Zalando Invests in Ambercycle

• Ambercycle’s technology recycles textile waste into polyester resins and, ultimately, into a new fiber called cycora® - a 100% circular substitute for virgin polyester and other materials
• With this new funding, Ambercycle aims to develop infrastructure and materials for circularity within the fashion industry

BERLIN, JANUARY 4, 2022 // Zalando, Europe’s leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle, invests in material science company Ambercycle Inc. The company announced today the closing of its Series A financing from Zalando as well as H&M CO:LAB, KIRKBI, Temasek and BESTSELLER's Invest FWD. With this new funding, Ambercycle aims to develop infrastructure and materials for circularity within the fashion industry.

Environmental and governmental agencies estimate that over 120 billion garments are discarded annually. Ambercycle was founded in 2015 by Shay Sethi and Moby Ahmed with the goal of building circularity for the fashion industry. The company's process, AmbercyclingTM, separates and purifies post-consumer textile waste at the molecular level to produce regenerated materials that brands and designers can craft into new garments. This simultaneously reduces the materials going into landfills as well as the need to extract finite resources from the planet. 

The company’s first solution, cycora®, is a material that makes use of old garments by regenerating end-of-life textile waste into new fabrics. cycora® serves as a direct replacement to the tens of billions of pounds of polyester used annually, and emulates the functional characteristics of these conventional fabrics while allowing apparel brands and designers to produce high quality garments with circularity in mind. 

"The transition to circularity in fashion is inevitable," said Shay Sethi, Co-Founder and CEO of Ambercycle. "We are building an ecosystem in which materials can exist in harmony with humans and the environment. Our breakthrough molecular regeneration process enables a clear vision for circularity, in which fashion can flow in and out of our lives. Not only will this improve the sustainability performance of the items in our closets, but it builds a new way for us to interact with our materials." 

Over the past few years, the company has proven the technology by building a pilot plant in downtown Los Angeles. With the funds raised the company plans to scale up production of cycora®. The innovative material has already been used in successful collaborations with Los Angeles streetwear brands like Justin Mensinger, select luxury brands, and most recently by industry giant H&M for its 2021 Circular Design Story Collection.

Ambercycle is a material science company dedicated to ending waste in the fashion industry by creating the ecosystem for infinite textiles. Founded in 2015, the Los Angeles based company is developing and scaling a breakthrough technology to produce regenerated alternatives to conventional materials. Ambercycle’s first solution, cycora® is a premium fabric made from landfill-destined textile waste. For more information, visit www.ambercycle.com.