upcycling goes a step further in design intent: the waste is reconstructed into something that has a new function, longer expected use or higher perceived value.

ROYO does not simply turn cardboard into another box. It restructures recovered paper fibre into a surface that can be used for furniture, fashion accessories, interiors and branded objects.

This matters because the global economy remains far from circular. UNEP reports that only about 8.6% of the global economy is circular, while global municipal waste is projected to grow from 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.

1 tonne of paper waste ->
1,600 m² of ROYO

Upcycling is not only about keeping waste away from disposal. It is about giving that waste a new function and greater material value.

UNEP defines upcycling as recycling that produces a material of higher quality than the original. In ROYO’s case, cardboard made for short-term packaging is reconstructed into a surface base layer for products, furniture and interiors.

ROYO’s current production estimate shows that:

1 tonne of cardboard waste

can contribute to approximately

1,600 m² of ROYO base layer

Instead of returning discarded cardboard to another short-life packaging cycle, ROYO breaks down its fibres and rebuilds them into a larger, continuous surface.

03. Momigami

Root

Material Yield

Learning from how paper was made flexible

Momigami means “kneaded paper.” In the traditional process, strong Japanese paper is repeatedly worked by hand so it becomes softer, more flexible and more fabric-like.

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston describes Momigami as paper strengthened by kneading konnyaku starch into kōzo fibres, improving stiffness and water resistance before the sheet is further manipulated.

Momigami sits within a much wider body of Japanese paper knowledge. UNESCO inscribed the craftsmanship of traditional Japanese handmade washi on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. Traditional washi is made using fibres from paper mulberry plants and depends on knowledge passed through communities and generations.