Happy cardboard campers at festivals across Europe
Music festivals draw huge crowds every year. Most people bring nylon tents, and camp on the festival grounds. The downside is that 25 percent of the campers leave their tents behind, creating a tremendous amount of waste. Two Dutch students from the Technical University in Delft had to think outside the box to come up with the perfect solution.
100% recyclable or reusable
A packaging designer at Smurfit Kappa Van Dam, was put in contact with the two students who had founded a start-up named KarTent. They all worked together to come up with a sturdy, practical festival tent completely made of cardboard. Initiated in 2015, the first 8,500 production models were sold in 2016 and the concept gained international recognition, winning the international Red Dot Design Award. After the festivals the tents can either be re-used or recycled, creating a circular loop.
Reduced CO2 emissions
Smurfit Kappa usually make large heavy-duty boxes from corrugated cardboard so this was a unique challenge. Nylon tents contain 30 different materials and leave a sizeable CO2 footprint. KarTent is made from 60% recycled paper, and cuts the CO2 emission in half. Smurfit Kappa’s inline process helped the design overcome complexity and cost disadvantages. Each tent can house two persons who will find that a KarTent screens out more light and noise than a nylon tent, and is pleasantly cool. Use of 40% virgin fibres makes it water-resistant without extra coatings on the 5-sided design. With two special folds we made it extra-sturdy, even when wet.
Festival fans can get creative and decorate tents, tents can be pre-printed with sponsoring, or people can unleash their inner architect and make combination structures. KarTent is the new revolution in festival camping!
Key figures
Made from 60% recycled paper
50% less CO2 emissions compared to nylon tents
40% virgin fibres to make it water resistant