DANVILLE – European online fashion platform Zalando and global materials science and digital identification solutions company Avery Dennison are among new investors in Virginia-based Circ.

Circ has developed a technology capable of separating and recovering mixed polymer streams from waste clothing – specifically any blend of polyester and cotton – and raised an initial $30 billion through a Series B funding round in July last year, when backers included Marubeni and Milliken & Company.

Further funding of $25 million has now been raised from Zalando, Avery Dennison, South Korean outdoor brands owner Youngone and a number of existing investors.

This latest investment will help Circ accelerate engineering for industrial-scale facilities and deliver its first consumer products to market.

“Transforming the fashion economy requires leadership from influential players in the textile industry and the financial community, as well as technology innovators,” says Peter Majeranowski, CEO at Circ. “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. With each funding round and expansion in our partner base, we become more capable of ending the costly and preventable cycle of garment waste.”

“With the investment in Circ, we are contributing to an emerging infrastructure for circularity that will eventually help Zalando, and the fashion industry at large, to move away from a take-make-waste model,” added David Schneider, Co-CEO at Zalando, which has over 50 million active customers in 25 markets. “We want to be a sustainable fashion platform with a net-positive impact for people and the planet, and we are excited about the potential of Circ to contribute to this vision.”

Using intelligent labelling in garments, Avery Dennison is working with Circ and other supply chain partners to provide a solution for the take-back and sorting of waste at scale.