The plastic handle on a disposable razor can’t easily be recycled, and billions of razors end up in landfills each year. But a new design from Kai, a Japanese razor manufacturer, swaps plastic for paper instead. The blade is made fully from metal without plastic parts.
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[Image: courtesy Kai]The handle design, inspired in part by paper milk cartons, uses a thin coating to make the paper waterproof. It ships flat, meaning that the package can also be smaller. The paper is designed to fold together into a shape that makes it sturdy and as easy to hold as a typical razor. (The thin strip of tape over the blade is cleverly designed to be reused to wrap around the folded handle to make it secure.)
[Photo: courtesy Kai]Other manufacturers have experimented with different materials; Preserve, for example, makes a razor handle from recycled ocean plastic. That handle can also be reused with a series of new blades, and it’s possible that more manufacturers will choose to move in the direction of reusability rather than trying to improve disposable razors. On Loop, a platform that sells mainstream products in reusable packaging, Gillette sells a reusable razor handle with razor heads that can be sent back for recycling. A startup called Albatross sells a zero-waste stainless steel razor and also takes back blades for recycling. Leaf, another startup, also makes an all-metal razor and recycles blades.
Kai’s paper razors, on the other hand, aren’t designed to last. A reusable option is likely more sustainable—but recyclable paper is better than the ubiquitous plastic version.
