I think the following might be an interesting subproblem of this question:
Question: For an odd number $n\ge 3$, is there a non-rectangular but still convex shape of area $A=1$, that can be folded (no tearing) into a rectangle of area $1/n$ of uniform thickness, that is, the resulting rectangle has $n$ layers of paper everywhere?
Why these restriction?
It is easy for every $n$ when dropping convexity (see my answer).
It is also easy for $n=2$ (see the parallelogram below), and once you have a rectangle, you can get any multiple of $n$ too. This is why I ask for odd $n$.
It is also easy if the result does not have to be a rectangle: a circular disc admits an $n$-layer folding for all $n$, and for each fixed $n$ there is a polygonal shape admitting an $n$-layer folding (again, see my answer). Here is a solution for $n=3$:
But as far as I can tell, the resulting triangle cannot be made into a 9-layer folding. This would be possible if the result would have been a rectangle.
In particular, I have no solution to my questions for $n=3$, nor an argument why it should not be possible.