| By Olivia Raimonde The $1.7 trillion fashion industry is a major polluter: By one estimate, it’s responsible for between 8% and 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, more than aviation and shipping combined. Clothes manufacturing relies on fossil-fuel-derived fibers like polyester and guzzles energy and water. And the churn of fast fashion means that many items are discarded soon after they’re purchased, which has contributed to eye-popping amounts of textile waste. Two textile-focused startups are among this year’s BloombergNEF Pioneers award winners: Circ, in Danville, Virginia, turns mixed-fiber fabric back into its reusable raw materials, while Paris-based EverDye has developed a lower-impact textile dyeing process. Read more: How 12 Climate Tech Startups Are Shaping the Energy Transition in a Turbulent World Much of the fabric produced today is a blend of cotton and polyester, which is more durable than pure cotton. But the blended fibers are extremely difficult to separate and therefore challenging to recycle. “It’s so hard to mechanically separate them. You can’t comb it apart,” says Sonja Salmon, a textile science professor at North Carolina State University. “A machine will think it’s the same thing.”  Research scientist Christelle Chauffeton works in EverDye's lab. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg That’s why Circ turned to chemistry instead. Its technology uses water as a solvent, plus pressure, to break down large polyester molecules — polymers — into their building blocks, or monomers, says Peter Majeranowski, the company’s president. This helps separate the two types of fiber. Circ then purifies the polyester monomers and the cotton so they can both be reused in textile production. In addition to venture and supply chain investment, Circ has received investment from Patagonia, Inditex (Zara’s parent company) and the European fashion platform Zalando SE. The company would like brands to sign multi-year contracts to use material recycled with its technology. But making commitments for several seasons is uncommon in the industry, Majeranowski says — “a muscle that brands aren’t used to.” Read more: Startups Are Vying to Fix One of Fashion’s Fossil-Fueled Secrets  A sample swatch of fabric is dyed. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg Dyeing the fabric that gets sewn into garments is an energy-intensive step in the manufacturing process. Conventionally, pigments are heated to very high temperatures so that the color can bind. EverDye says it’s developed a bio-based dye that can be applied at room temperature.  An employee works in EverDye's textile process & application laboratory. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg The startup can now dye fabrics brown, orange or yellow and is fine-tuning its approach to create blue, red and black hues. “It takes time to adapt the formulas,” says Victor Durand, EverDye’s head of operations. It launched a small capsule collection last October and is doing pilot testing with brands including Lacoste and Petit Bateau. The company is currently raising money for its series A funding round. “Our goal is to be a regular provider of dyes in the supply chain,” Durand says. For more details on how these technologies work, read the full story on Bloomberg.com. | 
