Circ’s central, the Virginia-based textile recycling startup, claims that it can recycle cotton-polyester textile blends containing any ratio of the two fiber types. The dual outputs can then be used to make cellulosic textiles such as lyocell or viscose on the one hand and new polyester textiles on the other. If successful, the technology will get around one of the main barriers to widespread recycling of fabric by tackling both components of cotton-poly blends, which make up a significant portion of the textiles produced yearly. Existing recycling processes often treat one component as waste if they can handle blends.
Circ has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The investment was led by the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures and joined by the clothing retailer Inditex and the textile manufacturer Milliken, among other new and existing investors.
In a press release about the funding, Circ CEO Peter Majeranowski says his firm has that participation. “With this investment round, we have secured suppliers, purchasers, and major financial stakeholders to establish a much cleaner fashion future,” he says. Majeranowski says the firm plans to use the funds to engineer larger-scale facilities, support product launches, and hire engineering, R&D, management, and business development staff.
A new startup claims that it can recycle cotton-polyester textile blends containing any ratio
