Releaf Paper is an international producer of paper and packaging made from fallen leaves. But how is such a serious innovation connected with school projects and Carpathian forests?
Valentyn Frechka, 16-years old Ukrainian student, decided to study alternative sources of cellulose and thereby reduce deforestation. He began by researching grass and straw, testing how much cellulose they contained and whether it could be removed. Accidentally Valentyn drew his attention to the nearest Carpathian Forest. He wondered why fallen leaves could not be a source of cellulose?
It turns out that you can get its fibers from the leaves by the same method as from wood. Nothing works at the beginning as the leaves fell apart. But in early 2018 during long experiments in school lab he finally obtained for the first-time suitable prototypes.
Having complete technology he began to participate in national and international competitions. Next 2 year he visited worldwide school Olympiad presenting his invention. It has been duly appreciated: inventor won gold at the National Olympiad for ecology, research & technical contest Intel Eco Ukraine, international Olympiad I_Fest, climatic Olympiad in Kenya and much more.
In the fall of 2018 Valentyn was invited to work in R&D Department of Zhytomyr Paper combine enterprise where he got a position of expert for innovations. During his 2-year work in Paper combine enterprise the product was finally done. Valentyn realized that he should look for opportunities to produce paper on an industrial scale. Now he finally decided to create a company based on his development.
Releaf Paper, a company created by Valentyn Frechka and Alexander Sobolenko, have started industrial production of paper in Ukraine in 2021. From the very beginning a lot of market players enjoyed the idea of consuming paper and packaging made of bio wastes, not wood pulp or wastepaper. Innovative enterprise started to produce paper and paper bags for such brands as Loreal, Schneider Electric, Samsung, Weleda, Ariston. Releaf Paper was recognized and supported by different international NGOs including WWF and Canopy Planet. Founders were dreaming to build own huge production and scale their technology worldwide, promoting an idea of sustainable alternative to determination of ancient forests for paper.
But one day all turned upside down. February, 24th Russian air forces attacked multiple cities all over the Ukraine and full scale war began. Against the background of numerous victims and destructions Releaf’s business activity was paralyzed. Alexander and Valentyn started working on relocation of business to other countries and building new business from scratch.