ICMA, an Italian benchmark in paper finishing for high-end packaging for over 90 years, will take part in the 2025 edition of Packaging Première in Milan, from 13 to the 15 of May.
For the first time in Italy, the company will present its new collection WABI-SABI. Inspired by Japanese philosophy, this project embodies research into a responsible aesthetic combining two concepts: WABI, which celebrates beauty and serenity through simplicity and calmness, and SABI, the unique charm of objects that bear the marks of time.
WABI-SABI represents a significant evolution in the recycled paper landscape, joining the already well-established KIND collection.
With a corporate DNA code based on research and sustainable development, ICMA is now a global beacon in the paper finishing sector, thanks to its ability to combine textures with state-of-the-art solutions, in keeping with its decision to progressively replace pure cellulose bases with 100% recycled paper, certified with the FSC Recycled Credit.
During the Milanese event, the spotlight will be on the WABI-SABI collection, which has also been selected by the panel of judges of the Avant-Garde Award in the sustainability category as an innovative project that ‘redefines the beauty of recycled paper’ and will be given a space in the Avant-Garde area of Packaging Première & PCD Milan 2025.
The WABI-SABI vision materializes in a finishing process that glorifies the paper’s natural beauty. The result is subtly unique surfaces, where essential simplicity merges with sophisticated contrasts and textures inspired by natural fabrics— such as the unprecedented “rice” embossing pattern. With this approach, even the slight irregularities typical of recycled paper become signature features, while the manufacturing cycle overall keeps the environmental impact as low as possible.
This collection arose within the ICMA 2030 Lab, an innovation laboratory aimed at implementing good practices in terms of corporate, product, and process sustainability. All WABI-SABI papers are recycled and recyclable, thanks to minimal finishing carried out with ICMA’s traditional embossed printing technique, which colors and embosses in a single step, using a reduced amount of pigment.
In 2024, the Avant-Garde Award at Packaging Première Milan was given to the Rinascimento project, ICMA’s circular economy service, created in partnership with CM Cartotecnica Moderna.
