TEXTILES.ORG
Preserve Brands of Charlestown, Mass., has released Idealitee™, luxury cotton paper packaging crafted from T-shirt-remnant fabric castoffs from the apparel industry in India. The paper is handcrafted by artisans in rural Indian villages, supporting hundreds of jobs. It is sun-dried, saving energy.
The product originated from rising demand for sustainable paper products. “We were the only textile-based packaging solution at the [Luxe Pack Expo],” says Preserve founder Susan Hickey, “affirming that while we are ahead of the curve, our presence was significant, as we felt like true pioneers—with all due credit to India for carrying this torch for thousands of years.”
The company’s paper is made into products such as decorative storage bins, guest books, desk sets, wrapping paper, tags, gift bags and journal covers. It takes about 2 pounds of T-shirt fabric waste to produce 1 pound of paper. Hickey estimates that in 2024, the company will divert 750,000 pounds of cotton waste from being landfilled.
Preserve Brands has been producing and importing handcrafted cotton-scrap-based paper from India since 2001. Its company materials note that it manufactured 2.3 million pounds of tree-free paper between 2014 and 2019.