In an inspiring story of innovation and environmental consciousness, three high school students in New York City have created a new type of cardboard packaging they hope will revolutionize the shipping industry.
Their invention, called Kiriboard, offers a plastic-free alternative designed to replace traditional materials like Styrofoam and bubble wrap — both of which are notorious for shedding harmful microplastics into the environment.
The idea came to life when Zhi Han (Anthony) Yao, Flint Mueller, and James Clare, all students at Stuyvesant High School, received a shipment of robotic motors. Unfortunately, the motors arrived damaged, with delicate brass pins bent and unusable. This firsthand experience sparked the teens’ motivation to rethink how products are protected during shipping.
“We’re like, well, we should do something about this packaging, because clearly the packaging wasn’t good enough,” Mueller recalled.
Rather than accept packaging failures as part of life, the trio got to work. Inspired by kirigami — the Japanese art of cutting and folding paper — they designed Kiriboard: a lattice-cut cardboard sheet that can flexibly mold around an object, cushioning it securely inside a box.
The innovation lies in its structure: by cutting strategic patterns into the cardboard, it bends without losing strength, mimicking the protective effect of plastic-based fillers but without the environmental damage.
“This middle section, we call it the matrix. This is supposed to be flexible,” Yao explained. “Once you place an item for shipping inside the box, the matrix is supposed to form to the product.”
Their teacher, Jerry Citron, who guided them through the Earth Prize program, praised their efforts: “Something like this is the wave of the future,” he told Business Insider.
On April 8, their project was recognized internationally when they won the Earth Prize, a global environmental competition for teenagers, taking home $12,500. They plan to invest the prize money into purchasing a CNC router, a machine that will allow them to precisely and efficiently cut cardboard into Kiriboards, enabling scaled-up production.
This recognition highlights a growing trend: sustainability innovations are increasingly coming from the younger generation, who are both highly aware of environmental issues and motivated to create real-world solutions.
Their timing couldn’t be better. Scientists have found microplastics — tiny particles shed from plastic products — everywhere from the depths of the oceans to the peaks of Mount Everest, and even within human bodies.
Microplastics have been associated with a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and possibly even linked to the alarming rise in colon cancer rates among young adults.
Shipping materials like Styrofoam, which easily break into microplastic fragments, contribute significantly to this problem.
“I didn’t realize it was as big of an issue as it was,” Yao admitted. “I mean, companies have made sustainable initiatives and greener initiatives, but they haven’t really fully replaced plastic packaging.”
Their invention addresses a glaring gap: although many companies claim to pursue sustainability, alternatives that are both practical and cost-effective have been hard to come by.
Drawing inspiration from automotive engineering, Clare suggested applying the principle of crumple zones — designed to absorb energy during car crashes — to packaging. Similarly, Kiriboard is designed with strategic weak points that can deform on impact, protecting the contents within.
It wasn’t just an idea — they rigorously tested it. After sketching eight to nine design concepts and narrowing them down to four prototypes, the team conducted drop tests. Using scavenged cardboard from their school, they dropped heavy objects like metal water bottles, cans of soda, staplers, and tape rolls onto the prototypes from varying heights.
The goal was simple: find out how much force each design could withstand before failing.
“Basically, we want to see what’s the most amount of force it can take before it snaps,” Yao said.
The results were promising. Their prototypes absorbed significant impacts with minimal damage — evidence that their design could offer practical, real-world protection.
With early success under their belt, the teens are now looking to the future. They plan to test Kiriboard by shipping real packages to assess performance under true transit conditions.
Beyond that, they aim to pursue a patent and eventually pitch their product to major retailers and logistics companies like Home Depot, Amazon, FedEx, and the US Postal Service.
They even joked about starting with AndyMark — the company that originally shipped them the damaged motors — although Clare emphasized there was no ill will: “No shade to them,” he said, adding that their robotics team orders from AndyMark frequently and usually without issues.
Their story shows how innovation often comes from unexpected moments — even the disappointment of receiving broken parts.
Kiriboard isn’t just a clever invention; it’s part of a much larger movement where young innovators are stepping up to solve environmental challenges that older generations have struggled with. According to a Deloitte survey, environmental sustainability is a top priority and personal concern for Gen Zs.
As businesses and consumers grow more concerned about supply chain sustainability, solutions like Kiriboard could soon become essential, not just optional.
Unlike many eco-friendly ideas that struggle to compete on cost or scalability, Kiriboard shows early signs of being both affordable and functional — two essential qualities for mass-market success.
If the team succeeds, their lattice-cut cardboard could become part of a larger movement to decouple shipping from plastic dependency — one that could reshape how goods move around the world.
Not bad for three teenagers and a damaged box of motors.
