We are living in a world surrounded by tons of paper and cardboard packagings that were once used to house purchases. All these forms of packagings are being simply discarded after serving their main function, generating excessive waste which could have been recycled and repurposed.
I never did realise the severity of this problem till I spent a semester abroad in New York and found myself playing the contributing role of active culprits. We exploited the use of online shopping for winter apparels, books, and other merchandises and ended up with a pile of cardboard packagings. Confronted with the issue concerning our environment, we saw a challenge and an opportunity to have fun: Why not find a way to deal with these materials and create a sustainable product that has the potential to serve its usefulness all over the world?
Hence Pāp was born, a brand of backpacks inspired in the American brown-bagging of everyday life.
Click to wacth the video | Introducing København et al.
Our philosophy: Pāp Ecosystem
“Pap” means “cardboard” in Danish, and “pā” is “folds” in Hawaiian. Ideated in New York (USA) and founded in Copenhagen (Denmark), Pāp embodies the vision of being creative and responsible.
It came about as an international experience, discussing with diverse people, thinking together and enjoying what we do. We aim to raise people’s awareness on how we behave with our surroundings and attempt to spark off an initiative to make small changes in our decisions that will eventually have a global impact.
Like the Japanese origami, the art of folding paper, Pāp believes that simple solutions and having passion for what we do enable us to create good stuff. Life is about people, how we feel with ourselves, our relationships and the space we live in. If we can get a compromise between all parts and a feeling of satisfaction, that’s limitless. We consider that placing people in the center is a great driver to co-design easier and more pleasant products for all, and hopefully, make others feel special and part of something else.
That is why, the backpack is just the seed of the ecosystem in which new products and collaborations are eager to grow up.