Innovations for the Planet: Lessons from Tom Kallish and Cobi Dryer Sheets

Photo by Dave Morett

With nearly 50 years of experience in the textile industry, Tom Kallish has consistently prioritized innovation over convention. His latest venture represents a monumental step forward for environmentally conscious manufacturing. Cobi Dryer Sheets, launched in 2024, leverages a groundbreaking process that eliminates toxins, additives, and solvents—delivering a 100% biodegradable, plant-based product that doesn’t compromise performance. Backed by an impressive marketing strategy and early projections pointing to over $10 million in revenue within the first year, Tom’s journey offers invaluable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs.

In this interview, Tom shares the lessons learned from decades of innovation and the challenges overcome in building a business rooted in sustainability.

How much revenue and profit does the business generate?

We launched Cobi Dryer Sheets about a month ago so that’s a tough question to answer, but I will tell you based on early responses specifically conversions of our website, we are very confident with our projected revenue of $10+ million in our first year.

Tell us about yourself and your business.

I’ve been in the textile business for nearly 50 years, always focusing on innovation rather than the commodity side. With our company, Everyone’s Earth, we’ve developed a groundbreaking process to make cotton using just three elements: water, air, and cotton fiber. There are no additives, no toxins, and no solvents involved. This process is unlike anything the textile industry has seen before.

Thanks to this innovation, everything we bring to the consumer—without exception—is derived purely from nature, with nothing artificial added. Our clean manufacturing process ensures that everything we produce is 100% biodegradable. From start to finish, our products leave no trace on the environment.

In a world grappling with pollution and waste, what we do is a tremendous benefit to the planet and to future generations. No other company offers this level of sustainability and environmental responsibility, and we’re proud to lead the way.

How does your business make money?

Everyone’s Earth will launch exclusively as a direct-to-consumer model, which is how I’ve launched every company I’ve ever started. In today’s market, the digital space is almost as significant as traditional retail space. Remember when Amazon was just selling books? The landscape has evolved dramatically since then.

Our target audience—Millennials and Gen Z consumers—make most of their purchases on mobile devices, not computer screens. That’s why everything we do is optimized for mobile and tailored for a direct-to-consumer experience.

We’re confident in our approach, backed by a top-tier marketing team. In fact, I’d go so far as to say our marketing team is best-in-class, and they’ve been instrumental in making this launch strategy as effective as possible.

What was your inspiration for starting the business?

A very good friend of mine once pointed out a company that was constantly in the news—The Honest Company. You might have heard of Honest diapers. They were featured in publications like The Wall Street Journal almost every other day, and it caught my attention. I started looking into the company but couldn’t quite understand their success. They were making diapers just like everyone else, with one small difference: Jessica Alba and baking soda. I didn’t think that alone could justify the amount of revenue they were generating. 

Coincidentally, a friend of mine said to me, “You could do that.” My initial response was, “The last thing I ever want to do is be in the diaper business.” At the time, I was running a successful company, but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Eventually, I reached out to a laboratory I was working with in North Carolina and shared my crazy idea. I asked, “What do you think?” To my surprise, they said it was possible, and they could do it.

We set out to develop and commercialize the world’s first 100% cotton biodegradable diaper—one that could perform just as well as any other diaper on the market. The challenge was that cotton isn’t exactly known for being a performance fabric. I thought the project would take about two-and-a-half years, but it ended up taking closer to 10 years. I also underestimated the financial investment, which ended up being far beyond my original expectations.

After years of work, we achieved it: the world’s first 100% cotton biodegradable diaper, capable of breaking down in under two years—unlike other diapers, which never fully degrade. It’s worth noting that 20 billion diapers go into landfills every year, so the environmental impact of this innovation is significant.

Today, we’ve expanded our efforts and just launched Cobi Dryer Sheets. These dryer sheets are 100% cotton, cleanly manufactured with no pollutants, and every additive is plant-based. We’ve learned a lot from the journey with diapers, and we’ve applied those lessons here. Unlike some companies that have faced lawsuits from the FTC for false claims, we go above and beyond—we can trace every component back to its plant of origin.

And, of course, the product performs beautifully. Our fragranced version, for example, doesn’t smell like “grandma’s perfume.” It has a clean, pleasant scent that people genuinely enjoy. One of our marketing team members has a three-year-old daughter who loves walking around with the dryer sheets just to smell them. We’re confident she can do that safely because we know exactly what’s in them.

We’ve evolved into a small but mighty consumer goods company, committed to manufacturing everything cleanly, causing no harm to consumers, and delivering products that biodegrade in landfills. Our mission is simple: create products that are better for people and better for the planet.

I need to emphasize this point again because it’s so important: there’s a company—our company, Everyone’s Earth—tackling this issue in a way that could change everything. Looking ahead, if a company can achieve such innovation, we could have all the energy we need within 10 years. Take Elon Musk as an example—whether you admire him or not, he’s working to eliminate combustible engines. Within 20 years, everything will be electric, which could significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

What many people don’t realize is that the primary ingredient in countless everyday products—diapers, dryer sheets, and more—is oil. Plastic begins with oil. To put it into perspective, making just one diaper requires one cup of oil. Imagine that—one cup of oil per diaper. Now consider that we use 20 billion diapers annually and 50 billion dryer seats annually. The waste and toxic materials from these products leach into our soil, water, and air as they degrade, creating an enormous environmental challenge. That’s the problem we’re tackling.

Last night, I was talking with one of our marketing team members, and I said, “Our success is the world’s gain.” That belief is central to everything we do. It’s how this company started. While we’re on track to becoming extremely successful, we’ve also come to understand the importance of being stewards of this mission. The more successful we become, the greater the measurable impact we can have on benefiting the planet. That’s what drives us forward every day.

How and when did you launch the business?

We launched Cobi Dryer Sheets on November 11, 2024.

How is the business funded? 

When this started, it was important to me, as the founder, to demonstrate confidence and belief in the company’s potential. I wanted to set the tone, so I immediately invested $1 million of my own money. From there, we turned to angel investors and raised a couple of million dollars. However, when we realized how long this journey was going to take, we had to make a crucial decision about the type of backing we wanted.

It’s not that we didn’t explore private equity or venture capital, but we ultimately decided not to bring them in. Instead, we raised a significant amount of money exclusively from high-net-worth individuals. Everyone who came to the table did so on equal footing—one share, one class of shares. That was a deliberate choice.

Interestingly, a venture capital group approached us, not as an institution but as individual investors, willing to participate under the same terms. That gave me a boost of confidence because, typically, venture capitalists don’t agree to play by someone else’s rules.

That’s how we structured this company. We didn’t want anyone to dictate how to make it successful—not because we think we know everything, but because, for now, we need to run it according to the plan we’ve laid out.

How did you find your first few clients or customers?

For this round, our focus is on direct-to-consumer strategies. Normally, I’ve always relied on TV as the first medium because it allows you to reach a broad audience very quickly. However, the rise of the influencer world has completely transformed the landscape of direct-to-consumer marketing.

We have a team member dedicated solely to outreach with credible influencers. We’ve carefully chosen specific influencers for strategic reasons, and we’ve launched campaigns with them. The results have been excellent in terms of conversion rates. I won’t disclose just how high those rates are—I wouldn’t want to make anyone jealous—but they’re performing exceptionally well.

We’re currently using a combination of influencer marketing and social media, with a strong presence on Instagram and TikTok, as the foundation for launching this company. In the future, we may expand into other mediums like radio and TV, but for now, this approach is working very effectively.

What strategies did you use to grow the business?

When it comes to business strategies, one of the most important things is to create a company where people truly love being a part of it. If you can achieve that, the energy it generates is palpable. Somehow, that energy extends beyond the company and into the consumer universe. I can’t explain exactly how or why, but I’ve seen it happen before.

Here, we may be a small team—just 11 people—but everyone genuinely loves this company and what they do. They understand the gravity of our mission, the importance of our work, and the power they have to make a measurable impact on the future of the Earth. That’s no small thing, and it’s something they take very seriously, perhaps even more seriously than I do.

This collective passion and dedication create an incredible energy and vibe within the company. It’s a very cool place to work, and that enthusiasm is something you can feel every day.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

When it comes to natural fibers in the world—silk, linen, wool and cotton—I knew from the beginning that cotton was the best choice for all of our products for two main reasons. First, cotton can be grown in unlimited quantities each year with no negative impact on the Earth. Second, everyone is familiar with cotton and, more importantly, what it represents: purity. That’s why we chose cotton as the foundation for everything we do.

However, it’s important to note that the way we work with cotton is unlike anything done before. Our process uses just three ingredients: cotton, water, and air. We call it “elevated air injection.” This innovative method was entirely developed by us—it’s never been attempted before. It took nearly a decade of innovation and invention to perfect this process and bring this product to market.

The journey has been long, but the result is a product unlike any other, and we’re proud to answer any questions people have about it.

What we set out to do was considered impossible. The first place I went to was a large multinational company with state-of-the-art factories. I explained what I wanted to achieve, and they looked at me and said, “That’s impossible.” But to me, impossible just means harder. The biggest challenge was simply getting to the starting line. Once you’re there, people don’t care about where you came from—they care about who you are and where you’re going. That said, I’m glad someone asked about our journey, because it’s been a tough one. Everyone in this company has been here for the entire ride, and it’s been challenging on every front: financially, technically, and even legally. Companies have tried to block our launches using unethical tactics, and we’ve faced lawsuits just for the sake of disruption. But to me, that only confirms we’re on the right track.

The challenges are still there, but now that we’re launching, they’re becoming less significant. Raising money, which was incredibly hard before, has become a lot easier now. The past 10 years have required an unwavering belief and conviction in what we wanted to achieve, and I couldn’t be prouder of our team.

There were times when it was tough to meet payroll, and many of the things we were trying simply wouldn’t work. Just getting the cotton we developed to run smoothly through a diaper machine—one that produces 1,000 diapers a minute—took two and a half years of constant iterations, testing, and changes.

Yes, it’s been a mountain of challenges, but for what we’re doing and bringing into the world, it was never going to be easy. And honestly, I kind of like it when people say something is impossible, because it’s not—it’s just harder. And here we are.

What have been the most significant keys to your business’ success?

That’s the simplest question you could ask. Our success lies in creating the only company with a 100% clean manufacturing process, meaning we don’t add any chemicals, solvents, pollutants, or toxins to our products. When you present that to someone who genuinely cares about the Earth, it creates a “wow” factor.

Then, when you explain that your products empower them and their families to join a coalition, a collective movement of people working to create a measurable impact on the future of their children’s children, it becomes incredibly powerful. At that point, you’re not just offering a product, you’re offering stewardship and a shared mission.

Everything we make is biodegradable, and when we say biodegradable, we mean it. Unlike others, we back it up with ASTM testing—American Standard Test Methodology for biodegradability. I can tell you unequivocally that many companies claiming their products are biodegradable cannot provide the testing to prove it.

As regulatory agencies, like the FTC, begin to crack down on greenwashing, we’re seeing major brands facing consequences. I won’t name names, but some of the biggest companies have been exposed. While we appreciate the intent behind green marketing, we don’t need to resort to it. All we need to do is tell the truth—because we’ve actually cracked the code.

Tell us about your team.

Our core team is made up of 11 people, but our success is also built on partnerships around the world. These aren’t just places we work with—they’re true collaborators. When you’re taking 26 components that go into a diaper and transforming them from plastic to biodegradable materials, you need a lot of help.

For example, we work with two companies in Germany that helped us invent the world’s first biodegradable Velcro for closing diapers. We also have partners in Mexico and South America who manufacture key parts of the diapers—pieces that many believed were impossible to create in a biodegradable format. While I’m incredibly proud of our core team and the work they do, I’m equally proud of the tremendous network of external partners who contribute to our mission.

To demonstrate our commitment to these partnerships, we’ve even made capital investments in some of their companies. It’s our way of showing how serious we are about working with them. When we approach potential partners and explain what we’re trying to achieve, their initial reaction is often, “That’s a lot of work.” And they’re right—it requires them to rethink and change everything they do. But we’ve carefully and strategically built a system that encourages collaboration. Their willingness to go on this journey with us gives me confidence in how consumers will respond to our products.

This mission is bigger than just us. We call it the “collective coalition,” a united effort involving our team, our partners, and ultimately, the consumer. To illustrate the power of collective action, consider this: there are 121 million households in America. If every household saved just one paper towel a day by reusing it, we could save billions of sheets of paper towels each year. That’s the kind of small, impactful change we want to inspire on a global scale.

Our company is defined by our team, our partners, and our purpose. At industry events, we’ve gone from struggling to get people to talk to us in our first year to walking in and having people point at us, saying, “Those are the ones who are about to change everything.” Competing alongside giants like Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble, we’ve become the ones to watch in this industry.

I’ve built companies before, but I’ll be honest—this one feels different. I don’t know exactly where it’s headed next, but I do know that this team—our marketing team, outreach team, creative director, and influencer outreach specialists—works together so seamlessly. I don’t know where the ceiling is. It’s a joy to watch, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re building.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned growing the business?

This product will be the best in its specific class and is poised to generate significant revenue. But where we are as a company now goes far beyond just this product. We have the ability to create a multitude of products that, without question, can have a measurable impact on the Earth over the next 100 years.

The Earth is remarkably good at taking care of itself if we get out of its way. If everyone were to embrace what we’re doing, we could help preserve the Earth’s air, water, cleanliness, and its natural ability to regenerate. That’s the vision that drives us every day: to bring meaningful change to the world and make it better for future generations.

When we share this mission, nobody says, “That’s a bad idea” or “We don’t want that.” It resonates because it’s not just a business, it’s a purpose. And that’s what keeps us moving forward.

What separates your business from your competitors?

We don’t have any direct competitors—we’ve patented the ability to do what we do. That said, we welcome competition. Anyone who wants to join this mission is an ally, not an adversary. We’re the best because we started this movement, but we understand that real progress requires contributions from many players.

Different countries have different laws, and the evolution of this industry will depend on collective efforts. We believe in the concept of rising-tide economics: when everyone contributes, everyone benefits. At the same time, when you play your cards right and focus on innovation, you can maintain your position as a leader and continue to thrive.

Right now, there’s truly no one else who can do what we do. That’s what sets us apart.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

Great entrepreneurs have a unique mindset. They tend to be myopically focused on their vision and either have the drive to bring it to life or they don’t. If you believe you have something that can make a difference or that you know how to monetize, then go for it.

Just think about how far we’ve come. Every decade brings monumental changes—30 years ago, cell phones were barely a thing. Now, we’re witnessing the rise of artificial intelligence reshaping the world. It’s an incredible time, with so many tools and resources at our disposal for entrepreneurs to make things happen.

Especially in today’s economy, entrepreneurship isn’t limited to a select few anymore, it’s accessible to many, many people. The difference between a good idea and a great idea is simple: with a great idea, you don’t give up. That’s what separates the dreamers from the doers.

What are your future plans for the business?

Here’s the company’s plan moving forward:

We’ve already launched the world’s first high-performing, biodegradable cotton dryer sheets. Next, we’re introducing a natural, compressed detergent. While detergent doesn’t traditionally fit into our product lineup, we made the strategic decision to include it to better understand the consumer and make their lives easier. Our detergent will be completely free of polyvinyl covers—those little plastic pods that don’t dissolve properly, end up in pipes, and eventually pollute the oceans. With 121 million households doing laundry daily, the impact of switching to a sustainable alternative could be enormous.

Our detergent will come in a compressed format, packaged in a reusable tin, and subsequent refills will be sold in biodegradable packaging that can be disposed of with household garbage. This product will launch mid-next year.

In late Q3 or early Q4 of 2025, we’ll enter the diaper category with our brand, Change Diapers, alongside 100% biodegradable baby wipes. The wipes will be made entirely of cotton, with plant-based lotions and additives that are safe for children. These four products will form our core offerings: dryer sheets, detergent, diapers, and baby wipes.

If every household in America switched from brands like Procter & Gamble or Kimberly-Clark to ours, we could eliminate over 230 billion pieces of garbage from landfills annually. These are pieces of waste that currently never break down, and the scale of this impact is something we aim to make people understand.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’ll expand into the adult hygiene and feminine hygiene markets. These categories shockingly rely on plastic-based products that generate staggering amounts of waste. Addressing them will further advance our mission to reduce the environmental burden caused by everyday products.

In just three years, we plan to bring six high-volume, sustainable consumer products to market—an ambitious undertaking. Beyond that, the possibilities are endless. We have countless ideas for future products, but for now, we’re laser-focused on tackling the largest pollutants first, one at a time.

Our society has become complacent with convenience, often ignoring the impact of garbage on our planet. Changing that mindset is part of our mission. We’re not just creating products; we’re working to eliminate toxic waste and reshape how people think about sustainability—one product at a time.