Why I Started Looking More Seriously at Sustainable Products

2016: My interest in sustainable materials became much more serious

Around 2016, I began working more directly with products made from recycled, renewable and other environmentally conscious materials.

This was when things became much more interesting to me.

I worked with felt products such as plant pots, garden beds, hanging accessories and storage containers. I also became involved with cork products, including coasters and bottle stoppers, and later cork leather products used for bags and accessories.

Then came other materials and ideas: biodegradable packaging bags, paper-based packaging, Tyvek-like materials, recycled and paper products, and products made using materials such as coffee grounds and tea waste.

Some of these products were successful. Some were not.

And that was probably one of the most useful parts of the experience.

I learned that putting the word "eco" in front of a product doesn't automatically make it a good sustainable product.

A material can be recycled and still have limitations.

A plant-based material can have advantages but may not work for every application.

A biodegradable product still needs the right conditions to actually biodegrade.

And sometimes a more durable conventional product can make more sense than a poorly designed "green" alternative that needs to be replaced quickly.

That is one reason I have become increasingly interested in the whole product rather than just the material.

Sustainable materials are only part of the story

The more products I worked with, the more I realized that sustainability cannot really be separated from product development.

Material is important, but it is only one part of the equation.

Design matters.

Manufacturing matters.

Product lifespan matters.

Packaging matters.

Transportation matters.

And eventually, what happens to the product at the end of its useful life matters too.

This way of thinking is also becoming more important internationally. The idea of sustainable production is increasingly focused on the entire life cycle of a product rather than one isolated environmental feature. UNEP, for example, describes sustainable consumption and production in terms of resource use, production, distribution, use, reuse and disposal.

The circular economy takes this thinking even further: keep products and materials in use for as long as possible, reduce waste, and design products differently from the beginning.

I find this approach much more practical than simply asking whether something is "green."

Why Original Eco Lab started in 2024

By 2024, I had spent many years working with different products, manufacturers and materials.

I decided it was time to give my interest in sustainable products a clearer direction.

That was when I started developing Original Eco Lab as a focused platform for sustainable product development and sourcing.

I didn't start it because I had all the answers.

Actually, it was almost the opposite.

I had spent years seeing different materials, talking with manufacturers and developing products, and I realized how many questions there still were.

Which recycled material is actually suitable for a particular product?

Can a sustainable material be produced consistently at a commercial scale?

Is the additional cost reasonable?

Can the product be made durable enough to have a long useful life?

Can the design be improved so that different materials can eventually be separated, reused or recycled?

These are practical questions, and they are the questions I want to keep exploring.

From materials to products

Today, my interest is no longer simply about finding an "eco material."

I am more interested in what happens when a material becomes a real product.

A piece of cork is interesting.

But a well-designed cork bag that people actually want to use is much more interesting.

Recycled PET fabric is interesting.

But turning recycled material into a durable, attractive and commercially viable product is where the real work begins.

The same applies to felt, recycled leather, plant-based materials, agricultural waste and other alternative materials.

The challenge is not simply to replace one material with another.

The challenge is to create something that works.

Something that looks good.

Something that can be manufactured reliably.

Something that people are willing to buy.

And, ideally, something that creates less unnecessary waste along the way.

What I am looking for now

Original Eco Lab is still a relatively young project.

But the experience behind it is not.

My work since 2010 has given me more than a decade of experience dealing with products, manufacturers and international buyers. My exploration of sustainable and alternative materials since 2016 has added another perspective.

Now I want to bring these two areas together.

Product development and sustainability.

Design and manufacturing.

Ideas and real-world production.

That is what Original Eco Lab is about.

I don't believe every product needs to be marketed as "100% eco-friendly."

I would rather understand the materials honestly, understand the manufacturing process, understand the limitations, and then work out where we can make a genuine improvement.

There is still a lot to learn.

And that's probably what makes this field interesting.

This is only the beginning of my Original Eco Lab journey.