Alain & Sandra are the founders of the recycled paper stationery brand
BTDT
Founded in: 2020
Design and office location: Tilal Ain Saade, Lebanon 🇱🇧
Raw material sourcing location: Beirut, Lebanon 🇱🇧
Manufacturing and production location: Antelias, Lebanon 🇱🇧
Meet the founders
Alain and Sandra had been thinking about this project since 2016 but were always too busy to give it the attention it needed to launch it properly. This was because they both worked full-time and had daily responsibilities.
In 2020, when Lebanon experienced the greatest economic collapse in its history, Alain and Sandra lost their jobs. With this newfound free time, they realized the time had come to launch an eco-friendly brand of high-quality paper products, well-designed and affordably priced, featuring locally made Lebanese recycled paper to make use of local resources.
The combination of the founders' skills is ideal for what the brand needs: Sandra is a graphic designer/painter and Alain is an expert in printing and production. Each did their best and together they found a solution and received an amazing response.
They are therefore proud to present BTDT "Been There Done That", where they have combined their love of art with their love of recycled and sustainable paper.
About the brand
BTDT is a stationery brand of recycled paper notebooks and planners. Conscious paper products, all products from this Lebanese brand are made of recycled paper, designed to offer alternatives to Lebanese paper waste and showcase all its beautiful imperfections. They are 100% made in Lebanon.
Eco-friendly impact
The star of our brand and the most used paper is Lebanese recycled paper, an underdeveloped industry that has never been used for everyday items but has the potential. The paper is collected by Terre Liban, a non-profit environmental and eco-citizen association for recycling in Lebanon.
Terre Liban wants to encourage Lebanese society, the public and private sectors, and municipalities to adopt the principles of sustainable development and participate in the protection of natural resources. It also raises awareness among young Lebanese people about the principles of public health and sustainable development, promotes the importance of peace and educates on the preservation of natural resources.
The big pluses
The goal is to show people how beautiful this paper is, and how it can be used again to showcase and collaborate with as many different Lebanese artists as possible, thus showcasing the full range of this beautiful paper and their wonderfully talented artists.
All cover illustrations are created by Lebanese artists, exclusively for the brand. For example, it works with Lebanese watercolor artist Michel Rouhana for the "Terre Liban" notebook, illustrator and comic book artist, The Art of Boo for the "Beirut" notebook and artist Rededges for the "Yoga" notebook.
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Brand values:
When they cannot be recycled, some products are used differently
The brand uses recycled paper as much as possible and ensures that all waste is recycled, down to the last piece of paper.
Paper stationery, no plastic
The FSC-certified paper used in our brand helps with forest and community management.
Manufacturing is done 100% locally in Lebanon
The paper is FSC-certified, meaning it is made from fibers from FSC-certified forests
[ Every paper tells a story ]
