Lululemon, along with other existing and new investors, has participated in clothing recycler Samsara Eco’s latest US$65 million ($100 million) funding round.
Samsara Eco said the investment will scale up its recycling capabilities as it seeks to build more commercial facilities in Southeast Asia in the next few years.
The facilities will be designed to recycle millions of tonnes of plastic waste such as textiles and packaging into monomers, the molecular building blocks of plastics, to turn them into brand new products.
Moreover, Samsara Eco will scale up its global team of chemists, engineers and technicians, and increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.
Earlier this year, Samsara Eco launched the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product and also helped to introduce Lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. The company says its patented enzymatic recycling solution makes it possible to imagine a future where clothes and plastics have an infinite life.
“Plastics have been an environmental disaster with almost every piece of the 9 billion tonnes ever made still on the planet. But almost all plastic is reusable and recyclable with the right technology,” said Paul Riley, Samsara Eco CEO and founder.
“The ability to infinitely recycle plastic in an environmentally friendly way is a game changer for brands and our planet. Our enzymatic recycling technology makes it easy for brands in almost every industry to meet their sustainability and decarbonisation goals by creating a circular loop for plastics.”
The company targets to be able to recycle all plastics, which can be used within existing cross-sector supply chains like automotive, electronics, and consumer packaged goods.
Other investors that participated in the funding round include Wollemi Capital, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures, and DCVC.
In 2022, Samsara Eco raised US$37 million from its Series A funding. Currently, the company’s construction of a new innovation campus in Jerrabomberra, NSW is ongoing.
