Investors back sustainable textile startups in the UK, Sweden and India

Recycled nylon. Modular recycling machinery. Fibers from farm waste. Three startups that raised capital this week highlight the spectrum of green innovation in the fashion and textile industries.

London-based Epoch Biodesign is dealing with the problem of textile waste by using enzymes to break down nylon fabrics for reuse.

More than 100 million tons of textiles head to landfills every year. Epoch says its process breaks down the materials to their base components and ensures the quality is maintained so it can be spun into new yarn.

Athletic-wear brand Lululemon made a strategic investment in the company, backing its $12 million funding round alongside Kompas VC, Happiness Capital, Leitmotif and Extantia, a Berlin-based climate VC firm.

Scandinavian design

Stockholm-based Renasens is also working on blended and synthetic textile recycling. It is trying to make it easier for manufacturers to reuse materials by providing machinery that can be integrated into existing production facilities. The company says its systems can remove color and separate blended fibers without water or toxic chemicals; the fibers can then be fed back into new textile production.

“The result is Europe’s first truly closed textile loop, producing premium fiber domestically at industrial scale,” said the team at Extantia, which led Renasens’ €10 million ($11.6 million) seed round. Norrsken Launcher and Course Corrected also participated.

Farm to fiber

In India, Canvaloop is working at the opposite end of the textile value chain. The Gujarat-based company is making new materials using agricultural waste sources. The company’s first fabric product, HempLoop, is made using waste from hemp grown for medicinal and food purposes. It has two other products available as yarn, one from banana waste and one from pine waste. It’s developing products from flax and nettles as well.

Canvaloop secured $1.5 million from Gujarat Venture Finance Limited and Rockstud Capital. The company also has backing from climate VC firm Theia Ventures. It was featured on a climate-themed edition of India’s popular venture pitch show Shark Tank.