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Sustainable grip
- Carton Converter: Schut Hoes Cartons bv
- Brand Owner: Deltaclip International B.V.
- Structural Designer: Deltaclip International B.V.
- Graphic Designer: Deltaclip International B.V.
- Cartonboard Manufacturer: Stora Enso
- European Carton Excellence Awards 2013
The challenge was to create a sustainable alternative to one of the world’s best-known and most-used products: the paper clip invented in 1867. A sustainable alternative to a classic – equivalent in function and at the same low cost. The result was the Deltaclip by Schut Hoes Cartons and Deltaclip International: it meets all these criteria. The extremely small product is manufactured in large quantities and folded asymmetrically: a challenge for production and a brilliant solution by Schut Hoes Cartons.
Most paper clips are made of metal and hold sheets of paper together by using force. The Deltaclip employs a different principle: a folding technique is used instead of force, giving strong and reliable grip. The FSC-certified cartonboard used is not only considerably more sustainable than metal, there are also no limits to graphic design and printing with logos, photos or illustrations. And of course, individual labelling is possible – as alternative to the well-known “Post-it”.
Jury Comments
The Judges had never seen this type of construction before and whilst initially it looked small, it worked really well. Made entirely of cartonboard it holds up to 15 sheets of paper securely together with one simple fold and being made of cartonboard, can also be written on to provide the user the opportunity to make notes on the contents. It can replace the more conventional metal paper clip and so when papers using this are discarded, there is no metal to remove prior to recovery and recycling. The judges felt that this was an excellent example of creative thinking and design that worked perfectly whilst looking deceptively simple.