Sustainability – The key trend to watch out for in 2020

Is 2020 the year we finally go green?

We have been working in the stationery industry for 25 years now, and for much of that time we have been expecting a green revolution to happen. And it hasn’t…yet. However all the signs seem to point to 2020 being the tipping point. So is this the case, and what will it mean for the branded stationery market?

The stationery market is based around paper so you would be forgiven for thinking that this was an industry that could embrace sustainability. Take something as simple as a notebook – the classic notebook we all know from brands like Moleskine and Castelli all have one thing in common. Get past the paper pages and the stiff card covers, you are left with the cover material. Sadly this is a PU (polyurethane, essentially plastic) material that gives it the almost leather-like finish. This makes them impossible to recycle – even if you could recycle the PU element, in practice it means the best you can do is separate the cover from the pages and throw the cover away.

We have seen various attempts at introducing a more green alternative to traditional stationery products, but rarely if ever have they been embraced with sales. It’s like the world really didn’t care, until now. The world is changing at an amazing pace on this issue and it is hard to imagine 5 years let alone 10 years ago that we would be at this point now, where manufacturers are scrambling to add ranges to their books that meet this new demand. Better to be ready than caught cold.

The Castelli Appeel, made from recycled apple waste

We first saw the Castelli Appeel range at a trade show exactly five years ago, and we were blown away by the idea and the potential that it had. We waited, and waited, and nothing happened. It was as though the market didn’t want to know. That all changed last year, and suddenly we saw the potential need for a branded notebook that could meet the demand for sustainability that was coming. The Castelli Appeel book was ready made for this as it had been there for several years. With a bit of a push this was brought to the market and we were able to promote it. We have had a positive response to this although we are yet to see a big switch.

It is only fair to say that the Appeel range has a great story behind it (the books are made from the by-product of waste pulp in the apple industry, and they are coloured and lightly themed around the idea of apples). However they still use PU in the covers as the apple and other recycled content is only part of the mix. It is a big step in the right direction though.

The completely recyclable Castelli Nature

Fast forward a few months to 2020 and we have not one but two new products that do go the full distance on the sustainability scale. In one corner we have the new Castelli Nature range which does away with any PU content, making this a fully recyclable notebook. Once finished with it you just recycle it along with other paper and card items. It is a shame it is not made from recycled material, but the paper and card used is responsibly sourced so this has a minimal footprint.

The Karst notebook, made entirely from recycle stone

In the other corner is a real heavyweight contender. In so many ways! The Karst notebook is made from stone. Sounds crazy but it works, and with some amazing benefits. By using waste stone which is then ground and made into paper (no water is used in the process, quite incredibly), the Karst book wins all awards for being made out of recycled material. As it is just stone it can then also be recycled. A branded notebook that completes the virtuous circle of sustainability. And what of those extra benefits? Well, being stone rather than traditional paper means the paper is luxuriously smooth, beautiful to touch and it is waterproof. Completely – as long as your pen can cope with the weather then you can work anywhere. Spilt your coffee on your book? We’ve all done it, but with the Karst it just runs off.

So with three quite distinct and unique offerings in the range we feel confident that at least some manufacturers have seen the way the wind is blowing and brought a product to the market before the demand hits. The question is now whether the market will demand a more sustainable product. 2020 feels like the year we will look back and say that is when it all changed.

If you would like to find out more about sustainable notebooks and stationery then please do get in touch with us.

Don’t forget that you can browse our sustainable stationery & gift range here