«To follow in the footsteps of Stella McCartney». How a Ukrainian startup SPOGAD works

In our recurring Who Are These People segment, Vector offers founders an opportunity to discuss their projects, covering aspects such as their products, marketing strategies, monetisation, investments, and plans. The focus this time is on SPOGAD, a Ukrainian fashion tech startup. The company focuses on developing technologies to recycle post-consumer plastic waste, transforming it into high-fashion items. 

Vector’s editor-in-chief Yuliia Tkach interviewed Anastasiia Kondratieva, CEO and co-founder, about the product’s features, promotion, investments, and plans.

Conception

SPOGAD has three co-founders:

• Anastasiia Kondratieva, CEO.
• Lidiia Semeniuk, COO.
• Taisiia Dubyna, CPO.

Anastasiia, a designer with a strong emphasis on climate and social impact, has spent the past 10 years living in France, collaborating with corporations and international organisations, particularly in social innovation and sustainable development. Before the full-scale invasion, her work extended to Ukraine, where she established and led the Terrain Vague educational platform in Dnipro, driving participatory urbanism and partnering with local initiatives.

Anastasiia’s project idea took shape during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the pre-launch of the Zdyvo recycled plastic jewels collection held in February 2023 at Milan Design Week. 

«Strikingly, Italians mistook our plastic beads for Murano glass during the event — a testament to their intricate patterns, the distinctiveness of every bead, and the meticulous hand-polishing. We were invited to connect with the Fashion Green Hub in France later that autumn. The association brings together brands, manufacturers, startups, fashion companies, and other stakeholders focused on sustainable development and circular economy principles.

In December of that year, SPOGAD gained official recognition from Printemps Haussmann, a top luxury fashion and design gallery in Paris. That pivotal moment brought the understanding that SPOGAD’s purpose extended beyond just a fashion label», — Anastasiia explains. This realisation prompted her and her team to develop innovative technology for recycling post-consumer plastic waste, to produce luxury items. 

As the team explains, the startup’s unfair advantage is the collection, sorting, and recycling of plastic in a country where the absence of a state waste management system means most plastic is either burned or ends up in dumps. Serving as a system integrator, SPOGAD guides fashion companies in their shift from being environmental polluters to becoming accountable ecosystem players, fostering positive local transformation. SPOGAD functions both as a circular brand and a self-contained recycling system, actively developing technologies to transform plastic waste for the high-end fashion market».

Beyond the three founders, the team is strengthened by R&D advisor Oleksandr Hrechka, who offers crucial technical support and refines production processes. In addition to a Project Manager and a CEO Assistant, the team is considering equity-based partnerships for CMO and Sales Manager roles. Looking ahead, they also plan to expand their workshop and laboratory, and establish collaborations with Ukrainian educational institutions to teach students on sustainable waste management, recycling processes, and the fostering of innovative crafts across Ukraine.

Product and audience

SPOGAD is a fashion tech startup developing innovative technology for recycling post-consumer plastic waste to produce luxury items. According to the founder, the project aims to resolve the fashion industry’s inadequate recycling infrastructure and its resultant critical reliance on fossil and animal-derived resources. 

The team produces items for brands from locally collected and sorted recycled plastic, ensuring a traceable supply chain and significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. SPOGAD primarily focuses on developing and producing technologies, in addition to crafting end-products for high fashion, such as: 

• jewellery components (e.g., beads);
• elements to be incorporated into jewellery;
• customised components for accessories and clothing;
• sophisticated decorative components and adornments;
• accessories and tailor-made products for fashion/beauty brands. 

According to the team, SPOGAD uses «its proprietary plastic recycling technologies to produce high-precision components from recycled plastic, designed to satisfy the premium segment’s demands». Brands can choose from the following options: 

• designing custom patterns (potentially using the brand’s own plastic waste);
• creating bespoke beads from recycled plastic;
• customised recycled plastic threads for crocheting;
• flat details and elaborate decorative embellishments;
• other accessories and design pieces.

By the end of the year, the team is expected to unveil developments such as: 

• sequins produced through innovative upcycling;
• closed-loop 3D printing of objects and jewellery from recycled PET bottles;
• intricate injection-molded components for mass production.

«We’ve already planned three collaborations in Ukraine for the upcoming three months. We’re also carrying out customer development and expanding our pipeline in France, our leading market. We view France as a key driver in shaping new regulatory landscapes for the fashion sector, and it’s also where global fashion powerhouses like LVMH, Kering, and Chanel are located, presenting strong client opportunities. Scandinavia is also on our agenda for exploration by the end of the year.

Starting in 2026, we intend to broaden our presence to Western European and UK markets. Later, we’ll target the Asian market, and possibly the USA, though the latter will directly depend on the political landscape.

Our product is geared towards premium and luxury brands in the fashion and jewellery segments. These brands are experiencing mounting pressure to adopt circular production models, optimise waste management, and ensure complete transparency throughout their supply chains», — the CEO explains.

Business model and marketing strategy

In the past, SPOGAD ran as a brand, offering its finished products (accessories and jewellery) straight to individual consumers (B2C). The team is currently prioritising a B2B model to work directly with fashion brands, aiming to serve as a recycling solution that assists premium brands in moving from virgin plastic to our produced recycled materials.

«Looking ahead, we’re exploring the potential to franchise our proprietary recycling and production system for accessories, jewellery, components, elaborate embellishments, etc., or to directly integrate these systems into the supply chains of large luxury brands», — Anastasiia notes.

In a move to enhance promotion, the team collaborated with a brand-building and PR agency last year. This partnership proved crucial in redefining their positioning from a conventional fashion brand to an innovative fashion-tech startup, as well as in product development and technological improvements. For the upcoming months, the team will primarily focus on forging lasting relationships with sustainable fashion’s leading voices, international celebrities, and media outlets, in addition to developing the founder’s personal brand. 

Investments

Anastasiia launched and sustains the project with her own capital. The specific amount remains undisclosed by the founder. The startup had earlier secured a microgrant from The Empowering Women Ukraine 2023 incubator, an initiative by Garage48 and the Estonian Refugee Council, in addition to funding from Greencubator.

Their plan is to apply for a grant from Google Startups and USF. For now, she notes, they are deliberately avoiding venture capital. Our goal is to remain largely independent of equity funding and grants that fail to drive consistent efforts in developing a sales pipeline and stable ARR. At this stage, we’re prioritising funding for legal and marketing assistance and pushing forward with our first LOIs and contracts. We remain open to conversations with impact-oriented angel investors and are exploring the possibility of kicking off our first significant investment round at the beginning of next year».

Plans

«Our plan for the year includes launching collaborations and landing our first contracts with European brands and foundations. We’re working on launching 3D printing from PET bottles in collaboration with Ukrainian engineers to test the integration of high-precision printing with precious metals. We’re exploring the potential to open a full-cycle lab — from collecting and sorting plastic to creating new materials and products, with an integrated showroom and office space. To make this possible, we’re on the lookout for a space in Dnipro that meets both technical and safety requirements. 

Our bigger ambition is to follow in the footsteps of Stella McCartney.

We’re here to help brands transition from polluters to drivers of systemic change within local ecosystems», — summarised the founder.