Re:newcell, who already counts H&M as one of its minority shareholders, has closed an oversubscribed investment round of $5 million. New investors have joined as owners, including the Swedish fashion brand KappAhl.
”This injection makes it possible for us to increase our pace of production to meet the demand we have from our customers” says Mattias Jonsson, CEO of re:newcell. “It also lets us begin preparations for building our second, larger, recycling plant”.
Re:newcell is the world’s first producer of high quality textile raw materials from post-consumer textile waste at an industrial scale. Their existing plant in Kristinehamn, Sweden, has the capacity to recycle 7 000 tons of cotton and viscose textiles annually, equivalent to 30 million t-shirts by weight using a patented recycling process developed by researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Earlier this year, Re:newcell hit a big milestone when it made its first commercial delivery of 100% recycled Circulose™ material to Tangshan Sanyou, a leading Chinese viscose manufacturer. Re:newcell is now preparing the retail launch of their breakthrough textile material in collaboration with a selection of well-known global fashion brands.
”We’re very fortunate to get KappAhl as an investor. They’re a company with deep knowledge about the industry’s demands, changing consumer behaviors and a credible agenda for the transition to low-impact fashion” adds Mattias Jonsson
The fashion industry already emits more greenhouse gases than the whole global transport sector. Every year around 90 million tons of textile waste is either sent to landfill or incinerated. Less than 1% of clothes are ever recycled back into clothes. Re:newcell’s technology makes it possible to produce biodegradable high quality fabrics without using precious virgin resources such as oil, forests or cotton as an input. Garments made from their Circulose branded material can also be recycled all over again once they are worn out.
“KappAhl is committed to using only sustainable materials in our products by 2025. To reach this ambitious target, access to materials recycled from worn-out textiles will be key. We look forward to contributing to Re:newcell’s important work and collaborate with them to create great products from high quality recycled materials” comments Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at KappAhl.
“Less than 1 percent of all textiles produced are recycled into new clothes. The rest is sent to landfill or incinerated. For each ton recycled with re:newcell’s method, the CO2 impact is reduced by more than 6 tons” says Boris Gyllhamn, Investment Manager at Almi Invest. “re:newcell’s unique technology and circular business model has the potential for global impact in an industry that is experiencing strong pressure to find sustainable solutions.”