Shredded: furniture made from shredded documents and magazines

In reaction to the enormous amounts of paper waste in offices, designer Jens Praet designed the Shredded series, furniture made of a mix of shredded paper and resin.

Even though we live in a digital age, we still consume incredible amounts of paper. The material can be recycled, but the quality degrades after each cycle.

Praet started his project in 2007. Shocked by the amount of paper waste in offices and shredded documents, he wanted to reuse the material by transforming it into useful objects.

To make the furniture, the shredded paper is mixed with resin and compressed into a mould, resulting in furniture that has the strength of wood and a unique texture.

Praet started by making a small cabinet, but since then has extended his collection with other furniture pieces, including a table, a bench, a console and mirrors. The furniture pieces are all made of shredded paper, documents or magazines. For the white edition of his collection, Praet used white pigmented resin.

Photos: Kent Pell / Kaitey Whitehead / Bas Helders / Maarten Vranken