Chemical recycling and traceability software companies backed by Fashion for Good

Three startups that aim to make the fashion industry more sustainable are about to get a push to scale-up their businesses. Ambercycle, Tyton Biosciences and Bext360 have been accepted into Fashion for Good’s scaling programme this week. The programme puts promising companies in touch with manufacturers, brands and investors for 18 months.

Ambercycle is developing chemical technology to transform textile waste into conventional polymers, hoping to replace traditional polyester. “Current methods for disposal and reuse of waste polymer materials are inefficient, low-value and altogether broken”, reads the company’s website. Fashion for Good said in a statement that Ambercycle’s technology will “enable designers and manufacturers of clothing to truly embrace circular production models without sacrificing quality or cost”.

Bext360 is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) whose goal is to improve transparency in the supply chain of several goods, including coffee, cocoa, seafood, palm oil, coltan, cobalt, timber and cotton. Using a combination of blockchain, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, the company helps to ensure proof of origin at every node in the supply chain. “Our vision is to improve the global fashion industry through digital solutions that validate claims about product provenance, product authenticity and the conditions under which products are being made”, said Daniel Jones, Bext360’s CEO, in a statement.

The third business taking part in the scaling programme is Tyton BioSciences, which recycles cotton, poly-cotton, polyester, nylon and other fibres from discarded clothing to produce the building blocks of petroleum-and plant-based fabrics. Since the company uses water as solvent, it represents a cleaner alternative to the current practices in the recycling industry.

Ambercycle, Bext360 and Tyton BioSciences join five other companies in Fashion for Good’s scaling programme: ColorZen, The Infinited Fiber Company, Softwear Automation Inc, Tamicare and Worn Again.

Fashion for Good is an initiative to make the fashion industry more sustainable, backed by the C&A Foundation and supported by partners such as Adidas, Kering, Target, Zalando and Galeries Lafayette Group. The organisation’s activities include an innovation hub in Amsterdam and a startup accelerator in the Silicon Valley.

Photo: Fashion for Good website