Meet the Sleek Shelving Unit That’s Crafted from Thousands of Recycled Chopsticks

Yes, you read that right. And it’s entirely climate friendly.

This past month, Vancouver-based green start-up ChopValue introduced their modular shelf, The SMĪLE, combining sustainable production with sleek design. €œWe’ve designed SMĪLE to prove that minimalist, sustainable, and beautiful design can be 100 per cent eco-friendly,€ ChopValue CEO and Founder, Felix Brock says. 

 To do so, the makers collect local waste products€”chopsticks from restaurants and steel from construction sites€”and using heat and water-based resin, bond the chopsticks together, transforming landfill-bound utensils into an entirely recycled shelving unit. And it’s one that's climate negative too, as the shelf stores more C02 (14 lbs worth) than it takes to produce it.

An entire shelving set uses just over 4,000 chopsticks (that's about 2,000 sushi dinners, for reference).

Shelfs are available in small, medium, or large, and in three different finishes€”natural, walnut, or almond. But because the construction process involves heat, the sugars in the chopstick's bamboo caramelize, giving each shelf its own unique finish.

 While the focus is on circularity and eco-conscious production, the selfing unit is nonetheless stylish, versatile and perfect to store and display homeware on your wall. A piece that looks good, and feels good to purchase too.