‘Flip your idea of waste’: How Linde Luyten (Redopapers) is redoing paper

“It started as an experiment. Tille (my co-founder) and I were both graphic designers, freshly out of school, always searching for the right paper for our projects. It was surprisingly hard to find high-quality paper in small quantities. All we could get were large volumes, most of it far too expensive.

Then one day, we discovered these amazing sheets of paper at a local copy shop and printer - beautiful pieces, some printed only on one side as a test and then discarded. These shops had massive 'jacuzzi-sized' bins filled with paper being thrown away, sometimes up to three bins a day. We saw beauty in these sheets and thought, “Why not rescue them?'”

So we began collecting the discarded paper and turned them into things like booklets for to-do lists and week planners. It was all about saving something beautiful and transforming it into something functional.

We started selling our products in a pop-up shop in Antwerp, just for fun. We had no big plans to make a business out of our little passion project. But when the temporary shop closed people kept ordering our stationery. So we decided to keep going and before we knew it Redopapers was born.”

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“Our goal was clear: create paper products that were not just beautiful, but circular and timeless. We work exclusively with waste materials. For us, it’s all about finding the beauty in discarded resources. We’ve built strong partnerships with suppliers in Belgium - businesses that produce high quality paper waste. It's taken time, but it’s been so worth it. They not only love what we make but since we buy their waste paper, it’s actually a good deal for them too.

The paper used in our planners usually comes from several different places. We gather it, mix it, and then send it to the printers. The beauty is in the details, like our signature blue glue. Our planners aren’t just functional, they’re designed to be aesthetically pleasing and useful at the same time. Even the most mundane item, like a weekly planner, can be a small piece of art if it’s made with care.”

“It started out as a love for beautiful paper that was otherwise thrown out, but soon it became much more than that. We’ve evolved into impact-driven entrepreneurs. Once you understand the amount of waste in the world, you can’t ignore it anymore. We’re creatives, we see things differently. We want to prove that sustainability can also be beautiful, functional, and profitable. It’s incredibly rewarding to work for something you believe in, and it’s a story we love to tell because it’s real.

Sustainability and circularity now guide everything we do. It’s not just about the materials; it’s about our entire business model. We push ourselves to integrate circularity throughout our operations - from using second-hand machines and furniture to minimizing waste in every step. We even make packaging out of reclaimed materials. It just makes sense. And the impact is huge.”

“Logistically, one of the biggest hurdles is that we’re working with waste, which means each item is unique. That’s wonderful for creativity, but when you’re running a webshop, predictability is key. We can’t photograph every single piece of paper, and sometimes people prefer a specific cut or design.

It’s also a challenge to balance the financial side of things. We buy all the waste paper, which means we’re responsible for it every step of the way. If something goes wrong, like a truck that’s failing, it’s on us. And sometimes that means we have to pay up big time. But that’s part of the commitment. We’re fully responsible for the waste we collect and upcycle, and we make sure everything is handled efficiently.”

“We want to expand our stationery line, but we’re also diving into something even more exciting: helping other businesses upcycle their own waste. There’s so much untapped potential.

Right now, we’re kicking off a research project supported by Vlaanderen Circulair where we’ll be helping businesses to turn their waste into new materials. We want to move beyond just paper planners and look into packaging, too. We’re trying to find circular alternatives to packaging materials that are bought in bulk by companies.

We’re also looking at ways to make our process scalable. We’ve worked with local companies, like sheltered workshops where people who are limited in work help out with sewing our sleeves that are made from leftover PVC-banners. That way we help create jobs and expand the circular economy. It's amazing to see the social impact coming from what we do.”

“Success for us is measured in both small and big milestones. Even receiving a single enthusiastic review from a customer, with a photo of how happy they are with our products, feels like a success. It’s those moments that make it all worthwhile. On a larger scale, our mission will be truly successful when we can recycle more waste, particularly paper waste. Just imagine if we could capture even a small percentage of that!

But for us, the real success will come when businesses and individuals start seeing the value in waste. We want to shift the mindset around trash and circularity. When waste is no longer viewed as something to discard, but as something that can be transformed into something beautiful and functional, that’s when we’ll know we’ve made significant progress.

Looking ahead, we’re focused on growing our social and environmental impact. We aim to work with even more companies to upcycle their waste. And we’re excited to innovate further. We see enormous potential in turning waste into essential products, like packaging, where the need for circular solutions is greater than ever. It’s a big dream, but we’re ready for the challenge.

At Redopapers, our mission is to prove that waste isn’t something to throw away, but an opportunity to create something new. And that’s a message worth sharing.”

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