Circ closes 25 million dollar funding round, plots first industrial-scale recycling plant

Textile-to-textile recycler Circ has secured a 25 million dollar funding round led by investment and asset management firm Taranis. In a release, the US-based company said that the financing, as well as the expertise of its new partner, would help in its “transition from demonstration-scale to industrial-scale production”.

Alongside Taranis, which acted via its Carbon Ventures fund, this latest round also garnered support from existing strategic investors, including Avery Dennison, a firm specialised in materials science and digital identification solutions; and Zara parent company Inditex. The latter has already worked with Circ on commercial collaborations, with the duo having released a Zara collection in 2023 that put to use Circ’s recycled polycotton blended textiles.

It is exactly this type of textile that is at the crux of Circ’s operations, yet the company plans to further scale its offering in order to build on the “major technical and commercial progress” it has achieved during the past 18 months. To do this, Circ said it is plotting its first industrial-scale blended textile recycling plant, and hopes to depend on its partners, including Taranis, to contribute expertise for the operation of such a project.

Circ plots first industrial-scale textile recycling plant

In a release, Peter Majeranowski, chief executive officer of Circ, said: “This chapter of Circ’s journey—scaling textile recycling to an industrial level—requires that we build on our proven technology with world-class engineering, operations, and strategic investment from mission-aligned partners. Taranis brings exactly that. Their industrial expertise, paired with our innovation, positions Circ to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion economy.”

Circ had already secured 25 million dollars in funding in March 2023, and at the time had welcomed German e-tailer Zalando and Korean manufacturing corporation Youngone as new investors. This had added to a prior 30 million dollar Series B round announced in 2022, at which time Inditex was counted among the financiers.

The company’s technology returns clothes to their raw materials, separating and recovering mixed polymer streams and any blend of polyester and cotton, contributing to its wider goal of reducing carbon emissions created by the fashion industry. When it had partnered with Spanish giant Zara, it was said that Circ’s technology was “the only platform to successfully separate polycotton blended textile waste” and recover cellulosic and synthetic fibres.

This latest funding thus “validates the company’s progress and momentum”, and comes despite a challenging landscape for textile recycling firms, which are struggling in the backdrop of limited commercial support and a lack of financing opportunities.

In the eyes of Taranis CEO, Emmanuel Colombel, however, Circ has “demonstrated a breakthrough solution for circularity in fashion, and we believe our industrial expertise can help take it to the next level”. Colombel continued: “Our goal is to support scalable, pragmatic technologies that reduce waste and emissions. Circ’s vision aligns perfectly with that mission, and we’re excited to support Circ in its journey toward a more circular and responsible fashion industry.”