Two citizens of Pune, India have been putting it to an even bigger use. The printers, Anil Gujar and Sunil Juneja, both of Pune’s leading printing press company, Inkfloat, are using discarded paper to create furniture.

The twenty-five year employees are even distributing their creations under the brand name “Encore.” The products, considered very eco-friendly, include stools, sofa sets, tables, chairs and other pieces of furniture.

By using the raw materials already in use by Inkfloat, such as canvas, vinyl films and banner cloth that are all transported in tubes made from paper, the two have been able to create new life from pieces that would otherwise be simply discarded and wasted.

The extra paper was sold to scrap dealers until the two discovered what they could create from the extra material. The stool, their first product, was so successful that they followed up with several other products.

Nothing is wasted in the process. The two use their current business space as well as current employees to create the paper-based furniture.

They’ve also decided to keep the process as green as can be, not allowing any metal, plastic or any other potentially harmful materials to be used in the construction of their products. Instead, they use environmentally-friendly glue, jute, cotton strings and other natural materials.

They recently featured a piece on Adina Levin, the co-founder of Collab. Collab is short for collaborators, and is a Manhattan based company that plans on re-localizing the economy through helping designers, writers, artists, musicians and other creative people collaborate together to form a more sustainable world.

By enabling these innovative minds with the tools and space that they need to collaborate together, Collab hopes to get them inspired and working together, which will hopefully yield environmentally-friendly products and processes to help create localized economy.

One sustainable practice that Levin advocates–and is knowledgeable in–is making homemade paper. Levin uses a very similar process to the one posted here at Paper Making. She also promotes a messy, hands-on approach, often touching the paper pulp and getting very involved in the process. Her video and instructions are perfect for anyone who isn’t afraid to get messy and produce some truly amazing results.

Would using handmade paper really support a more local economy and a sustainable world in general? In a word, probably. By using 50% less energy and 75% less water–as well as creating up to 90% less wastewater and 70% less air pollution–than paper made from unused fibers, it definitely has less of an environmental impact.

The organization distributes a newsletter, sells Hand Papering magazine, and organizes events all in honor of making paper. They have also created an artist registry, as well as a limited-edition set of handmade paper portfolios.

On Sunday, October 4, the organization will be hosting a luncheon with the Boston Paper Collective near the city. It will feature a mini-seminar on paper with Sid Berger, festivities with Elaine Koretsky and the International Paper Museum, and a chance to support the programs of Hand Papermaking through donations and visibility.

Lee McDonald, a papermaker equipment maker for over thirty years, will be leading the luncheon from his home at 11:30 AM. He will be telling tales of hand papermaking from the “olden days.” He will also discuss his latest beater, as well as the Boston Paper Collective.

Following the luncheon, a visit to Newton Lower Falls will be available. The village has a long history in papermaking.

Then, a mini-seminar will commence featuring Sid Berger and Michele Cloonan, paper collectors with over forty years of experience between them. Berger, the director of the Phillips Library at Peabody Essex Museum, served on a committee of scholars who created a thesaurus of paper terms. The lecture will be focused on recognizing and describing different aspects of paper.

The day will end at the International Paper Museum, located at The Research Institute of Paper History and Technology.

There is only room for twenty participants. To register, contact Hand Papermaking at (301) 220-2393. The cost to attend is a $75 tax-deductible donation to Hand Papermaking.

Carol Funke is known for her amazing handmade paper masks and dolls. She also creates commissioned handmade paper designs.

Award-winning artist Lois E. Jacobs creates her own paper and then uses it to form clay, wrap armature or create extraordinary watercolor paintings.

Elizabeth Kosterich uses handmade paper to create mixed media artwork, including unique and spiritual clay designs.

Laurence Baker is a printmaker and paper artist known for his colorful, unique designs on perforated paper and his enthusiasm for handmade paper itself.

Margaret Sage is the creatress of amazing Les Maisons paper sculptures, which she also paints. “I explore psychological conflict. For me, this is fertile territory, the unresolved issues from my past, things felt but not quite understood,” she says.

Barbara Pankratz uses computer printing and photo etching on paper she’s created by hand.

Jean-Michel Letellier is a modern, minimalist handmade paper artist who believes that the paper itself, not just what it is used for, is a work of art.

Mark Lander, a painter and ceramicist, is also a paper-maker who uses flax to create large-scale paper installations in galleries.

Danish author and artist Anne Vilsbøll is famous for her books and lectures as well as her extensive exhibitions, including the 1996 “Paper Road” event in Copenhagan, where artists all over the world convened to showcase their work.

But today, the Institute is struggling.

73 workers have been laid off, and though the HPI is considering bringing them back on, it will only be able to do so at half the rate it had previously paid them.

Though the HPI has served as an important paper producer for India itself–the draft of the country’s own constitution was printed on paper manufactured there–80% of its products are exported. From watermark papers to drawing varieties, diamond papers to elephant, flower petal and silk papers, and even paper bags and folders, the HPI covers most, if not all, paper products on the market.

According to the assistant manager of the HPI, it also does this in a very eco-friendly fashion. “Instead of wood, we use cotton and currency wastes as raw material, thereby being completely eco-friendly.”

There are disputes as to why the hardship has fallen upon the manufacturer, ranging from management negligence (according to workers) and lack of funds and business (according to management).  Knowing how difficult the economy is today in many countries, either party could be right; but the bottom line is that a place where great art and sustainable creation have taken place since 1940 is now declining.