Once largely ignored, palm oil waste has been successfully transformed into a number of eco-friendly products including paper, as Palm Republik looks to introduce sustainably produced palm paper into the U.S.
“The palm oil industry generates more than 200 million tons of agricultural waste annually and for every ton of oil produced five tons of waste is created – for many years little was done with it, however, after considerable effort, Malaysian researchers proved that the pulp made from this abundant waste can be turned into paper with numerous product applications,” stated Peisy Ting, Founder of Palm Republik. She further added, “It’s time for a new sustainable tree-free paper that uses this low-cost biomass waste as it can help rainforest conservation efforts in palm oil producing countries”.
Making palm paper first starts with the Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) that remain after the palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the Oil Palm Tree, as the EFB contains the right type of fiber as well as the necessary chemical and biological structure to make paper. The EFB is shredded, mixed with recycled water into pulp with no chemical additives, then dried and compressed before being turned into various thicknesses of paper. The result is a bleach-free, naturally looking paper with a subtle texture that is 100% biodegradable and compostable – making it a perfect eco-friendly choice for countless paper products such as note cards, posters, boxes, calendars and bags.
Founder Ting further states, “As a Malaysian, I am very aware of the environmental impact of the palm oil industry, however, I have also been a beneficiary of the industry as my mother’s parents earned their living from a small oil palm plantation when I was young.” She continues with, “As an individual who greatly values the environment, but also appreciates and honors my heritage, I chose to try and make a small but important contribution by utilizing palm paper in my products as it has very real benefits to both the rainforests and society at-large.”
Palm Republik’s initial range of stylish and high quality products includes a line of softcover notebooks in three sizes along with a single-sized hardcover journal. Both the softcovers and hardcover have thread-sewn spines and are available in five colors. Additional products now available include poster prints, note cards, bookmarks, and gift tags – with a number of new products slated to be introduced to U.S. in the coming months.
“Although we are based in Malaysia, we have targeted the U.S. as a primary market opportunity because of the great number of proactive and like-minded consumers who are willing to help the environment through purchasing products like ours, in addition, to further our commitment to the environment, we plan to donate a percentage of our sales to both rainforest sustainability programs and orangutan conservation initiatives”, says Ting.
Palm Republik is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is focused on the design and development of products made from sustainably produced palm paper with a mission to spread palm paper throughout the world. Founder Peisy Ting, is an advertising industry veteran with over 12 years of experience as a Senior Art Director having worked on numerous campaigns for some of the largest brands in the world.
For additional information on Palm Republik, please visit our Kickstarter project page or their website at http://palmrepublik.weebly.com.
Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.
This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.
