From Recycling to Organic: Deyan Angeloev's 20-Year Journey to a Sustainable Future

 Welcome to Nature-Backed Podcast, a talk show where we are talking with investors and entrepreneurs (0:11) about the green future. My name is Tarmo Virki, and today my guest is Dejan Angeloev, founder (0:17) of a company called Organic Tea Star. Welcome to Nature-Backed Podcast, Dejan.(0:24) Thank you for inviting me, Tarmo. (0:27) Tell us in a few words, what are you building? (0:31) Well, I'm building, let's say, a green future for the last 20 years. This is the time when (0:41) I established my company back in 2006, but before that, in the late 90s, I was always (0:53) looking for a sustainable future.I was thinking how I can protect and keep my planet. I have (1:03) different projects concerning the bottles of mineral water, collecting, recycling, using, (1:10) give them a second life. Then in the beginning of 2000, when the organic products show up (1:19) on the market, I start working on that field, I can say, and spreading the opportunity to (1:28) have and wearing 100% certified organic products.This is how I also became certified, got certified, (1:38) not only to a sale, but to a printing. All the process in my company is certified and (1:45) green. Now, what I've done for the last few years is to spread my knowledge and my experience (1:56) in the North American market, because to be honest, they're a little bit far behind us, (2:02) far behind Europe, about sustainability.This is a very interesting project that I started there. (2:10) But I'm still working here in Europe, educating the people what is the advantage to have organic (2:19) products, not only to have it at the moment, but how this reflect on the future generation, (2:27) how this is reflect to our planet, how we're going to protect our planet and nature and (2:33) habitats and everything because organic products is something that it's preventing and keeping (2:40) everyone alive and safe, because there is no pesticide, no harming the soil, no chemicals, (2:49) everything is clean, the water is clean, let's say the carbon footprint, the fair labor, (2:58) the people are paid fair. There is a lot of advantage to have organic products in your body (3:06) and in your closet and everywhere.And as humans, by nature, we are kind of organic (3:13) products ourselves, right? Yes. After drinking a lot of mineral water from plastic bottles, (3:22) we become increasingly plastic from inside too, right? Yeah. The cycle of microfibers is like (3:31) washing non-organic clothes.Microfibers go to the water, from the water it goes to the fish, (3:39) from the fish it goes to us. That's it. As simple as it is, but it's something you don't really see (3:50) with your own eyes, so it becomes complicated to understand for many of the people.Absolutely. (3:57) It's not only one act of human to be done to start wearing the organic products, but you have to (4:05) think about the garbage, keeping the water safe, our natural sources, the water, the paper, (4:16) all that kind of things. We need to change our mindset, our way of acting every day.(4:23) Every day. As you said that we are human and we are disposable. (4:28) Yep.The same thing has happened with the organic products. They are disposable. (4:34) And dinosaurs. You said that you've been working on this for, in a way, on this road for 20 years (4:43) already. What takes time? I mean, can't we just do it now? Just change the mindsets of people (4:53) towards greener, towards more organic? Why is it such a long process? (5:00) We have to back in the 50s, 60s, when the people didn't think about the planet. (5:09) They just consuming the sources and they never think about the future.Then in Gen Z generation, (5:22) millennials and all that kind, as we are starting about our future, what we're going to left for our (5:30) kids, how we're going to left, how they're going to live. This is start changing the way. That's (5:37) why it's very hard and take so many times the mindset and the chip and everything to be changed.(5:44) Why it's so important to have the products certified? Can't they just be organic? (5:50) Wow. It's very important. It's very important because all the supply chain, all the process (5:58) is certified because showing that everything is natural.There is no something hidden, (6:09) something is not right or it's not correct. Every people of the supply chain, they are certified. (6:18) I have a scheme here showing all the process from the cotton, from the peel. It's natural. (6:30) It's not GMO. Then spraying with water and sugar the cotton flower because when the ant climb the (6:42) cotton flower, they're eating the insects which are inside.This is how they're preventing and (6:48) keeping the cotton flower alive. The people then, they're collecting by hand and because (6:56) everything is clear, the soil is clear, the cotton flower is clear. When you go to the factory, (7:03) when you manufacture the cotton to yarn, the water that you're using, it's clean (7:13) because all the product is clean. Do you know the fact that for producing one (7:20) regular t-shirt, the factory is using 2,700 liters of water but for the organic, (7:28) they're using 90% less water. But that's still 270 liters of water. Why it takes so much water to (7:37) make cotton or t-shirt? Sorry.Yeah, it's t-shirt, yarn. I mean all the process because (7:47) the cotton have to be clean anyway from the small things, from the nature that there is. They have (7:55) to clean because after that, they have to dyeing.The material has to be clean but it's (8:06) 770 liters of water is not that much compared with 2,700. Yeah, absolutely. (8:13) You deal with organic products, organic t-shirts.What else? Everything. I mean we're starting with (8:21) t-shirt, hoodies, polo shirts, tote bags. What else? Jogger pants, tank tops, (8:35) beanies, laptop bags, baby dress, all kind of baby bodies, blankets, caps.We have clothes from (8:47) babies to adults. We're covering everything. Overall jumpsuit, all kinds of scarves.(8:55) I mean all kind of products that can be done from cotton or using a 100% certified recycled (9:05) polyester. How much more expensive are clothes which are organic? Everybody is expecting the (9:16) clothes to be more expensive but no, they are not. I mean yeah, compared with the regular, (9:25) they're a little bit expensive but the long lasting of the organic is more longer than usual.(9:34) We're using the formula 30-30-30. That means 30 times wearing, 30 times washing and 30 times (9:41) drying. If they can live that cycle, everything is great.Yes, the organic can live this cycle (9:51) because the fast fashion is the killing industry and because all the products, if you have a (10:00) look on that, if you have experience with this, they're killing everything. I mean (10:06) not only the industry but they're killing the people because the skin is the biggest organ (10:13) in your body and when you're covering with poison, you're poisoning yourself because (10:19) all the poison that is on the clothes go through your skin to your blood. (10:24) Then you have problem with the skin, some kind of disease.You have a problem with (10:33) the children. A lot of things happen through your skin and the clothes that you're wearing. (10:42) But the fast fashion chemical use, there are probably good sources of information to send (10:50) the listeners to read from.You can maybe later send me some links and we can add it to the show (10:56) notes so people can get deeper into this topic. Okay, I'll try to find this. Because (11:05) facts are always really kind of strong argument for any of the discussion.(11:12) No problem at all. I'm going to find some links, information about that and I'll send it to you. (11:20) You said that for you guys the biggest market is in North America these days, (11:26) but the business is in Europe.How do you solve the challenge of shipping, (11:31) which is clearly environmental drag, right? Yeah, this is our main point of talk when we start (11:40) talking with North American clients. We're always telling them you have to plan your orders. (11:48) Because if we want to be environmentally friendly, we need to plan our deliveries.(11:59) Yes, we can do express delivery, but it's going to harm our atmosphere. (12:07) Exactly. But if we can do long-term planning for six months, eight months, (12:16) they say, okay, we need this custom-made product or we need this product in six months period.(12:21) Okay, then we have enough time to using a ship ride, shipping by boat. Then we can (12:31) deduct and low the carbon footprint. This is how we're doing the things.(12:37) Absolutely. And you're selling mostly to the resellers or do you sell directly to the (12:42) consumers or how does it work from the sales side? Oh, we're selling to the companies. (12:50) Who are then selling those products to them? Big companies in the States, for example, (12:57) let's say Walt Disney or Pepsi.I mean, I can say so many American companies, (13:05) but it's not very familiar in Europe. I mean, the people in Europe don't know about that. (13:12) But yesterday, we just shipped a small order just for the test of one of the biggest (13:25) jacket made by Recyclo, polyester, cotton, organic and everything.(13:34) What's the future looking like for the company? What are the big milestones (13:39) you are kind of planning for over the next 12 months or so? (13:45) We just launched one of the things. We just launched the first e-book, (13:51) Sell the Future. We are telling that in that book, we're telling a very short one, but we're (14:00) teaching and educating the people in the States, not only in the States, but in Europe and all (14:06) world what's happened with the future.Next thing is to do so many webinars, (14:14) workshops and telling about the green future, about the environment, how to protect, what to do. (14:24) Because as you say in the beginning, we are human. We are here one day, next day we are not.But we (14:31) need to leave something for our kids and for the future. And this is how we think to change their (14:39) mindset, to explain to them why this is important and what they're going to leave after when they're (14:49) gone. Because as I say, in the States, they're selling 2 billion t-shirts per year.We want to (14:59) have a percentage of this t-shirt going to us. (15:06) 2 billion t-shirts, that's 400 million people or something along those lines, right? Scale-wise at (15:14) least. So 5 or 6 per year for each, every single person, including the ones who do not wear t-shirts.(15:22) Yeah, because this is some kind of national sport to use a t-shirt for any kind of event, it doesn't (15:32) matter. I mean, just they're making a t-shirt, cheap t-shirt, middle priced t-shirt, any kind. (15:41) I mean, they're doing a t-shirt a lot.And all these t-shirts finish on the landfill, unfortunately. (15:49) Of course. And there's no really good solutions for the textile recycling yet either, right? (15:57) I mean, there is, but it's very hard.Because in the end of the day, the t-shirt is the same. (16:06) If they recycle the regular t-shirt, it's the same t-shirt that was made from petrol, (16:13) with microfibers, with poison, with everything. They say, okay, this is a recycled t-shirt, (16:19) but this is not an organic t-shirt.It's the same t-shirt, just recycled. (16:25) Now, it's okay, I mean, to recycle this t-shirt, but after recycling, this t-shirt goes (16:33) and finishes again on the landfill. And staying there for years, thousands of years.It's not (16:40) like the organic, if the organic t-shirt finishes on the landfill, it's disposable. (16:50) And we also have a program about recycling the t-shirt, organic. We can take the yarn and we can (16:57) make another product.For example, we can make a tote bag, because the politics now, the store, (17:05) the grocery, they have to start using recycled or something that is a reusable product. (17:13) And this is how we can do something that the people can use and wear every day. (17:19) Is that a European initiative, or is it a more widely spread idea that the grocery stores (17:26) are banned to use plastic bags? In the beginning, it was European, (17:31) but now it's spreading around the globe.For example, I was invited to participate in Dubai, (17:41) and they told me that, okay, great, you have a tote bag. It's great for nature, because (17:48) we have a regulation here saying that we have to use reusable bags and something like that. And (17:56) it's going to be very interesting if you bring your tote bags in Dubai.And I said, okay, great, (18:01) we'll see. The same in North America. I mean, nowadays, in the grocery stores, they are using (18:10) recycled or tote bags made from corn, potatoes, you know.Not the tote bags from the textile, but (18:22) it's going to happen. One would like to think that humans and businesses understand (18:29) the business opportunities in turning the world greener, but it seems that the regulator's role (18:35) is still crucial in many, many ways. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, it's difficult.I mean, (18:49) the regulation is, I mean, they're pretending. We call that greenwashing. Sometimes they do (19:01) greenwashing, pretending they make a regulation.They're pretending that they make something good (19:06) for the environment, but in the end, you know, what I heard almost every day, oh, (19:13) I would like to buy sustainable organic products. Give me the price. Okay, here's the quote.And (19:20) then maybe next year, maybe next year. You know, I'm expecting, for example, for North America, (19:34) the government to start pushing the companies and the people thinking about green. (19:43) Because I say that always have to come from top to down, not from down to top, because, (19:50) you know, the people, if the government says that has to be done, okay, they go and do it.(20:00) But if we rely on the human mindset, difficult. I mean, they're doing separate recycling in the (20:11) States. They have a different being for the plastic or the paper for the glass.(20:19) They know what have to do, but about the clothes. No, not yet. It's a big, big topic (20:29) for the future. So yeah, oh, yeah, definitely. And I'm telling I'm telling them every day, (20:36) you know, I can bring my experience to you telling more about what's going on in Europe. (20:43) And they, they, they are honest with me and say, Yes, we know that we are very far behind the (20:49) Europe.But we can do nothing. The, the boring part is that the next year, because looking at (21:01) how the climate change is happening, and how the environment is getting worse, this, you know, (21:08) bias comment of maybe next year going organic is quite worrying, to be honest. Because there's not (21:15) eventually, you know, though, there will not be always the next year.(21:21) You have to do it now at that moment. And one of the reasons that I'm explaining about the organic (21:27) is the organic is balancing your body temperature. What I mean that if it's hot outside, (21:38) it's not make you sweat that much.Even your sweating is not smell. Because with (21:44) Yeah, it's true. Because with the regular products, your sweat is smell because there's chemicals (21:53) from the clothes.And during the winter is keep your body warm, because as you say, it's a (22:00) natural cotton. And you know, the fast fashion is also using the kids about (22:10) manufacturing the products for a cup of rice or small amount of money. I mean, (22:17) yeah, they're using child abuse, then, you know, it's very frustrating that (22:23) it's a sick part of the world.Absolutely. Yeah, can't can't agree more with that. (22:31) Any last words to finish up this episode? (22:35) I mean, the last word can be, please think about future.(22:43) And do your best to protect and to let something good after you. (22:52) Thanks. That's a nice, nice thing.Nice thinking and very nicely putting together there. (22:58) The mission you are and we also thank you for this discussion.