DyeRecycle: Scaling up circularity in textiles
The global fashion and textile industry faces substantial environmental challenges, with textile waste and conventional dyeing processes contributing significantly to pollution. The traditional linear "take-make-dispose" model is increasingly unsustainable, underscoring the urgent need for circular solutions that can minimise environmental impact while safeguarding the industry's economic viability.
DyeRecycle, a pioneering pre-seed company, is directly addressing these issues. Their innovative chemical technology offers a new approach by enabling the extraction and recycling of valuable dyes from textile waste. This not only improves the recyclability of fibres themselves but also allows for the recovery of high-quality dyes for reuse, establishing a truly circular system within the industry.
Accelerating innovation with specialised support
Recognising the necessity for specialised facilities to rigorously test and validate their cutting-edge technology without incurring significant upfront capital investment, DyeRecycle forged a strategic partnership with the BDC.
This collaboration has proved instrumental, providing crucial support across several key areas. We helped DyeRecycle access bespoke equipment, enabling them to conduct essential kilogram-level pilot projects with a lower financial risk. These projects allowed for thorough testing of various configurations and processing conditions, vital for optimising their technology. Furthermore, our team offered technical expertise and comprehensive analytical capabilities, helping to characterise materials, refine the intricate dye extraction process, and ensure the high quality of the recovered dyes.
Additionally, we facilitated introductions for DyeRecycle to key equipment manufacturers and potential industry partners, establishing connections to support their future scale-up plans. Drawing on our extensive experience collaborating with startups from a range of sectors, we offered cross-industry insights that sparked new possibilities for the further development and application of DyeRecycle's technology.
Mitigating risk and enabling growth
Our collaboration has accelerated DyeRecycle's journey towards commercialisation, helping to de-risk their technology prior to full-scale implementation. They are now embarking on the next phase, establishing a dedicated pilot plant. The insights and comprehensive data gathered with the BDC team will directly inform the design and strategic implementation of their scale-up strategy. DyeRecycle's vision is to process significantly larger volumes of textile waste, ultimately producing commercially viable quantities of high-quality recycled dyes and fibres, making a substantial contribution to a sustainable and circular fashion industry.
Aida Rafa, CEO and Co-founder of DyeRecyle, said:
The BDC team was friendly, knowledgeable, and consistently helpful throughout our collaboration. Their facilities provided a vital transitional phase in our development, effectively bridging our initial laboratory-scale research with our ambitions for a pilot plant. The expertise and support we received were invaluable in de-risking our technology and accelerating our path to market. The cross-industry insights they shared opened our eyes to solutions we might never have considered otherwise. We look forward to continuing this valuable relationship as DyeRecycle moves into its next phase of growth.
Let's work together
We have worked on 1,500 bio-based projects to date
We have several ways to work with us, including business advisory programmes and self-funded commercial options. We even have the option for you to hire our state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and office space.
