Entrepreneur Deyan Angeloev in the heart of the ecological textile industry
The year was 1997. Bulgaria was still shaking off the dust of Soviet central planning. Markets were chaotic, institutions brittle, and optimism scarce. In a derelict industrial zone on the outskirts of Ruse, a young man in his twenties stood surrounded by what others called trash — bundles of discarded plastic bottles, warped by sun and time, destined for nothing. But Deyan saw in them not waste, but potential. Not only for reuse — but for redemption.
He began collecting, sorting, and recycling long before recycling bins became chic, long before ESG reports adorned corporate annual meetings. Today, his company, Organic Tee Star, is among the few whose entire operation is certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) – the gold standard in sustainable textile production.
