DePoly

Look at the number of elements on this graph - many things need to happen for textile recycling to start working at scale! 💎 Yesterday at a Textile Exchange conference, I heard something that got me thinking. During a textile recycling panel, the CEO of Circ said, "We are taking waste and turning it into value. We can mine our waste instead of natural resources and put it right back to the beginning of the supply chain." The notion of waste as a resource isn't new, but in the context of textile waste, it represents a daring and positive outlook that pushes boundaries, which I welcome. So why is it bold but not new? We have proven recycling works! ♻️ Glass (75%), alu can (75%), and paper (80%) all have high recycling rates in the EU. But, they have one key advantage: they are mono-material systems where people separate that waste in specific bins. Don’t get me wrong - it remains a challenging undertaking, but the nature of the waste and its collection help to operate it. Textiles (and to a good extent, plastics) are fundamentally different. The complexity is higher because garments demand feel, functionality, and appeal. They're a combination of many materials that need separation: blended or layered fabrics with countless "disruptors" such as zips, buttons, decorations, elastics, etc.. Add to that a collection system in infancy, and complexity rises exponentially. 🚀 We can't simply replicate aluminum's success story. We have to engineer entirely new systems around this complexity, and there's no single solution! The good news is that the industry is advancing, but this will take commitment, collaboration, and supportive policy to deliver on the recycling promises. At this point, the success of one recycling player, be it DePoly, Circ, or another, is success for the entire system. It ultimately helps us expand the boundaries of what is possible and advance the textile system toward a resilient, circular future. Do you know any other examples of successful recycling systems?

Duty first 💼, pleasure second 🍽️ Last week, our team members Elias Schmidtlein, Giorgio Benigni, Gaetano Dedual, and David Hanf spent three days in Düsseldorf at K – The World's No.1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber. Here are their key insights from the conference: ⏰ Now or never. The plastic industry is at an inflection point: technological leaders of today might not be the leaders of tomorrow. This technological gap in recycling represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead. 🤝 You can’t do it alone. Progress in plastics transformation depends on strategic partnerships that connect breakthrough technologies with the industrial expertise needed to scale them. 🛞 Don’t reinvent the wheel. Circularity can often be achieved by adapting proven process technologies, with less risk and faster implementation. So, what happened after?   The team gathered for a well-deserved dinner to discuss the work ahead: scaling our depolymerization technology to establish plastic circularity as the standard, not the exception. ♻️

We did it - from textile waste to new recycled fabric! DePoly partnered and successfully delivered a project with Odlo – bringing important proof that “closing the loop” on textile waste is possible with new technologies. I am grateful for the trust in leading this collaboration for DePoly and the effort from both sides! Special thanks go to Johanna Heimlicher, Sara Campidelli, and Fay Ou-Yang of Odlo for excellent teamwork. I would like to share the key lessons from this project: ⏰ Innovation doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took us 18 months to go from the initial project idea to holding a sample fabric in our hands. ♟️ Ability to pivot is a strength. If your very first idea or plan isn’t the one you can execute from A to Z, adapting to circumstances is proof of your resilience. 🧩 Just like in nature, you need the full ecosystem to come along. Bridging the distance between a recycler and a brand relies on good partnerships. In this case, it took academia, polymerizer, and textile institute for us to join the 2 sides. Excited for what comes next!

We did it - from textile waste to new recycled fabric! DePoly partnered and successfully delivered a project with Odlo – bringing important proof that “closing the loop” on textile waste is possible with new technologies. I am grateful for the trust in leading this collaboration for DePoly and the effort from both sides! Special thanks go to Johanna Heimlicher, Sara Campidelli, and Fay Ou-Yang of Odlo for excellent teamwork. I would like to share the key lessons from this project: ⏰ Innovation doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took us 18 months to go from the initial project idea to holding a sample fabric in our hands. ♟️ Ability to pivot is a strength. If your very first idea or plan isn’t the one you can execute from A to Z, adapting to circumstances is proof of your resilience. 🧩 Just like in nature, you need the full ecosystem to come along. Bridging the distance between a recycler and a brand relies on good partnerships. In this case, it took academia, polymerizer, and textile institute for us to join the 2 sides. Excited for what comes next!

DePoly created its first textile-to-textile recycled fabric with Odlo. 🧵 After successfully demonstrating our patented technology with dePET bottles and jars, we’ve now proven it is equally effective for polyester. This means one solution for two of the biggest plastic challenges: packaging and textiles. Curious to know how we did it? Read the full story here: https://shorturl.at/qUNBp If you’re interested in exploring sustainable solutions in both the textile and packaging industries, let’s connect. We’re here to support brands every step of the way on their circularity journey. 

Our team will be on the move this fall. We look forward to talking about feedstock, innovation, and collaboration. Here are the events where you can connect with us.  📍 Sep 16 – Sep 18 | The Drop 2025, Malmö, Sweden.  Meet David Hanf, CFO  📍 Sep 29 – Oct 1 | Luxe Pack, Monaco, France  Meet Gaetano Dedual, Senior Business Development Manager  📍 Oct 8 – Oct 15 | K-Show, Düsseldorf, Germany  Meet Gaetano Dedual (Sr. BD Manager), Elias Schmidtlein (Global Feedstock Manager) & David Hanf (CFO)  📍 Oct 13 – Oct 16 | Textile Exchange Conference, Lisbon, Portugal  Meet Eric Schwaninger (CCO) & Tijana Ivanovic (Sr. BD Manager)  📍 Oct 29 | Chemical Recycling Forum, St. Gallen, Switzerland  Meet Pelin Uran, Head of R&D  📍 Oct 29 – Oct 30 | Performance Days, Münich, Germany  Meet Eric Schwaninger (CCO) & Elias Schmidtlein (Global Feedstock Manager) 🤝 Reach out to schedule a chat.  ♻️ Let’s make circularity the standard.

DePoly was featured on Swiss National Television. 📺 SRF - Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, the public broadcasting company of Switzerland, shone a spotlight on Switzerland’s textile waste problem: Approximately 100,000 tonnes of clothing are collected here annually!     ❌ Much of it can’t be reused — and ends up piling up overseas. 💡 But innovators are working on solutions, and we’re proud that DePoly’s recycling technology was featured as one of them. Textile waste is a global issue. Solving it requires stronger awareness and innovative recycling on a larger scale.  👉 Curious to know more? Watch DePoly on SRF (from minute 24.50 - in German) here: https://shorturl.at/2shX6

🥈 Number 2 on the Top100 Swiss Startup Award 2025 Ranking: DePoly!👏 https://lnkd.in/drSk5WMF Congratulations to DePoly’s founders: Samantha Anderson, Bardiya Valizadeh and Christopher Ireland 🌟 💡 About: every year, 56 million tonnes of PET plastic are produced, yet only 9% is recycled. Traditional methods need PET to be clean and sorted. DePoly is tackling this with chemical recycling that converts mixed PET into raw components at room temperature. These are reused to make virgin-quality plastic, enabling a truly circular plastic economy.  🥂 Let’s celebrate DePoly's outstanding achievement as they take the Number 2 spot at the Top100 Swiss Startup Award 2025! 🔗 Discover the full ranking and all winners here: https://lnkd.in/dZecSKAa #TOP100SSU #SwissStartups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #StartupEcosystem

We’re proud to share that DePoly has been ranked #2 at the Top 100 Swiss Startups Award 2025! 🏆 After last year’s win, being recognised once again among Switzerland’s most innovative startups is an honour, and a strong validation of our mission: enabling true plastic circularity through our depolymerization technology. As we continue to scale, milestones like this remind us why we do what we do. A big congratulations to all the brilliant startups on this year’s list, especially to this year’s winner, Corintis! A special thanks to the Venturelab team for organizing this prestigious award, alongside their partners UBS, SIX, Etat de Vaud, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, HANDELSZEITUNG, IFJ - Startup Support,Amt für Wirtschaft, Kanton Zürich, PME, Startup.ch, Startupticker.ch, Venture Kick, and Walder Wyss Ltd. 🔗 Discover the full ranking here: https://lnkd.in/djXzPahg #TOP100SSU #SwissStartups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #StartupEcosystem