KarTent and Smurfit Kappa help reduce festival waste with cardboard tents
KarTent and Smurfit Kappa have won a prestigious global product design award for an eco-friendly tent the pair has designed.
The internationally-renowned Red Dot Awards honoured the two companies’ innovative design for a ground-breaking cardboard tent. Entries from over 40 countries were considered, but KarTent's design won out, sitting alongside former winners like Apple, Dyson, Rolls-Royce, and Samsonite.
Two young Dutch entrepreneurs created the tent as a solution to the fact that hundreds of festival-goers abandon their tents in fields every year, which creates an enormous amount of unrecyclable waste. Paper-based packaging leader Smurfit Kappa stepped in to help the duo turn their design into a tangible product, with a fully cardboard tent which is as convenient as it is eco-friendly.
What about rain?, you may ask. Well, the tent can absorb up to 400 percent of its own weight in water due to the structure of the cardboard, retaining its integrity even in the wettest conditions. It is also more energy-efficient in production, emitting only half the amount of carbon dioxide of a traditional tend, and is completely recyclable after use.
Jan Portheine, co-founder of KarTent, said: “Being passionate about both music and the environment, I wanted to find a way to make the festival experience more eco-friendly. Working with Smurfit Kappa made it possible to achieve an impossible mission - being able to produce such a unique product. We could never have unlocked the full potential of KarTent without Smurfit Kappa’s input and we’re very proud to see our creation recognised by Red Dot.”
Arco Berkenbosch, Vice President of Innovation and Development, Smurfit Kappa said: “Red Dot recognises the very best in design so we are honoured that this collaboration has won one of their prestigious product awards. It’s a welcome addition to the six Red Dot Communications Design Awards we’re proud to have already won. Finding solutions to complex challenges is an opportunity we relish at Smurfit Kappa and the KarTent is a prime example of how innovation and sustainability can work together to create something truly exceptional. The team in our Van Dam Plant really enjoys working with KarTent on this product.”
This is the seventh time Smurfit Kappa has been recognised by Red Dot, having won six Communications Design Awards in the last two years. This year’s winner, the KarTent, will be on display at the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany, amongst a host of other cutting-edge designs.
