Tereform, a Denver, CO-based textile recycling startup specializing in circularity for hard-to-recycle materials, raised $1.25M in funding.
The round was led by AccelR8 with participation from Toyota Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the scaleup of its chemical process for recycling synthetic material in the automotive apparel, and home-goods industries. With this new investment, Tereform is now outfitting a pilot facility to increase the process scale and produce prototype garments made from fully textile-to-textile recycled materials. They are also looking towards expanding the team as they grow their operational capabilities.
Founded in 2022 by Kevin Sullivan, Tereform is advancing chemical recycling technology that recycles mixed-material waste textiles from hard-to-recycle streams. The process, developed by scientists as a part of the Department of Energy’s BOTTLE Consortium, and spun out of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory through the West Gate accelerator program, uses oxygen and biobased solvents to break down synthetic textiles containing complex additives, like spandex, prints, finishes, and dyes-materials that have previously been challenging to recycle efficiently. This approach enables the creation of recycled polymers from waste textiles while maintaining competitive costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to new plastic production.
They are currently working with brand partners to scale the process using both postconsumer and postindustrial waste.
FinSMEs
25/02/2025