What if the future of sustainable packaging lay not in high-tech labs, but beneath our feet—in the leaves we rake and forget?

In this episode of Inside Reinvention, Andrew Wrobel speaks with Alexander Sobolenko, co-founder of Releaf Paper, a Ukrainian-French start-up turning an unlikely idea into a global solution: making paper from fallen leaves.

What began as a 16-year-old’s school experiment is now a fully-fledged circular economy venture backed by the European Commission, challenging the status quo of the paper and packaging industries. But this is more than a sustainability story—it’s a case study in perseverance, reinvention, and the complexity of driving systemic change in markets that say they want innovation but hesitate when it arrives.

Alex shares how Releaf navigates scepticism from large-scale partners, the education gap between end users and producers, and the logistical realities of scaling a climate-positive product. He speaks candidly about the start-up’s roots in Ukraine, the decision to build in France, and the long-term vision that still includes Kyiv—where trees shed hundreds of thousands of tonnes of leaves each year.

Together, they explore the disconnect between sustainability commitments and supply chain risk aversion, and why customers—ordinary people—might be the quiet force that finally tips the balance.

This is a conversation about resilience, resourcefulness, and redesigning systems from the ground up—literally. For anyone building something new in a world still clinging to the old, this episode is a reminder: your greatest challenge may also be your greatest edge.

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