Read the full story at Chemical & Engineering News.
The Virginia-based textile recycling start-up 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.
Circ’s central claim is 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. The firm is guarded about the chemical details of its process, saying “Circ’s technology is based in hydrothermal technology—water, pressure, and responsible chemistry.”
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