Photo: Uusi puu. Representing the winners of the public vote at the award ceremony: Kai Lankinen (TAMK), Reetta Södervik (Paptic Oy), Heidi Päiväniemi (Meira Oy), and Pasi Ainasoja (Natural Indigo Finland).
The awarded solution is a collaboration between Natural Indigo Finland and TAMK. The side stream coffee waste was supplied by Meira Oy, and the printing was carried out with Cabassi Oy on Paptic® material. The result was a fiber-based, renewable, and visually appealing bag, which is a concrete example of circular economy and replacing fossil-based colorants with natural bio-alternatives.
This year, the Uusi Puu public vote competition attracted a record-breaking 1,800 votes, of which the coffee waste ink-printed bag received 15%. The solution was praised for its ingenuity and genuine sustainability perspective.
Combining coffee waste and wood fiber is brilliant. Coffee waste was the most surprising and completely new material for me. As a heavy coffee drinker, thumbs up for this!
– This is a true circular economy solution, as we have utilized an industrial side stream and refined it into a high-value bio-based colorant for the printing industry, says Pasi Ainasoja, CEO of Natural Indigo Finland.
– Collaboration between industry, universities, and startups creates tangible sustainable innovations, adds Dr. Kai Lankinen, Senior Lecturer in Bioproduct Technology at TAMK.
The water-based printing ink made from coffee waste has also attracted international attention: the innovation has been selected as a finalist in both the Flexo Tech Innovation Awards 2025 and the Packaging Europe Sustainability Awards 2025 competitions in Europe.
– Such a circular economy innovation is particularly actual now, as printing inks are still largely based on fossil and synthetic pigments. Coffee side stream ink offers a renewable and biodegradable alternative that can be combined with other sustainable materials, such as wood-based Paptic®. This creates a fully bio-based and circular packaging solution, says Kai Lankinen.
About Uusi Puu -project
New Wood (Uusi Puu) showcases existing wood-based solutions, their societal impact, and the future outlook of the industry. The initiative communicates the message of wood-based bioeconomy to societal influencers and policymakers. Uusi Puu is a project by the Finnish Forest Association. The main funder is the Finnish Forest Foundation, which supports activities that strengthen the vitality of the forest sector. This year’s New Wood competition attracted a record 19 wood-based products and solutions, six more innovations than in the previous round.
More information
Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK)
Dr. Kai Lankinen, Senior Lecturer, kai.lankinen@tuni.fi, +358 50 427 7616
Natural Indigo Finland
Pasi Ainasoja, CEO, info@naturalindigo.fi, +358 40 028 2370
Meira Oy
Heidi Päiväniemi, Director of Sustainability, Development and Communications,
heidi.paivaniemi@meira.fi, +358 40 743 7850
