Manufacturing is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. Here are some of the things the ancient art of origami can teach us about how to manufacture products more sustainably.

‘Origami' is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of origami is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture using intricate and strategic folds.

But paper isn't the only material that can be used for origami. At STILFOLD, we use origami-inspired folding techniques to build intricate and durable structures out of recycled steel. The main benefit of folding flat sheet metal is sustainability: it enables us to build products using minimal materials and components, reducing our environmental impact.

Manufacturing is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. But there are a number of things origami can teach us about how to manufacture products more sustainably and create less waste. These are some of the most valuable lessons it has taught me.

1. It's important to nail the process

Origami is all about the process. In order to get the perfect end result, you need to have your folding instructions nailed down with millimetre precision.

This is an important lesson to apply when it comes to sustainable manufacturing: every step in your supply chain and manufacturing process must be rigorously tested and assessed for climate impact, so you can ensure everything you do is as sustainable as possible. And where you're not quite hitting the mark on sustainability, it's back to the drawing board to work out how you can make that part of the process cleaner.

It's not always possible to achieve ‘zero-waste' or zero-emissions manufacturing. But a watertight production process and clearly prioritising sustainability will help you reduce waste and build products in a greener way.

2. Paper prototypes are cheap to build but immensely valuable

Paper is the primary material used for origami. And this can teach us a valuable lesson about green manufacturing and prototyping: never underestimate the power of paper.

Building prototypes out of paper is incredibly cheap. But it can be a great way to get a feel for a product's design and work out how you might be able to manufacture it sustainably.

Before we built our first product - a sustainable e-motorbike made out of steel - we built paper prototypes to work out how we could build the chassis using minimal materials by folding steel over curves, inspired by origami. These prototypes helped us map out the curve folding process cheaply and effectively, before we tested it out on a far more expensive sheet of steel. It was an important, and sustainable, way to test our models and our tech, which many manufacturers overlook.

3. Your choice of material is everything

Paper is the perfect material for origami. It's flexible and malleable, yet holds its shape and can become stronger through multiple folds, without the need for glue or additional parts.

Just as paper is perfect for origami, you need to identify the very best material for your product, whilst ensuring it is sustainable to source, use and dispose of. You must also consider what your material is made from and how it is made, as this can help you have a substantially lower impact. For example, at STILFOLD we use recycled austenitic steel which is made from scrap metal; and according to the World Steel Association, every tonne of scrap used for steel production avoids the emission of 1.5 tonnes of CO2. Materials are a critical and powerful choice when it comes to manufacturing products sustainability.

4. Welding isn't the only way to create strength

So much of manufacturing involves welding, stamping and screwing things together. But what origami teaches us is that welding isn't the only way to create strength and join multiple surfaces. Using strategic folds instead of welding can enable you to build strength using fewer materials and components, thus reducing the climate impact of your product.

At STILFOLD, our first e-motorbike requires 70% fewer components than a traditional plastic scooter, as we fold steel over curves to create surfaces and build strength, in place of traditional joining. Because the metal is folded and bent into shape rather than being cut and welded, the resulting structures can be very sturdy and resilientA life cycle analysis also showed that the climate impact of our bike is 50% lower than that of scooters made using traditional methods and materials. The proof is in the pudding.

5. Building from flat sheets creates new possibilities for product distribution

Shipping products around the world is costly and isn't great for the environment. But shipping flat materials, to be folded (or constructed) close to the end consumer, is a great way to reduce a product's carbon footprint. This is an important lesson when it comes to finding new solutions for sustainable product distribution.

At STILFOLD, using flat sheet metal enables us to ship our material around the world to be folded by local manufacturers close to our end consumers. It's also a material that's easy to source, meaning manufacturers can even source sheet metal locally and use it to build our products. What's crucial is that we don't have to ship our products around the world: using origami-inspired flat sheet materials makes it easier to distribute and scale manufacturing across different markets in a sustainable way.

Manufacturing might be one of the most polluting industries on the planet. But what's clear is that solutions to reduce its climate impact are all around us: in nature, in design and in art. Origami is at the centre of our sustainable manufacturing ethos at STILFOLD. Perhaps it could become part of your ethos, too.

By Tue Beijer, CTO and co-founder at STILFOLD