No wood. No water. A substrate made from stone.
Flexstone Eco-Material replaces wood pulp with calcium carbonate mineral powder. Its production uses no trees and no process water and emits no wastewater. This page collects every sustainability figure Newlife publishes for Flexstone, with its source.
Zero water, zero waste
No water is consumed in the production process — only circulating water is used for cooling. No wastewater, exhaust or residue is emitted.
Zero trees, zero deforestation
No trees are harvested or consumed in the production process. No forests are disturbed.
Fossil energy reduction
Compared with PP synthetic paper manufacturing processes.
Waterproof rating
72-hour immersion test with zero delamination — printed pieces last without lamination.
Mostly mineral, not mostly plastic
One ton of Flexstone Eco-Material contains 600–800 kg of calcium carbonate (60–80%) and 200–400 kg of resin (20–40%). One ton of BOPP pearlised synthetic paper contains 800–850 kg of polypropylene resin. One ton of art paper contains 600–800 kg of wood pulp and takes 20–35 tons of water and about 20 adult trees to make.
Replacing art paper with Flexstone saves 20–35 tons of water and 20 trees per ton. Replacing BOPP paper reduces plastic by 500–650 kg and CO₂ by 2.4–3.5 tons per ton.
Source: Flexstone Eco-Material flyer. Bar widths use the mid-point of each range and are illustrative.
What one ton takes to make
Process water
tons per ton produced
Trees
adult trees per ton produced
Resin / plastic content
kg per ton produced
| Per ton produced | Flexstone Eco-Material | Art paper | BOPP pearlised paper (synthetic paper) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main raw material | Calcium carbonate 600–800 kg (60–80%) | Wood pulp 600–800 kg (60–80%) | Polypropylene resin 800–850 kg (80–85%) |
| Other components | Resin 200–400 kg (20–40%) | Filler (CaCO₃ / talc) 120–200 kg; binder (latex) 50–100 kg | Pearlescent masterbatch (contains CaCO₃) 150–200 kg |
| Water | 0 t | 20–35 t | — |
| Waste water | 0 t | 20–35 t | — |
| Trees | 0 adult trees | 20 adult trees | 0 |
| Carbon / fossil profile | 65% fossil energy reduction vs. PP synthetic paper manufacturing | — | Fossil-fuel derived plastic; 3.5–4 t CO₂ footprint |
Source: Flexstone Eco-Material flyer, “A Sustainability Deep Dive”. Versus art paper: saves 20–35 t water and 20 trees per ton. Versus BOPP paper: reduces 500–650 kg plastic and 2.4–3.5 t CO₂ per ton.
Stone paper production in numbers
Figures published in the Flexstone Wallcovering Substrate Solutions brochure, comparing stone paper with wood pulp paper.
- ~67%
- lower CO₂ emissions
- ~97%
- less water consumption
- ~15%
- of the energy required for conventional paper manufacturing
- 18 · 35,000 L
- trees and litres of water saved per ton of wood pulp paper replaced
From limestone to print and back
- 1Raw materialsNew calcium carbonate and resin, plus recycled Flexstone
- 2ManufacturingKneaded and formed with no process water
- 3Finished productsLabels, tags, maps, wallcovering, posters, bags
- 4Waste sortingPost-consumer material is collected and sorted
- 5ReprocessingMilled and re-manufactured, or sent to waste-to-energy
Reprocessing: milling to recycle
Flexstone eco-material does not contain chlorine or plasticizer and will not generate corrosive hydrogen chloride during recycling and milling. When blended for recycling it can be mixed with a variety of recycled plastic granules and re-manufactured into pipes and other plastic products.
Waste to energy
When burned to generate steam or electricity, Flexstone eco-material only generates carbon dioxide, water and calcium powder — no harmful gases or chemicals are produced.
The same idea for molded plastics
Flexstone Pellet has inorganic content above 60%. It reduces petroleum-derived plastic usage by approximately 28% and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10%. After incineration the residue is limestone powder. Products can be mechanically recycled as a single material, and production scrap and trim can be re-pelletized.
Flexstone Pellet →How to read these figures
- All figures are Newlife's published product data from the Flexstone flyer, the wallcovering brochure and the Pellet brief. They are not third-party life-cycle assessments.
- Flexstone still contains 20–40% resin. It reduces, but does not eliminate, the use of plastic.
- Wallcovering grades are stated as compliant with RoHS, REACH and other international standards. Ask us for the documents relevant to your market.
Reviewed 2026-10-12
Need sustainability data for a brand owner or tender?
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