First recycled-cardboard book publisher

The first recognized publisher of libros cartoneros (books made from recycled cardboard) is Eloísa Cartonera (Argentina), based in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The publishing cooperative was founded in early 2003, when in the wake of the 2001 economic crisis, a group of writers, publishers and waste collectors known as cartoneros ("cardboard people") banded together to create affordable books from recycled cardboard, and thus "cartonera publishing" was born. There are now an estimated 250 cardboard publishers in Latin America and beyond.

The Eloísa Cartonera collective was spearheaded by artist Javier Barilaro, writer Washington Cucurto and art curator Fernanda Laguna. The books include the work of prominent Argentine authors such as Ricardo Piglia, César Aira and Rodolfo Enrique.

Mexico’s first cardboard publisher, La Cartonera, kept a record of all the cardboard used during their first 10 years of publishing, calculating that they had used over 10,000 cardboard boxes to create 3,000 books by more than 170 authors and in seven languages.