Helsinki – Infinited Fiber Company (IFC), which produces cellulosic fibres from textile waste, has added to its list of brand partners with a new raft of investment from sportswear giant Adidas.
With €30 million of investment raised in its latest financing round, other new investors, include Invest FWD A/S, which is Bestseller’s investment arm for sustainable fashion, and investment company Security Trading Oy. Among the existing investors contributing to this round of financing were fashion retailer H&M Group, who was the lead investor, investment company Nidoco AB, and Sateri, the world’s largest viscose producer.
Infinited technology turns cellulose-based raw materials, like cotton-rich textile waste, into Infinna, a unique, premium-quality regenerated textile fibre with the natural, soft look and feel of cotton. Infinna is biodegradable and contains no microplastics, and at the end of their life, garments made with it can be recycled in the same process together with other textile waste.
The new raft of funding follows Infinited's announcement of plans to build a flagship factory in Finland in response to the strong growth in demand from global fashion and textile brands for its regenerated textile fibre Infinna. The factory, which will use household textile waste as raw material, is expected to be operational in 2024 and to have an annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tons.
The new funding will allow Infinited to carry out the work needed to prepare for the flagship factory investment and to increase production at its pilot facilities in the years leading to 2024.
"We are really happy to welcome our new investors and grateful for the continued support from our older investors,” said Infinited Fiber Company co-founder and CEO Petri Alava. “These new investments enable us to proceed at full speed with the pre-engineering, environmental permits, and the recruitment of the skilled professionals needed to take our flagship project forward. We can now also boost production at our pilot facilities so that we can better serve our existing customers and grow our customer-base in preparation for both our flagship factory and for the future licensees of our technology."
H&M Group is one of Infinited Fiber Company’s earliest investors. They first invested in Infinited Fiber Company in 2019.
"We’re thrilled to continue our journey with Infinited Fiber Company by further investing in them," said Nanna Andersen, Head of H&M Co:Lab, H&M Group.
"To be joined by other global brands clearly speaks to the shared belief in the scalability of their technology as well as the team behind it. More importantly, it also shows the huge potential that their regenerated textile fiber has in driving the industry towards a more sustainable fashion future." H&M Group has also signed a multiyear sales deal with Infinited Fiber Company to secure its access to agreed amounts of Infinna from the planned flagship factory."
New investor Bestseller has struck a similar sales deal. "We are very excited about this collaboration and hope to build a strong and long-lasting partnership with Infinited Fiber Company – both as an investor and as a business partner," Lise Kaae, a member of the board at Invest FWD added. "Infinited Fiber Company has an opportunity to close the loop in the fashion industry with textile-to-textile recycling, which is a great match for Invest FWD’s aspiration to support the entire fashion ecosystem and Bestseller’s sustainability strategy Fashion FWD through strategic investments."