#36 Recovo
The Airbnb of deadstock fabrics
Read time: 4 minutes
Hi, I’m Javi Gascón.
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Today we’ll distill a company that’s transforming textile waste into valuable resources for fashion brands: Recovo 🇪🇸
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What Problem Does Recovo Tackle❓
They tackle the problem of textile waste in the fashion industry, which can be broken down into several key issues:
1. Textile Waste Generation: Every year, over 92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated, with 85% of textiles ending up in landfills.
2. Resource Intensive Production: Textile production is highly resource-intensive, producing 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 and consuming 79 billion cubic meters of freshwater annually.
3. Fabric Cutting Waste: When fabrics are cut for clothing production, around 35% ends up as waste.
4. Environmental Impact: Unused fabrics in landfills release greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals, significantly harming the environment.
Product / Service 📦
Recovo has created a B2B online marketplace where fashion brands can buy and sell surplus fabrics from other brands. This platform helps reduce textile waste by giving leftover fabrics a second life.
Environmental impact reduction: By facilitating the reuse of existing materials, Recovo helps avoid the production of new fabrics, reducing water usage, CO2 emissions, and textile waste.
Traceability and impact data: Recovo provides detailed information on the environmental impact and traceability of fabrics, allowing buyers to make informed decisions.
Efficiency: Recovo handles end-to-end management, including photography, product descriptions, and sample services, making it easy for sellers to list their surplus materials.
Revenue generation: Brands can earn money by selling their surplus materials instead of discarding them.
Cost savings: Brands can access premium fabrics at up to 70% off regular prices. This really helps smaller brands and designers.
Recovo’s platform for circular materials is a win-win-win for buyers, sellers and the environment.
In case you’re curious, they also help companies in other ways :)
Market 🌐
The circular fashion market was valued at $6.3-6.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $13.8 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 7.8%. This growth is due to increasing consumer awareness of sustainable fashion, advancements in textile recycling, and strict government regulations promoting sustainability (especially in the EU).
Other Key Players
Patagonia Worn Wear🇺🇸: Patagonia's initiative encourages customers to repair and reuse their clothing, reducing the need for new, resource-intensive garments.
ThredUp🇺🇸: An online store that specializes in second-hand clothing, helping to extend the life of garments and reduce fashion waste.
These other player focus on B2C though, so Recovo is the only one going 100% into B2B.
Founding Story 🦄
Recovo was founded in 2021 by Marta Iglesias, Mónica Rodríguez, and Gonzalo Sáenz, all of whom had prior experience in the fashion industry. Rodríguez and Iglesias were former employees of Inditex, while Sáenz worked at Tous. The idea for Recovo arose from their shared concern about textile waste in the fashion sector. Iglesias, who worked as a sourcing manager, was particularly bothered by the significant amount of fabric waste generated during the sourcing process for fashion collections.
The founders decided to create a B2B platform to connect buyers and sellers of deadstock fabrics, aiming to give a second life to surplus materials and reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Since its inception, Recovo has experienced rapid growth, operating in 16 European countries and collaborating with notable fashion brands like Mango and Sepiia.
Top Impact Stats 📈
They’ve saved over 419 million liters of water.
The company has prevented +98000 kg of CO2 emissions.
They managed to recover 1.7 million meters of fabrics for reuse by other brands and designers.
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