Textiles fibre-to-fibre recycling company Circ has announced the completion of a $25m funding round, with support from online fashion and beauty marketplace Zalando and tech business Avery Dennison.
The investment is to be put towards Circ’s build and engineering requirements for industrial-scale recycling plants, which aim to support the fashion industry’s move towards more circular operations.
The fibre-to-fibre recycling technology aims to keep materials in constant play, making new clothes out of old and reducing waste. A previous funding round was backed by Zara parent, Inditex Group.
Circ’s polycotton recycling pilot plants are currently in development, but once up and running they are expected to allow apparel brands to recycle mixed textile waste streams, such as polyester-cotton blends, into cellulose-based or PET-based yarns for use in future apparel production.
Peter Majeranowski, CEO at Circ, commented: “Transforming the fashion economy requires leadership from influential players in the textile industry, the financial community, as well as technology innovators.
“The Circ team, which includes not only our employees but also our investors and partners, encompasses a diverse group of retail, manufacturing, and engineering leaders across the US, Europe and Asia. We share a common view that a clean future for the fashion industry is not only possible but also essential for humanity.”
He added: “With each funding round and expansion in our partner base, we become more capable of ending the costly and preventable cycle of garment waste. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Avery Dennison said it will work with Circ to test its own technologies. The tech company has developed digital identification solutions, such as RFID and QR codes, and the atma.io cloud product platform, which allow for the creation of digital product passports that can track and provide transparency about garment circularity.
Michael Colarossi, vice president, innovation, product line management, & sustainability at Avery Dennison, remarked: “The time for circular strategies and their enabling technologies is now.
“Using intelligent labelling in garments, we are working with Circ and other supply chain partners to drive a paradigm shift in the textile and fashion industries. Together we provide a solution for the take-back and sorting of waste at scale.”
Read more about fibre-to-fibre recycling on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
