The origin of the webshop
KarTent at festivals
In the spring of 2015, the idea arose to do something about the enormous mountain of plastic festival tents that were left behind on the site after the event. Inspired by a graduation project for Rijkswaterstaat, a cardboard beach house was transformed into a cardboard festival tent: the KarTent was born! A fully recyclable two-person tent that was set up for the festival-goers and recycled again after the event, in collaboration with Suez.
After a few years the question arose: can we do more? Because such a sturdy cardboard tent, recycling after just one festival... something had to be done with that!
From tent to new product
Instead of recycling the KarTents after one festival, we started looking for ways to make new products from them. But what? The first opportunity came from an unexpected angle: flower pot manufacturer Elho needed cardboard interlayers for transport.
The first upcycle test was a fact! With three jigsaws and ten pallets full of used KarTents we got to work. The result? A lot of diagonally cut, too big and too small plates… But a first step towards circular products! The cardboard was perfectly suitable for reuse, but we had to find a better way to process it.
The solution: a CNC machine
After half a year of searching, we found the right machine: a CNC machine . This meant that we could finally transform used KarTents into new products in a sustainable way. The first circular success was soon visible at festivals: the KarBin, a waste bin made of recycled KarTents that ensured waste separation at events.
And then there was a webshop
In November 2019 we went one step further: a webshop with 100% cardboard products. From lamps and furniture to toys and accessories; nothing is too crazy!
We have now designed and produced more than 300 products, all with a past as a festival tent. And we continue to develop! Every week, our cardboard experts in the office come up with new products. Are you missing something? Let us know via our socials or leave a comment below!
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