Paper from stone, not from trees.
Quarried limestone, ground to a powder, bound with a small share of HDPE and pressed into sheets under heat. No pulp, no process water, no bleach. What comes out is smooth, dense and heavier than you expect paper to be.
four steps
From rock to notebook
Limestone
Quarried. One of the most common rocks on earth, and white by itself.
Stone powder
Ground to calcium carbonate, as fine as flour.
Stone paper
80 percent stone powder, 20 percent HDPE as the binder, pressed under heat into 120 micron sheets.
Notebook
Cut, printed, sewn. B6, 80 pages.
list
What it is and is not
| Water resistant | Rain, spray, wet hands. Wipe it dry and keep writing. |
|---|---|
| Waterproof | No. We have not measured where the limit sits. We will as soon as the proof arrives, and we will publish the result. |
| Tree free | Yes. Quarried limestone as the raw material. |
| Tear resistant | Yes. There is no grain to tear along. |
| Plastic free | No. Twenty percent of the weight is HDPE. That is what holds the sheet together. |
| Compostable | No. Not biodegradable either. |
| Recyclable | Yes, as a material. Not in the paper bin and not in plastics collection either, which in the Netherlands is for packaging. You are welcome to send it back to us. |
with sources
What stone paper saves
trees. The raw material is quarried limestone, ground to a powder.
litres of process water in making the sheet. No waste water comes off it.
HDPE has been recycled at least ten times in tests while keeping its properties. A paper fibre averages four rounds in Europe.
Sources
- Fibre rounds in Europe: Cepi, Circular Economy 2024
- Paper collection in the Netherlands: PRN monitoring 2024 and Verpact
- HDPE recyclable at least ten times: Plastics Today
- Calcium carbonate as a filler in recycled plastic: Pebble Printing Group
- Composition and plastic code 2: Wikipedia, Stone paper
- Production without process water: MOYU life cycle assessment
- Our own calculation: we calculated our own notebook's carbon footprint
Recycling: the material is ready, the chain is not
The paper industry calls Dutch recycling among the best in the world, and it is: 81 percent of non-packaging paper was collected in 2024. What that figure does not tell you is what happens next. Up to a quarter is lost at the mill as sludge, and a fibre averages four recycling loops in Europe before it is too short to use. The twenty-five you sometimes read comes from a laboratory study under ideal conditions. Stone paper does not have that problem. HDPE has been recycled at least ten times in tests while keeping its properties, and calcium carbonate does not degrade at all. In a plastics stream the stone powder is not a contaminant but a familiar filler. So what is missing is not chemistry but volume: there is not enough stone paper in circulation yet to open a stream of its own. That is why we start with ourselves. When your notebook reaches the end of the road, you are welcome to send it back to us. The more comes back, the sooner that chain exists.
What we give back
A fixed share of every sale goes to nature projects. Which ones and how much we publish here once the first print run has sold. Right now that is zero, because nothing has sold yet.
Questions people ask
What is stone paper?
Roughly 80 percent finely ground limestone, bound with 20 percent HDPE and pressed into sheets under heat. No tree, no bleach, no process water.
Can I write on it with an ordinary pen?
Yes. Ballpoint and pencil are the sweet spot, they grab the slightly chalky surface straight away. Gel and fountain ink work too, but need longer to dry because the sheet absorbs nothing.
How water resistant is it really?
Rain, spray and wet hands leave it alone, because there is no fibre to take up water. We have not measured where the limit sits. We will as soon as the proof arrives, and the result goes here. Until then we say water resistant and nothing more.
Is stone paper really more sustainable?
In production the gain is solid: no trees, no process water, no bleach. But there is plastic in it, so it is not biodegradable and not plastic free, and over the full life cycle stone paper draws roughly level with ordinary paper on carbon. We calculated that ourselves and published it. You will see 94 percent carbon reduction quoted elsewhere. That figure comes from the MOYU life cycle assessment and concerns an erasable notebook replacing fifteen disposable ones. That gain sits in reuse, so it does not apply to a permanent notebook like this one.
Is stone paper recyclable?
As a material it is built for it better than paper. HDPE has been recycled at least ten times in tests while keeping its properties, and calcium carbonate does not degrade at all. In a plastics stream the stone powder is not a contaminant but a familiar filler. What is missing is the collection: there is not enough stone paper in circulation yet for a stream of its own. So you are welcome to send your notebook back to us.
What size and what line spacing?
B6, 125 by 176 mm, 80 ruled pages at 7 mm, 120 micron per sheet. Space for your name at the front, and a 15 cm ruler in the cover.
What does shipping cost?
Netherlands 3.95 euro, rest of the EU 5.95 euro. Free over 39.95 euro.