Jaipur entrepreneur turns waste paper into furniture

In Jaipur, designer and entrepreneur Spriha Chokhani is upcycling waste paper into furniture. Through her startup design studio Pulp Factory, founded in 2017, Chokhani produces a range 100% compostable papier-Mache furniture that can support up to 100 kg (220 lbs).

The idea came to her during a school project at Srishti Institute of Art, Design, and Technology a decade ago.  “We were supposed to work with materials and I started noticing that a lot of people were working bamboo or cane. While this helped in developing more products, materials like papier Mache were heavily ignored. Other than a few souvenirs from Bihar and Kashmir, this material was hardly ever explored. This is what got me really curious,” Chokhani tells The Better India.

To make a piece of furniture, Chokhani uses 5-8 kg of waste paper, sourced from local scrap collectors, and natural, odor-free glue. Each item takes up to 25 days to produce. “Initially, when I was making the furniture, I was using strong adhesives made with chemicals,” she says. “That had a negative impact on my health. I began questioning myself about what is the point of making a product if it isn’t maker-friendly. That is when I decided to look out for natural materials that ensure the wellbeing of whoever was making the furniture.”