Sustainable fashion is about more than swapping conventional materials for recycled ones. A growing group of startups is rethinking how clothing is made, sold, sorted, and recycled in the first place.
From textile-to-textile recycling and alternative materials to AI-powered sorting and waterless processing, these sustainable clothing startups are taking on different parts of fashion’s environmental footprint.
Top Sustainable Clothing Startups to Follow
Every year, new startups move to the forefront of their industries through new technology, materials, and business models. We’ve rounded up 10 sustainable clothing startups that startup enthusiasts, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should have on their radar.
Disclaimer: With so many sustainable fashion startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. The startups listed below are not officially ranked and appear in no particular order. Total funding figures reflect cumulative disclosed equity financing as of August 2026, where publicly available.
1. Ambercycle
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Founders: Shay Sethi, Moby Ahmed
- Founded In: 2015
- Total Funding: $42 Million+
- Latest Round: Strategic Investment, Undisclosed
- Investors Include: H&M CO:LAB, KIRKBI, Temasek, BESTSELLER Invest FWD, Zalando, DRIVE Catalyst, Shinkong Synthetic Fibers, Goldwin Play Earth Fund
Ambercycle is tackling one of fashion’s biggest waste problems: what happens to clothing after people are finished with it. The company developed a molecular regeneration process that turns end-of-life textiles into new raw materials, including its cycora® regenerated polyester.
Rather than relying on plastic bottles as a source for recycled polyester, cycora is made from textile waste. The company’s approach is designed to keep materials in circulation while reducing reliance on virgin polyester.
2. SuperCircle
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Chloe Marie Songer, Stuart Ahlum, Phong Nguyen
- Founded In: 2022
- Total Funding: ~$35 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $24 Million
- Investors Include: Foundry, BBG Ventures, Renewal Funds, Elemental Impact, Ulu Ventures, Radicle Impact
Collecting used clothing is only part of the recycling challenge. Brands also need a way to sort, transport, and determine what should happen to each item next. SuperCircle provides the infrastructure to help companies manage that process.
Its platform combines reverse logistics, textile sorting, reuse, and recycling services. AI-powered sorting technology helps determine the most appropriate path for different items, giving brands a more structured way to manage clothing after customers are finished with it.
3. Quince
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Sid Gupta, Sourabh Mahajan, Zunu Mittal, Becky Mortimer
- Founded In: 2018
- Total Funding: ~$962 Million
- Latest Round: Series E, $500 Million
- Investors Include: ICONIQ Capital, Wellington Management, Baillie Gifford, Basis Set Ventures, DST Global, Notable Capital, WndrCo
Quince takes a different approach to sustainability than many fashion startups on this list. Its manufacturer-to-consumer model removes several layers of the traditional retail supply chain, including sourcing agents, wholesalers, distributors, and storefront retail.
The company also uses materials such as organic cotton, organic linen, recycled polyester, and recycled nylon across parts of its product line. Its wider catalog extends beyond clothing into home goods, accessories, beauty, and other categories.
4. TALA
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founder: Grace Beverley
- Founded In: 2019
- Total Funding: ~£9.2 Million
- Latest Round: Funding Round, £5 Million
- Investors Include: Pembroke VCT, Venrex, Active Partners
TALA has built its activewear and lifestyle brand around performance, fit, quality, style, and more responsible material choices. This is especially relevant in activewear, where many of the fabrics that provide stretch and performance rely on synthetic fibers.
Its collections use recycled polyamide and polyester alongside materials such as organic cotton and TENCEL™ Modal and Lyocell. The company has also expanded beyond workout clothing into a broader range of activewear and everyday styles.
5. Girlfriend Collective
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Founders: Ellie Dinh, Quang Dinh
- Founded In: 2016
- Total Funding: No Known External Funding
- Latest Round: N/A
- Investors Include: N/A
Recycled materials have been part of Girlfriend Collective from the beginning. The activewear company uses recycled polyester, nylon, and other recycled materials across many of its leggings, bras, shorts, and other clothing.
Its sustainability efforts also extend beyond production. Through its ReGirlfriend take-back program, powered by SuperCircle, customers can send in used clothing for reuse or recycling. The brand is also known for offering an inclusive size range from XXS to 6XL.
6. Syre
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Founders: H&M Group, Vargas
- Founded In: 2023
- Total Funding: $100 Million+ in Disclosed Funding
- Latest Round: Series A, $100 Million
- Investors Include: TPG Rise Climate, H&M Group, Giant Ventures, IMAS Foundation, Norrsken VC, Volvo Cars, Leitmotif
Syre is focused on one of fashion’s most widely used materials: polyester. Its textile-to-textile recycling technology is designed to turn polyester waste into material that can be used again in apparel and other products.
The company’s model focuses on producing circular polyester at industrial scale rather than relying primarily on recycled plastic bottles. Its broader goal is to create a more closed-loop system where existing textiles can become raw material for new ones.
7. Rubi
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
- Founders: Neeka Mashouf, Leila Mashouf
- Founded In: 2021
- Total Funding: ~$20.7 Million
- Latest Round: Funding Round, $7.5 Million
- Investors Include: AP Ventures, FH One Investments, Talis Capital, H&M Group, Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures, CMPC Ventures, Understorey Ventures
Instead of starting with cotton, trees, or petroleum, Rubi is exploring whether carbon dioxide can become a raw material for textiles. The company uses an enzyme-based process to convert waste carbon into cellulose.
That cellulose can serve as a building block for materials used in textiles and other products. The approach offers another potential source of cellulose without depending as heavily on traditional land- and resource-intensive inputs.
8. Refiberd
- Location: Cupertino, California
- Founders: Sarika Bajaj, Tushita Gupta
- Founded In: 2020
- Total Funding: $4.1 Million in Dilutive Funding
- Latest Round: Seed VC, Undisclosed (2025)
- Investors Include: True Wealth Ventures, Better Ventures, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, eBay Ventures, PDS Ventures
Refiberd is tackling a basic but important recycling problem: determining what textiles are actually made of. That becomes difficult when clothing combines several fibers or contains trace materials that are hard to identify by sight alone.
The company combines hyperspectral imaging with artificial intelligence to analyze textile composition and detect different fibers and contaminants. More accurate material data can help recyclers sort textiles into appropriate recycling streams and recover more usable material.
9. Xefco
- Location: Sydney, Australia, with R&D in Geelong, Victoria
- Founders: Tom Hussey, Brian Conolly
- Founded In: 2018
- Total Funding: A$10.5 Million+ in Disclosed Equity Funding
- Latest Round: Seed Extension, A$10.5 Million
- Investors Include: Main Sequence, Breakthrough Victoria, Virescent Ventures, Investible, Voyagers Climate-Tech Fund, Nightingale Partners
Dyeing and finishing can require significant amounts of water, energy, and chemicals before a piece of clothing ever reaches a customer. Xefco is developing textile-processing technology aimed at reducing those inputs.
Its Ausora® platform uses atmospheric plasma to apply color and functional finishes to textiles without relying on conventional water-intensive wet processing. The technology is designed to reduce the water, energy, and chemicals required during textile finishing and dyeing.
10. Samsara Eco
- Location: Jerrabomberra, Australia
- Founder: Paul Riley, in Partnership With the Australian National University
- Founded In: 2021
- Total Funding: ~US$105 Million
- Latest Round: Series A+, US$65 Million
- Investors Include: Temasek, Main Sequence, DCVC, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures, Wollemi Capital
Samsara Eco uses enzymes to break certain plastics and synthetic textiles down into their original molecular building blocks. Those materials can then be used again in manufacturing rather than relying entirely on new fossil-fuel-based inputs.
The company was developed in partnership with the Australian National University, with early backing from Main Sequence and Woolworths Group. Its recycling technology is being applied to materials relevant to fashion, including polyester and nylon, with the goal of making repeated recycling of synthetic materials more practical.