Bill Gates' VC fund and Inditex just led a $30 million round into Circ, a startup that slashes emissions from fast fashion. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds.
Summary
We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide pitch deck it used to lure investors.A startup helping the fashion industry massively reduce its carbon footprint by restoring mixed fabric clothing to its source material just raised $30 million in a round led by Bill Gates VC firm and Zara-owner Inditex.Virginia-based Circ, which was founded in 2011, has developed a hydrothermal process that uses water, pressure, and chemistry to recover materials in clothing, particularly in polycotton blends. Polycotton blends are a popular mixture of cotton and plastic used in everything from bedding and clothing to napkins.The separated materials are then sold back to the supply chain, creating a circular sub-economy, ready to be made into another item. However, the startup struggled to raise funds after it launched in the aftermath of the cleantech boom, which tapered off in 2011.Circ puts shredded textiles into a reactor not dissimilar from a pressure cooker to restore materials. It then adds water, cranks up the temperature, and deploys a "little bit of responsible chemistry" to create three reactions.First is depolymerization, which is the reverse reaction to what made the polyester in the first place. By 2030, it aims to have recycled 10 billion garments, representing 10% of annual production and saving 100 million trees.The Series B round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates, and Inditex, the owner of high street fashion brands including Zara.