The Seawhite of Brighton Story

Merging the latest advances in sustainability with the creativity of the art industry, as specialist papermakers, we have created a new cartridge paper made in part from used coffee cups.

The range was created for Seawhite of Brighton using our CupCycling technology™ - the world’s first recycling process dedicated to upcycling single-use coffee cups.
Manufactured using 80 per cent recycled materials, the range will help to reduce some of the 2.5 billion takeaway cups that are estimated to be thrown away in the UK each year. At 140gsm, it has the body and tooth to work well with the widest range of media and techniques, making it particularly suitable for artists and students. Seawhite of Brighton manufacture and supply art and design materials to education and retail outlets around the world, building fame for its array of sketch books and pads noted for their outstanding tensile and tear strength.

The partnership sees James Cropper expand our scope from manufacturing our cartridge paper to include new CupCycling™ Cartridge sketch pad formats
Market sector manager Richard Burnett comments:
"Strengthening our fifteen-year legacy with an organisation so firmly grounded in the creative industries aligns with our own commitment to produce beautiful papers that fuel creativity. To date, we have recycled over 100 million coffee cups at our CupCycling™ facility, however we have the capacity to convert up to 500 million per year into papers and packaging. Partnerships with companies such as Seawhite of Brighton prove that circular design has a firm place and presents a viable option in many industries.”

Nick Tobin, director at Seawhite of Brighton, commented:
“CupCycling™ is an innovative and ambitious attempt to solve a substantial problem. By working with the team at James Cropper, we’ve been able to create a high-performance, versatile art paper by bringing together high-quality cup fibres and our own all-media formulation. The partnership demonstrates how a zero waste process can also present real creative possibilities.”