Sustainable Startup of Kavya Maddappa
We all have heard about “Save paper, Save trees, Save the earth”, But this woman really made
it happen. Meet Kavya Maddappa who’s making 100% tree-free paper mainstream which is a huge contribution to the conservation of the earth. Kavya grew up surrounded by the verdant forests of Coorg and wanted to do something to stop afforestation for making paper.
Through research, she discovered startling facts:
● The use of paper has risen by 400% in the last 4 decades.
● Today, at least 3 billion trees are cut a year just to make paper.
● It takes 8-10 years for a plant to become a tree.
Deeply concerned, Kavya began experimenting to make paper, using industrial by-products.
And that’s how BlueCat paper was born.
Kavya’s startup makes tree-free paper by using textile waste from cotton industries, linen, flax, hemp, coffee husk, mulberry bark, banana, fiber, and dung. These raw materials are collected, cooked, and then pulped before being spread into sheets all by hand. These are then turned into a range of products from stationery to decor.
Interestingly, the paper industry is one of the heaviest users of freshwater. It takes around
10-20 liters of water to make one A4 sheet of paper. Additionally, conventional paper is made using around 80 harsh chemicals.
Bluecat paper solves this issue in 2 ways:
1- They avoid the use of any chemicals
2- They have an in-factory plant that recycles water and lets it be reused in production.
In this way, they save around 30,000 liters of water per day.
Today, Kavya sources around 20,000 kg of agro and industrial waste every month. Coffee
husk from estates in Coorg, and elephant dung from the Dubare elephant camp. Her 100%
biodegradable paper is exported to over 30 countries across the world.
She is also the founder of the Amanava Spa Resort in Coorg situated on the banks of the
Kaveri.
In September 2022, Kavya met the trailblazer Kiran Shaw of Biocon Industries to discuss
the path forward with sustainability and tree-free paper.
Staff Reporter
