First portrait of a series that will present you over the weeks, entrepreneurs, inventors and creators who are not lacking in creativity or audacity. They are all supported by Mont X, here in Mont-Tremblant. Back on the course of Justin Bastarache.
Mount X, which is a storefront in Mont-Tremblant is an incubator and an accelerator of startups (Young shoots) which offers support to innovative companies in Quebec and elsewhere. Their services specialize in the fields of sport, outdoors and well-being. According to Alexis Turcotte-Noël, program coordinator and innovation advisor, the mission of Mont X is to make Mont-Tremblant and Laurentides a territory and a pole of innovation in these specific fields. “We want to impose ourselves as a must, and create the Silicon Valley of Sport, Outdoor and Well-Being in Quebec and Canada,” adds the coordinator.
Julien Bastarache is not lacking in audacity
While he was still on the school benches in 2019, Julien and two of his companions founded a company that specializes in making clothes – including caps – with a maritime theme. Products displayed embroidery of aquatic animals. Justin and his companions sold their production to their families and friends. Concerned about the environment, they decide to give part of the profits caused to an organization which is responsible for cleaning the oceans. Honored, the people of the OBNL concerned who receive the sum of money, however, want to raise awareness among the three young entrepreneurs to the fact that fashion is a very polluting industry, and that there are visors of cap in astronomical quantities in the oceans and even on the beaches. It didn’t take more for an idea to start germinating in Justin Bastarache’s head.
Blutech visor, accelerated biodegradation technology
Now making a horseman alone, the young entrepreneur now concentrates only on the caps. The latter have a biodegradable visor, which he called “Blutech”.
Justin explains his concept: “Traditional plastic visors can put hundreds, even thousands of years to decompose, depending on the type and conditions. Blutech, this innovative ingredient, considerably accelerates the visor biodegradation process. Unlike standard plastic, this visor is durable and manufactured in order to preserve the planet. Once in a dumping ground (or any other bacterial environment), the Blutech visor which has a chemical design will attract surrounding microbes, microbes feed on the visor. According to different factors, it can flow several years before they finish their meal. By digesting the visor, the colonies of microbes produce water, minerals, biomass and gas – natural elements. He stresses that the cap, during its lifespan, is quite similar to so-called “traditional” caps, that is to say that they can very well be washed in a washer, being forgotten in a closet or being worn in the rain, without being altered. The decomposition process will only start in the presence of a bacterial environment.
The secret recipe
But what is this famous revolutionary visor composed? “In fact, it is a secret recipe that was patented by an American company that works in ‘Packaging’. I established a partnership with them using their material to produce visors, ”underlines the young entrepreneur.
The caps have already been on sale for a while in a few stores in Canada, the young entrepreneur has also designed an online store. But for the moment, the majority of sales are made to the “corporate”, companies that buy a batch of eco -responsible caps that display the colors of their business.
Fabrication locale
For the moment, the caps are still produced abroad, but things will change quickly. “We inaugurate, in July, our factory here in Sherbrooke, all production will now be done locally,” says Justin.
Reciprocal recognition
Justin Bastarache highlights the importance that Mont X de Mont-Tremblant had in all the stages of his project: “They helped me break a certain isolation, being alone in this company I needed people capable of ‘challenger’ to ‘brainstorm’ with me. Mont X is a large partner who walks with me. »»
As for him, Alexis Turcotte-Noël, from Mont X, is full of praise for the young entrepreneur: “Over his career in the Elevation program, I had the privilege of discovering in Justin a person of great integrity. He is a remarkable entrepreneur, animated by an exemplary consistency, an inspiring perseverance and a love of a job well done. Justin embodies deep and sincere values. He managed to combine with finesse, ambition and ethics. Working with him is to rub shoulders with someone real, committed and deeply human. »»
