In the realm of sustainable construction, innovation often means challenging long-standing norms. Wood Tube, a company based in Säffle, Sweden, is doing precisely that with their recycled paper studs. As a replacement for traditional metal studs, their solution offers a lighter, greener alternative that transforms how we think about interior wall construction.
We enjoyed testing these studs during a participatory workshop at Materatek. Everyone was impressed by their ease of use. Those who tried them left convinced that Wood Tube’s recycled paper studs aren’t just a concept—they’re a game-changer.
Why Rethink Metal Studs?
Metal studs, while commonly used, come with significant environmental drawbacks:
Energy-Intensive Production: Manufacturing metal studs consumes large amounts of energy, contributing to substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
Raw Material Extraction: Mining and processing metals for construction have a heavy environmental footprint, including habitat destruction and resource depletion.
In response to these challenges, Wood Tube introduces a sustainable alternative that replaces metal studs and leverages recycled paper to close the loop on material use.
The Wood Tube Process: From Forest to Wall
Wood Tube’s process begins in the forest, utilising wooden fibres from renewable sources. These fibres are transformed into paper pulp, often sourced from waste streams like sawmill wood chips. The pulp becomes paper, later recycled and turned into Wood Tube’s climate-smart studs.
Critical steps in their process:
Circular Inputs: Paper packaging from recycling streams is used as raw material for Wood Tube’s products.
Glue Selection: The adhesive used in their studs is carefully chosen and contains only naturally occurring ingredients to ensure safety and sustainability.
Recycling at End of Life: Wood Tube studs are 100% recyclable, allowing them to re-enter the production cycle and contribute to a circular construction economy.
Environmental Benefits: A Life-Cycle That Captures Carbon
Wood Tube’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) reveals impressive metrics:
Negative Carbon Footprint: Each meter of wood tube studs over its life cycle captures 0.9 kg of CO₂ equivalent.
Resource Efficiency: The process leverages waste streams from forestry and paper recycling, reducing the need for virgin materials.
Wood Tube studs can be recycled into new studs at the end of their lifecycle, eliminating waste and ensuring no materials are lost.
Synergy with Recoma: The Greenwall System
One of Tobias and his team’s most exciting developments has been its partnership with Recoma, another innovator in sustainable construction. Together, they’ve created the GreenWall system, a lightweight but durable partition wall that meets the highest acoustic performance and fire resistance standards.
The Greenwall system is particularly well-suited for projects like office-to-residential conversions, where lightweight, high-performance solutions are essential. This collaboration exemplifies the power of a construction ecosystem, where sustainable products work together to meet evolving demands.
The Future of Interior Construction
The Wood Tube stud represents more than just a technical innovation—it’s a shift in mindset. By rethinking something as fundamental as a wall stud, Wood Tube invites us to question the sustainability of every material choice in construction.
Advantages of Wood Tube Studs:
Lightweight: Easier handling and transporting than metal, reducing labour and logistics costs.
Carbon Storage: Acts as a carbon sink, capturing CO₂ throughout its lifecycle.
Circularity: Fully recyclable, creating no waste at the end of its life.
Collaboration-Ready: Synergies with partners like Recoma make it a holistic solution for sustainable interiors.
Tested and Approved at Materatek
At Materatek, we tested the Wood Tube studs in a hands-on workshop. The feedback was unanimous: participants appreciated their ease of use and unexpected strength. For many, the experience solidified the belief that Wood Tube’s product is ready to disrupt the norm in interior construction.
A Trend to Watch in 2025
With urbanisation and sustainability converging, the demand for lightweight, eco-friendly building solutions is only set to grow. GreenWall, born from Wood Tube and Recoma’s collaboration, is poised to become a go-to choice for adaptive reuse projects and sustainable renovations.
These innovations could define the next wave of building standards for cities prioritising low-impact construction. In 2025, we predict that systems like these will be central to the push for circular and carbon-neutral buildings.
Building the Future Sustainably
Wood Tube’s recycled paper studs show us what’s possible when we combine innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. By transforming waste into valuable resources, they reduce the environmental footprint of construction and challenge long-held assumptions about what building materials can be.
If you’re planning your next project, consider the impact of every element—even something as basic as a stud. With solutions like Wood Tube, we can build walls that are lighter on the planet while still meeting the demands of modern construction.