Ottan
Walls Made of Coffee Pulp, Furniture Made of Orange Peel

OTTAN is an impact-oriented bio-tech startup that values green waste with the circular economy approach to reduce plastic and protect natural resources. OTTAN develops, designs, and produces sustainable bio-composite materials for designers by up-cycling food and agricultural waste. Long-lasting and visually aesthetic Ottan Materials can be used in industries such as cladding, furniture, housewares and more, instead of wood, stone or acrylic solid surfaces.

Although the world’s critical natural resources such as forests are under serious threat of extinction, we’re extracting natural resources 75% more than Earth can sustain and the housing industry has the largest share in material extraction with 40%. In addition, we’re wasting 1.3 billion tonnes of food annualy and this equals to one third of total annual production. And the reason behind the climate crisis is people are increasingly over- producing and over-consuming for a long time. This led to waste problems and resource depletion.

Acutely aware of this reality, Ayse Yılmaz saw a future in biocomposite materials that she developed in the third year of her university, supported her work in this field with a business model and established the OTTAN brand. The brand, which has been in operation for almost 5 years, has dozens of materials produced with the colors of nature and various products from lighting to furniture designed with these materials. Aiming to develop her environmentalist start-up OTTAN and turning it into a global brand while upcycling tons of food waste and leaves into high quality, sustainable and aesthetic products.

Basically, Ottan creates various materials by using the mechanical specifications of each waste as an advantage. For example, floor coverings made of the durable structure of walnut shells, or acoustic panels with a felt-like surface from the soft touch of grass. Thus they offer unique circular material solutions following the needs of their customers from their equipped product portfolio.

Directly contributing to the realization of Agenda 2030, Ottan Studio values green waste and strives to prevent excessive consumption of our most valuable resources. The founder, Ayse Yılmaz, summarizes the positive environmental impact of their production model: “We don’t dig the mountains, destroy the forests and spend excessive energy to process the raw materials. We use %100 locally-sourced waste and materials. Imagine fallen leaves on the streets… By using those leaves, we can save a 50-year-old tree that would otherwise be cut down to create the new product. As you can see, with Ottan, our trees grow, produce, and flourish for ages.”

In this impact-oriented journey, Ayse’s main source of inspiration was her inner biophilic instincts to protect nature and bring its beauty into our everyday surroundings. Ottan’s creations will always be nurtured by pure love of life and nature.

more. www.ottanstudio.com