Day1lab CEO Lee Ju-bong: Finding Plastic Alternatives from "Waste Carbohydrates"

– Innovating the scars left by plastics, including greenhouse gases, microplastics, and environmental hormones, with 'RETARCH'

Maximizing environmental and economic efficiency with 100% bio-based, non-synthetic materials without complex microbial processes.

Proving "quantifiable added value" through joint research with North American universities, leading a new era of branding to address environmental issues.

A challenge that started from the problem of ' plastic waste dumping'

The origins of Day1lab stemmed from a unique personal experience for CEO Lee Joo-bong. He recalled, "During my military service, while serving with the US Army's Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA), I witnessed a shocking sight: 'All the trash was dumped and thrown away.' At the time, I vaguely wondered, 'If people in our country were to dump trash like that, wouldn't it cause serious environmental pollution?'" This experience proved to be a defining moment in his life.

After entering graduate school, he learned about the existence of "biodegradable materials," a plastic alternative, and began researching ways to replace them. After four years of intensive research and development, he founded Day1lab in 2021 with like-minded co-founders, beginning his journey to address environmental issues in earnest.

The innovation of 'RETARCH' – non-synthetic carbohydrate-based, lightweight and fast-decomposing

Day1lab's flagship product, "RETARCH," is the fruit of CEO Lee Ju-bong's critical thinking and research. Made from 100% bio-based carbohydrates, RETARCH is attracting attention as a next-generation material that can address issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, microplastics, and endocrine disruptors caused by conventional plastics.

The CEO explained the impetus for developing "RETARCH," saying, "While biodegradable materials are already replacing plastics, we believed there would come a time when more environmentally friendly and convenient materials would be needed. Biodegradable materials using microbial processes are difficult to scale up and require high process complexity, which ultimately leads to higher unit prices and increased carbon dioxide emissions."

'RETARCH' utilizes non-synthetic starch, a starch material that has not undergone a synthetic process, and is known for its ability to freely change shape through heat. The key strengths of this technology are as follows.

• Lightweight: When producing products in various grades, they are 10-20% lighter than biodegradable products.
• Superior post-processing efficiency: It has properties that are more than twice as fast as biodegradable materials, enabling much faster and more efficient post-processing.
• Price competitiveness: We are price competitive compared to Chinese products based on unit price per product.

Thanks to these properties, RETARCH is effectively replacing existing plastics in various fields such as biodegradable fishing nets, agricultural mulching films, food packaging materials, and straws, creating new high added value.

Creating a brand that solves environmental problems with ' quantifiable added value'

Day1lab's most important management philosophy in addressing environmental issues is to become a company that can demonstrate "quantifiable added value." CEO Lee emphasized, "The success of any business hinges on the added value generated by its products or solutions and consumer demand for them. However, for environmental companies, I believe that quantitative added value is even more deeply connected to the company's branding."

Currently, the most widely known quantifiable indicators of environmental friendliness are limited to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and waste reduction rates. However, Day1lab goes beyond these two metrics, focusing on quantifying both environmental and safety improvements and making consumers aware of these genuinely necessary values.

Building on this philosophy, Day1lab conducted joint research with Yale University and the University of North Carolina, resulting in the publication of an academic journal article proving that its "RETARCH" material actually reduces carbon dioxide emissions. This is powerful evidence that Day1lab's "eco-friendliness" is not a mere slogan, but rather a scientifically proven "quantifiable value," and represents a unique branding strategy for a materials company.

Global Expansion Strategy – Towards a Sustainable Future with Regulatory-Driven Growth and Eco-Friendly Enterprises

Day1lab is currently focusing on the European market and developing a growth strategy focused on markets with increasingly stringent regulations, such as western North America. CEO Lee stated, "Because regulations vary by region, I believe we need to scale up through regulation-driven growth. Strengthening environmental regulations represent an opportunity, not a crisis, for us."

Day1lab is at the forefront of addressing environmental issues through its carbohydrate-based bioplastic material technology, building its brand with "quantifiable added value." Beyond simply selling materials, Day1lab is poised to become a sustainable, eco-friendly company committed to a plastic-free future, where humanity and the planet coexist.