INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
For Days, a clothing startup that wants to reduce the enormous amount of textile waste created annually, announced today that it has raised
The round led by Rosecliff Ventures joined by Collaborative Fund, with participation from Congruent Ventures, Third Prime Capital, Closed
Loop Ventures, Bleu Capital, Gramercy Fund, and Ride Ventures
customers mail back worn shirts for recycling in exchange for new ones.While there is a growing roster of brands focused on quality
sustainable clothing, including Everlane and Alternative Apparel (and a growing community of DIYers who want to reduce their environmental
and social impact by making their own clothes), a lot of wardrobe basics, like T-shirts, socks, and underwear, need to be replaced more
frequently than jackets, sweaters, or jeans.CEO Kristy Caylor, who co-founded For Days with Mary Saunders, worked at Gap and Band of
Outsiders before helping launch sustainable clothing brand Maiyet
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 15 million tons of textile waste is generated annually in the United States and
each year Americans on average throw away about 80 pounds of used clothing per person.Even if they are diligent about donating their
clothes, most of it ends up in the landfill anyway
In 2015, the EPA reported that of the 16 million tons of textile waste generated that year, only 2.45 million tons were recycled, while
10.53 million tons were thrown away
One reason recycling is not more widespread may be because the process of turning old material into new, usable textiles is still
complicated, especially for blended fabrics like cotton/polyester.To keep more items from ending up in landfills, For Days created a
Its T-shirts are made in its Los Angeles factory from USA-grown organic cotton and sold to customers through an annual membership program
$8 per T-shirt, which means customers can send back their used For Days clothing in a prepaid mailer in exchange for any item on its site
The company says the average lifespan of one of its T-shirts depends on the style, but its members have been exchanging items every three to
six months.For Days recycles the used shirts by breaking them down into pulp, which is then blended with fresh organic fiber, and spun into
yarn that the company says has a 70/30 blend of new and recycled fibers
That yarn is then used to make new For Days clothing.The company launched its membership program in May 2018 to a waitlist before opening to
For Days claims it has moved 1,500 pounds of clothing through its closed-loop system, keeping them away from landfills, and saved more than
235,000 gallons of water and 2,400 pounds of CO2 by making their shirts out of 100 percent GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)-certified
sharing economy would emerge to monetize underutilized assets and ensure more efficient and sustainable consumption of resources
So far, most companies have sought to either innovate on the materials or the business model, but few have successfully combined the two
be built around renewable energy and water reclamation programs and biomimicry, a process that uses technology to imitate systems and
materials found in nature and is being used by researchers to create more sustainable textiles and dyes.
