Doug Lynch Of Filium Corp: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change & Become More Sustainable

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Patience is a must — Businesses never move as fast as you want them to. Our first few clients took almost a year to place their first order. In the textile world, 12–15 months is a normal amount of time before your product is ready to be sold in the market. When you’re working in an industry where manufacturing occurs halfway around the world, there will be challenges. Control what you can and don’t panic.

As a part of our series about how companies are becoming more sustainable, we had the pleasure of interviewing Doug Lynch.

With over 15 years of experience in the sports and material science industries, Doug Lynch is a passionate and dedicated entrepreneur who strives to create positive social and environmental impact through innovation and collaboration. As the President and Board Member of Filium Corp., Doug leads a team of talented scientists engineers, marketing, and sales professionals who work with Filium’s clients and partners in the textile space to create high performance, breathable, sustainable clothing using its proprietary, patent-pending technology — Filium®.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I am an 11-year ex-professional athlete. After retiring, I began researching and educating myself on the food industry, becoming more diligent about my diet and cleansing my body of toxins in food. This journey led me to explore fasting and experiment with different eating styles (plant-based, paleo, etc.). Ultimately, I settled on a pescatarian lifestyle, which I have maintained for 8 years.

During this time, as I researched the dangers of microplastics, pollution, and the meat industry’s impact on our planet, I noticed a recurring connection to the role textiles play in these issues. While living in Portland, OR, I was fortunate to meet many people who worked at Nike, which coincided with my learning more about the textile industry and its toxic, polluting effects on our planet. This marked the beginning of my journey into slow fashion.

What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?

At Filium®, we believe the textile industry has leaned too heavily into synthetic materials, to the detriment of our planet, for far too long. Research now clearly shows how harmful microplastics, PFAs, fluorine, nanoparticles, formaldehyde, copper, and silver are — not only to our planet but, more importantly, to our bodies. Since Filium® can make natural fibers supernatural, we offer brands the opportunity to reintroduce more natural materials into their apparel offerings without compromising the environment. Our company helps mitigate the risk for large brands and corporations (which are understandably slow to change) as more legislation is passed to eliminate these harmful chemicals. We are excited to play a significant role in the shift back to natural materials and be at the forefront of change.

Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?

Our Filium® Technology was developed specifically for natural materials. In recent testing, we’ve discovered that we can activate almost any material, including synthetics, but our core expertise remains in natural materials like cotton, wool, modal, linen, and silk. We are demonstrating that natural materials activated with Filium® last longer, improve durability, require less washing, and are biodegradable when discarded. This helps reduce waste in landfills, lowers carbon emissions by decreasing the need for laundering and drying, conserves freshwater resources, and reduces the microplastics that harm our bodies and the planet.

How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?

Bringing to market a unique solution that can solve problems, improve and elevate products, reduce carbon footprints, and lower health risks — while also providing a competitive edge — has a high probability of being profitable. This is exactly Filium’s recipe for success, not only for itself but also for its partners.

The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are a few things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement?

I believe it starts with education and learning from past mistakes. Many parents in this country grew up with lead-based paint on the walls of their houses until research showed how harmful it is to human health. Twenty years ago, we had no idea how dangerous microplastics would be for humans and the planet, but in the last five years, the research and science have become irrefutable. We must recognize that not everything we innovate will last forever, and we need to constantly evolve, ask questions, and challenge the status quo. This is what leads to real breakthroughs and systemic change. Don’t listen to the status quo — lead by example, and speak up if something doesn’t look or feel right. Our children are already smarter than we were at their age, with so much information readily available. Empowering the next generation and encouraging them to be critical thinkers while providing them with the proper tools to invoke change is key.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Patience is a must — Businesses never move as fast as you want them to. Our first few clients took almost a year to place their first order. In the textile world, 12–15 months is a normal amount of time before your product is ready to be sold in the market. When you’re working in an industry where manufacturing occurs halfway around the world, there will be challenges. Control what you can and don’t panic.
2. Don’t be underfunded — When starting a small business, take in more funding than you think you’ll need. If you can’t secure enough funding, be very realistic about time frames, the type of people you can hire, or how much equity you’re willing to give out. Good people are expensive — whether you’re paying them cash or equity — but you get what you pay for.
3. Choose the right founding members — Something that isn’t talked about enough is really understanding who you’re choosing as partners. In my opinion, this is as important as the product. You need people with complementary skill sets, but also the exact same vision. Really get to know who you’re going into business with, because all your flaws and their flaws will be exposed. Better to know that right off the bat than a year in. I’ve started six companies since I retired from my playing career, and I’ve had two co-founders leave and go separate ways after things got hard. I didn’t think that would happen, but looking back now, there were signs along the way that I didn’t recognize.
4. Make sure your relationship partner knows this is not a 9–5 job — Starting a small business takes a village, and the most important person in that village is your partner at home. If that person doesn’t understand startups or have any experience with them, make sure you spend a lot of time answering questions and being honest about what your life is going to look like. Most founders will do anything to make their business successful, and that can take a real toll at home. The work/life balance is just a mirage in the early years. Be honest with yourself and them about what the expectations are.
5. The people you know best have all the answers in their communities — you just have to ask — I remember in the early days of starting my business, I was at a family BBQ and chatting with uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends about what I was about to do. I couldn’t believe the response and how many people in my immediate network had relationships with vendors, marketing agencies, designers, advisors, and investors. In fact, I was coaching a U17 hockey team later that year, and one of my assistant coaches overheard a conversation with our company lawyer. When I got off the phone, he asked if he could invest! I spent hours with this person and traveled all over the U.S. going to hockey tournaments and never thought to ask him if he wanted to be involved. He became my third-ever investor! You never know who knows who, and all you can do is ask your friends and family.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

For me, it’s not one person, but two: my parents, Sandy and Joan. They have not only been my biggest supporters throughout my childhood, helping me become a pro athlete, but they’ve also been just as instrumental after I retired and started my own companies. They are the hardest workers I know and have always had my back through the ups and downs of starting a small business. I couldn’t have played pro hockey without them, and I could never have started my business career without them. One of my highlights is working with them every day, constantly learning from them, and enjoying the ability to laugh, joke, and have a great time doing it. They advised me on my first coaching and consulting business and eventually became my first investors in my latest startup. I owe everything to them.

You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Help the textile industry become a beacon of sustainability and reverse the damage done to our planet. If we could start reducing the amount of synthetics by using Filium® to activate natural fibers and eliminate microplastics, micro-shedding, and all the harm they cause to our planet and our bodies, that would be incredible. It’s a lofty goal that will take many years and require cooperation from government, business leaders, and the public. Being a small part of a movement like that would be an incredible feeling and something truly lasting.

Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?

Relationships are like capital — always invest and never spend. One of my mentors taught me early in my startup days how crucial it is to build and invest in relationships over time. He would say, “Always ask how you can help, offer advice, volunteer, make introductions, and never ask for anything in return.” When you live your life this way, it’s amazing how many people will take your calls and want to help when you need something. When I was raising money for Zenkai Sports, I was astonished by how many people wanted to get involved to help advise or invest, and they were all individuals I had known for years, whom I had helped without any preconceived expectations.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

Please follow our journey at Filium Corp (www.filium.com), Instagram, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or my personal Instagram or LinkedIn. For any partnership inquires please fill out our questionnaire here: Filium

This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!