Doughnut Music Lab sometimes experiments with alternative ways to release music into the world.

In January 2025 we released two albums on a 12-inch ‘sleeve only’ format. Each sleeve is printed on recycled card using plant-based ink, and contains three gorgeous double-sided paper art inserts and a digital download code for the album. However, there is a conspicuous absence of an actual vinyl record, meaning there’s no PVC plastic involved – one of the most environmentally hazardous plastics. 

This isn’t an anti-vinyl experiment, and we don’t see a paper ‘sleeve-only and download code’ album release as a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead we see it as an artistic intervention, with any impact coming from its symbolic power – the power of directing attention and holding space for imagining alternative ways of being in the world. In other words, it’s a prompt to spark conversation around how high-emitting areas of human activity (e.g. energy, transport, food, manufacturing) need an urgent rethink. Ideally it might encourage a sense of playful experimentation and prompt people to reflect on plastic consumption and carbon-intensive behaviours at both individual and institutional levels.

At its heart, this experiment is about trying move towards recording formats that don’t involve extracting new oil from the ground for their production. You can order the albums at participating shops below: