Cadillac is joining a trend we’ve seen in a few luxury car brands, including Genesis, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volvo. GM’s luxury brand is using garbage recycled materials in its interiors as part of its mission to infuse eco-friendly sustainability into the vehicles it produces, especially EVs.
“It’s a new technology, and this is the first use of it we’ve done with [the Cadillac Optiq],” GM Design Manager, Global Exterior Color & Advanced CMF (Color, Materials, Finish) Mara Kapsis told the Detroit Free Press. “What you see in the pale area (of the PaperWood veneer) is what we call the cathedrals … you’ll actually notice that’s recycled newsprint. It’s a nice touch and just another example of surprise and delight.”
PaperWood is sourced from recycled tulipwood from Europe and the East Coast of the United States. The supplier that handles the recycled newspaper gets its materials from Spanish newsstands that sell papers from Spain, Germany, England, France, and the U.S. Newspaper for PaperWood comes from unsold and uncirculated copies.
The chemicals and energy used to recycle the newspapers have “a negative environmental impact,” said GM spokeswoman Whitney Lewis. “We take pallets of this paper and mix with our wood to later build a one-of-a-kind decorative surface and most sustainable veneer.”
The presence of recycled newsprint in Cadillac’s PaperWood veneer is a bit subtler than similar options in some rival luxury brands. To the untrained eye, it looks like regular wood at first glance. It’s only when you focus on the thicker lines of the lighter coloring of the grain that the newsprint becomes noticeable.
For the 2025 model year, PaperWood is available in the Cadillac Lyriq and Cadillac Optiq. For the 2025 Cadillac Lyriq, it comes in the non-leather Inteluxe interior options, which include the Noir with Santorini Blue accents (H7D) and Sky Cool Gray with Santorini Blue accents (H7E) color options, both available for the Luxury and Sport trims. For the 2025 Cadillac Optiq, PaperWood decor is available in the Autumn Canyon (EFP) and Phantom Blue (EFG) interior color schemes, available in the Luxury 2 and Sport 2 trims.
Since you can get just about any material you want in the Celestiq, it’s safe to assume PaperWood is available to option in Cadillac’s ultra-luxury EV.
Cadillac’s next EV, the Escalade IQ, does not have PaperWood among its interior trim options for the 2025 model year. However, we expect the use of this sustainable decor to spread through the brand’s expanding EV lineup, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it available in the upcoming Cadillac Vistiq.
Comments
Ewww! Yuck! That’s trashy. At least the GMC delali uses mahogany inlays
You can’t even tell the difference. I am all for a replaceable material when it is superior and looks the same as the original. This, I am all for. No need for real trees when this looks/feels the same. Ditto with leather seats. The softex we had in our old Rav4 felt better than most the more luxurious brands options until you get to a higher end model, otherwise it was far more durable, less maintenance, felt better and was better for the environment and comfort. I will take that all day long, and this is coming far someone who is from a tree hugger (hunting, republican, gun owning Texan…).
Manufacturing using recycled wood and paper products is nothing new.
For years, GM headliners have been manufactured incorporating the cardboard shipping materials from suppliers.
That it is such an unacceptable surprise that manufacturers use recycled products makes no sense in this day and age where the “tree huggers” cry foul at every turn.
These naturally sourced materials to manufacture some components may turn out be far more resilient than the plastics used years ago on imports especially, that crumbled when subjected to sunlight.
With trim pieces, there’s one group that doesn’t want wood or fake metal. Now it’s a new groan about the use of recycled materials many that have been used for years! Geez.
Every little thing that’s environmentally friendly helps,especially now that Trump is in office with his terrible stance on environmental issues.
You’re an ignoramus. Leather is the most environmentally friendly organic material on earth. Do you think cattle is raised for their skins or their meat? If we don’t use the skins for seating, where do you think the skins will end up?
Soon GM will announce their new Origami EV vehicle lineup. I understand GMs looking at cost cutting and into this global warming crap but this is getting ridiculous.