YONWOO
Interview with Youseob Kim 

Red Dot: What inspired you to design Paper Stick?

The idea for Paper Stick came about due to explosive growth in the cosmetic stick segment. Products such as foundation, perfume, eye shadow, lip balm, sunscreen and many more have been launched on the market in stick form recently. We recognised that an environmentally friendly packaging solution which reduces the use of plastic and allows consumers to use the entire product without any waste was needed to cater to this trend.

It is innovative in terms of both material and function. Can you tell us something about the development process?

Although products with a similar mechanism already exist, the paper is generally torn open with an integrated thread. But this solution wasn’t aesthetic enough for cosmetic products. Also, cosmetic ingredients tend to leach into the paper. We decided to use a mineral paper with special perforations that allow a cleaner and more precise tear-off edge. What is more, the material has an anti-absorption layer and a stabilising cap that is injection-moulded from environmentally friendly polypropylene.

Can you tell us something about the type of paper?

Mineral paper is a wood-free packaging material made from quarry-stone waste that only requires a small quantity of water in the production process. It is cradle-to-cradle certified and moisture-resistant, so it can be conveniently used even with moist hands or in wet room environments. We love working with paper because of the unlimited possibilities and flexibility it offers. Not only is paper easy to process, but it also permits structural experimentation and design flexibility.