A Biodegradable Breakthrough That Feels Like Hope In Action
It began with a moment on a Bali beach: one of S.Lab’s founders recalling, “the whole ocean was covered with plastic. That picture was so devastating, I can still see it when I close my eyes,” as recalled in Positive News. Today that grief has grown into something vibrant: a sustainable packaging innovation from Ukraine that has earned Europe’s prestigious Green Alley Award for 2023.
Rising To The Moment: How S.Lab Transformed Vision Into Victory
In April 2023, at the Berlin finals of the Green Alley Award—Europe’s first circular-economy startup prize dating back to 2014—S.Lab, a Ukrainian startup co-founded by Julia Bialetska and partner Eugene Tomilin, was crowned the winner among six finalists. Competing against over 200 startups, S.Lab stood out for developing a fully biodegradable alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS)—but made entirely from plant-based materials.
Rethinking Packing: Hemp And Mycelium Marry Science With Nature
S.Lab’s innovation is elegant in its simplicity: they blend agricultural hemp waste with mushroom mycelium roots to produce lightweight, waterproof, cushioning packaging that performs like polystyrene—but composts naturally. These are the types of solutions the circular economy prizes: effective, scalable, and regenerative.
Jan Patrick Schulz, CEO of Landbell Group and founder of the Award, explained what gave S.Lab the edge: their packaging has “similar properties to EPS … but instead they use hemp and mushroom roots … as the only plant-based components.” Furthermore, they plan to scale production via small, mobile factories inside 40-foot containers—closed-loop automated production units that could be deployed where needed quickly.
Personal Drive, Big Ambition: From Bali To Berlin
Julia Bialetska described their journey with humility and ambition: “We are thrilled to receive this award. We need to rethink the way we use resources … decrease waste generation. … packaging as a service … collected and then used again in many more cycles …” The €25,000 prize will be used to elevate their circular-economy mission—commercialising the product and expanding impact.
As she reflected on their inspiration, she spoke of the gift that closed-loop thinking represents—not as an environmental burden, but as a creative opportunity.
Expert Support & Live Pitches: The Engine Behind The Award
The Green Alley Award’s format itself nurtures innovation: long-listed startups undergo mentoring sessions in Berlin, receiving expert coaching on business development, supply-chain planning, marketing and regulatory pathways. Then they pitch live to an international jury. S.Lab impressed the experts not only with the science but with the strategy for rapid scale-up.
Schulz emphasised that S.Lab’s speed of deployment and modular production concept made them stand out: “With its convincing strategy to scale its biodegradable packaging solution in a short timeframe, S.Lab can really make a difference for the circular economy.”
Broader Ripple Effects: What S.Lab’s Success Says About Circular Innovation
S.Lab joins an impressive lineage of Green Alley Award winners including RePack (2014), Adaptavate (2015), Sulapac (2017), Aeropowder (2018), Gelatex (2019), Traceless Materials (2021), and Voltfang (2022). Across Europe these startups showcase how resource scarcity and environmental challenge drive creative solutions—from digital recycling tools to compostable materials and stored energy systems.
Positive News earlier featured S.Lab among its “six bright ideas to wipe out waste”—alongside startups working on plastic-matching apps, e-waste marketplaces, and supply-chain transparency platforms—all shining examples of human ingenuity driven by optimism.
The Fourth Point You Flagged: Scale, Speed, Systems, And Service
One of the most critical pieces here—the fourth point you asked me not to miss—is S.Lab’s service-oriented, scalable manufacturing model. Rather than relying on centralized plants, they plan to build small modular factories in 40-foot shipping containers, fully automated and reproducible.
This means they can bring production closer to where packaging is consumed and reduce transport emissions. It also allows for flexible deployment—even in areas disrupted by conflict or lacking infrastructure—demonstrating thoughtful circular-economy thinking at every level.
Vivid Moments & What They Say About Progress
Imagine Julia and Eugene in a lab: white walls, faint earthy smell of hemp and fungi, carefully measuring mycelial growth. Or picture the moment when Julia hears her name called in Berlin: the hush in the audience, then applause, as she realizes that this small resilient team from Ukraine just captured imaginations—and €25,000 to grow.
Their story is anchored in grief and beauty: that ocean vision in Bali, now transformed into packaging solutions shipped to businesses. Their anecdotes aren’t flashy—they’re grounded: turning agricultural by-product into value, using fungal biology to mimic foam insulation, linking service-based, reused packaging systems.
What’s Next: Real-World Transformation With Real Hope
With the award in hand, S.Lab will leverage its prize money and the attention from Green Alley Award to commercialise their product, scale up their modular factories, and integrate into circular supply chains. Their vision of “packaging as a service”—where materials cycle through multiple uses and stay in systems rather than landfills—is a powerful shift in mindset.
As sustainability regulation tightens across Europe, products like S.Lab’s are poised to sit ahead of policy curves—offering efficient insulation, cushioning and waste-free disposal. Their innovation stands as a hopeful example that we can build new systems rooted in biology, not petroleum.
Conclusion
S.Lab’s journey is a beautiful, hopeful story—born from personal heartbreak, fuelled by scientific ingenuity, and realized through circular-economy culture. Their victory at the 2023 Green Alley Award is not just a trophy—it’s proof that regenerative solutions can perform, scale, and bring real optimism to global packaging.
As their mobile factories roll out and their biodegradable trays cushion electronics and shipments, they aren’t just replacing polystyrene—they’re redefining what it means to package hope.
