The Organic Company: Beautiful Design, Great Products, Sustainable Production

The Organic Company, is a Danish company leading the way in producing beautiful textile designs that incorporate a strong social responsibility with a desire to design and produce great products. The founder, Joy Vasiljev, is known as a visionary, an inspiring and uncompromising entrepreneur, who is not afraid to speak up and point out things that are not right. Joy is an important voice in the debate on organic lifestyle, environment and sustainability. The Organic Company was founded in Copenhagen in 2007. Her reason for starting the company was simple, in her mind she did not have an option, she “just had to.” Feeling she was not on her own in her deep rooted concern for our environment’s health, and on a search for great products that excelled at both sustainable production and beautiful design, she decided to establish The Organic Company. She teamed up with skilled artists and technicians and got to work creating those products herself. The rest, of course, is history.

How did the Organic Company come to be founded?

It all started with a lot of questions. Why is it so hard to find textiles that combine great design with organic materials? Why do we have to choose between the two? Are we showing responsible behaviour when it comes to protecting our planet? So, in 2007, The Organic Company was established with the clear mission of proving that a responsible business is good business.

Every product is thoroughly considered with regards to both design and purpose because I believe that the better the product, the better you take care of it.

It was not an easy start. The world simply wasn’t ready. And people were unaware of the extremely dirty industry of cotton.

Now, 12 years later, The Organic Company produces more than 200 different products and exports to more than 26 countries.

Where are you based & why?

Copenhagen. Copenhagen is a great city with great vibes. Architectural as well as product design is everywhere.

Can you tell us a little more about being GOTS certified and about your thoughts on responsible business

The Organic Company is leading the way by creating a design business that minimises the negative impact on our planet.

All our products are GOTS-certified, GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard and is a global and strict standard within organic cotton and social responsibility. In other words it means that every step in the product production process upholds the highest environmental and social standards. And GOTS covers the entire supply chain from farmer, mill and dying house to sewing and brand holder.

All of us are inspected. Every year

All products are made using premium organic cotton, a fabric that requires 91% less water to produce than conventional cotton. The growth and processing of organic cotton also produces 94% less greenhouse gases, and no heavy metals or pesticides are used during production.

Considering that cotton is the biggest crop grown around the world, sourcing and processing it sustainably is incredibly important — and choosing GOTS-certified textiles makes a huge difference in individuals’ environmental impact. The Organic Company also uses recycled plastic and recycled or FSC-certified paper for its packaging

What does a typical working day for you involve?

Though we are busy and have been for years now (thank you out there), we care much about having a good time at work. For instance, I guide 45 minutes of mindfulness every Monday and we always start the weekly meeting with a breathing exercise. Next to this we articulate well being at work. Perhaps you think why all this…? Because, it’s so easy to get carried away being too busy to have a good time and we believe the well being concept has to be nursed to maintain the well being feeling. Besides the above, I do a bit of everything. At the moment I am the one to update our Instagram, I really love that. A platform to share knowledge in a beautiful way? I hardly ever design or develop during regular working hours.

What is the most exciting thing that has happened since you founded The Organic Company?

Definitely that people have started to wake up – like in large numbers. I love that people are eager for more information and lots of people are acting and demanding action from our politicians and makers. Love, love, love that. It makes me high.

Who, where and what inspires you?

I admire and get inspired by people that care and act on something bigger than themselves. And I admire and get inspired by skilled people and people who dare. And lastly I am inspired by the Danish design approach as well as the Japanese way of living.

What do you use everyday that you wish you had designed?

Haha, great question. I never think that way, however when you popped the question, the clothing brand “Comme des Garcons” came to mind. They do and have done for decades, great timeless design.

What can we expect in the future from The Organic Company?

Good question. We have 3 launching principals:

1) Solve a problem

2) Meet a need

3) Lift a category

So, when we launch a new product, we have made sure the product fulfils one or more of the above principals. If you have a problem, a need or a category you think can be improved, let us know, and this might be a future launch.

Short questions:

City or country? Both, I like diversity

North or South? Both North and South, If I HAVE to choose, then North.

Beach or Mountain? Both, especially a walk by the beach, when no or few people are there and the sound of water is the main source of sound…ahhh, life

Books or Movies? Both, I have read ALL of Murakami books, some even twice. And I have seen a lot of movies. Hardly anything can compete with a good book and a good movie.

Sweet or Savoury? Again, both however I have cut down on sweets as it is simply no good for me.

Tea or Coffee? Tea. I drink lots of herbal tea.

Cat or Dog? Both, we had dogs in my childhood home. Now me and my little family have a cat. A Ragdoll. This specific cat race has some “dog behavioural tendencies”, so it’s truly a bit of both.

Sketchbook or Laptop? I prefer sketchbook, however I am on the computer more

Design or Make? Both.

A huge thank you to Joy for taking the time to answer our questions.

See our growing collection of The Organic Company products available at Such & Such now

You can find The Organic Company on Instagram