What Carbon38 does

Carbon38 is a privately-held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand founded in 2012 and headquartered in Culver City, California, that sells premium women's performance fashion and athleisure. The company targets active women across use cases including yoga and Pilates, tennis and golf, hiking/walking/running, and everyday lifestyle, with merchandising explicitly organized by activity in addition to category and fabric. Its core product assortment includes leggings, sports bras, tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories, alongside adjacent categories such as loungewear, outerwear, swimwear, and dresses & jumpsuits, sold individually or as curated Bundles.

The company's differentiator is a proprietary fabric technology portfolio — Melt, Ribbed Melt, Takara Shine, Diamond Compression, French Terry, and Interlock — engineered for four-way stretch, moisture-wicking, compression support, and shape retention. Complementing the proprietary Carbon38 label, the site curates premium third-party brands including HOKA, On, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Eugenia Kim, Think Royln, and Fenix Sportier, positioning the storefront as a multi-brand marketplace for elevated women's activewear. Distribution is exclusively digital via a Shopify-powered storefront with international shipping across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East; no physical retail presence is disclosed.

Commercial mechanics are transactional one-time purchases at premium price points (leggings $78–$118, sports bras $88–$98, outerwear $248–$917, accessories $16–$535, shoes $135–$400+), with free shipping above $199. Retention is supported by the Carbon38 Rewards loyalty program (1 point per $1 spent, 100 points redeemable), email and SMS marketing, an Instagram-led content and ambassador program, and referral mechanics. Across 2013–2020 the company raised approximately $39.1 million from investors including Foot Locker (lead on the 2018 Series 2 and 2019 follow-on), Montage Ventures (lead on the 2015 Series 1), BBG Ventures, M3 Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, Cambridge Companies, Halogen Ventures, and SoGal Ventures; no additional funding rounds have been disclosed since August 2020.

Name

Carbon38

Legal name

Carbon38

Website

https://carbon38.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carbon38 is a privately-held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand founded in 2012 and based in Culver City that sells premium women's performance fashion and athleisure under proprietary fabric technologies (Melt, Diamond Compression, Takara Shine) alongside curated third-party designer brands, targeting active women across yoga, Pilates, tennis, golf, hiking, and lifestyle use cases globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Performance Athleisure

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (45811), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (315990), Apparel Manufacturing (315), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Retail-Women's Clothing Stores (5621), Women's, Misses', And Juniors Outerwear (2330), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Activewear & Training Apparel (CRAAAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Athletic / Performance & Activewear Brands (CRAAAAAD), Outdoor & Active Lifestyle Apparel Retail (CRAAABAL), Performance Outerwear & Technical Apparel (CRAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Women's activewear
• Performance athleisure
• E-commerce fashion
• Proprietary fabric technology
• Premium activewear

Headquarters

HQ city

Culver City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: Carbon38 generates revenue through direct-to-consumer sales of apparel, footwear, and accessories via their e-commerce platform. Products include their proprietary Carbon38 branded activewear as well as curated third-party designer brands. The revenue is transactional with one-time purchase model, supplemented by a rewards program that incentivizes repeat purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Carbon38 designs, brands, and sells women's performance activewear and athleisure apparel (leggings, tops, sports bras, bottoms, outerwear, swimwear, dresses, shoes, and accessories) through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, carbon38.com. The product line is anchored by proprietary fabric technologies — Melt, Diamond Compression, Takara Shine, Ribbed Melt, French Terry, and Interlock — and complemented by curated third-party designer brands such as HOKA, On, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Eugenia Kim, Think Royln, and Fenix Sportier.

Product overview

Carbon38 is an e-commerce athleisure and performance fashion brand offering a comprehensive portfolio of activewear and lifestyle clothing. The company's product ecosystem centers on proprietary fabric technologies (Melt, Diamond Compression, Takara Shine, Ribbed Melt, French Terry, Interlock) that power core categories including leggings, tops, sports bras, bottoms, shoes, and accessories. Products are sold individually or as curated Bundles for complete outfits. The brand also features designer collaborations and third-party brand partnerships (HOKA, On, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Eugenia Kim, Think Royln) and operates a loyalty rewards program. The offering is a unified e-commerce platform with no multi-module software architecture—it's a fashion retail brand rather than a SaaS or technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leggings High-performance leggings crafted from proprietary fabrics including Melt, Diamond Compression, Ribbed Melt, and Takara Shine, designed for activities like yoga, pilates, running, and everyday wear.
• Tops Performance tops including sports bras, tanks, t-shirts, and sweaters available in various fabric technologies for different activity levels and style preferences.
• Sports Bras Supportive sports bras in multiple support levels (light, medium) featuring fabric technologies like Diamond Compression and Melt for high-impact and low-impact activities.
• Bottoms Athletic bottoms including shorts, skirts, joggers, and pants designed for various activities from tennis to lounge wear.
• Shoes Athletic and lifestyle footwear including sneakers (lifestyle and performance categories), sandals, slides, flats, and boots from partnered brands like HOKA, On, and Adidas by Stella McCartney.
• Accessories Fitness and lifestyle accessories including bags, hats, socks, wellness equipment, gloves, scarves, and tech gear from designer brands like Eugenia Kim, Think Royln, and Fenix Sportier.
• Bundles Curated outfit combinations pairing complementary pieces like sports bras with leggings or tops with bottoms at bundled pricing, featuring various fabric collections.
• Loungewear Comfort-focused clothing including sweatshirts, hoodies, and lounge pants designed for relaxation and everyday comfort using French Terry and soft fabric blends.
• Outerwear & Jackets Performance and lifestyle outerwear including jackets, coats, and windbreakers designed for transitional weather and outdoor activities.
• Swimwear Swimwear pieces including one-piece swimsuits featuring fashion-forward designs with technical fabrications suitable for beach and pool activities.
• Dresses & Jumpsuits Flowing dresses and structured jumpsuits designed with performance fabrics for versatility from workout to everyday wear.
• Digital Gift Card Electronic gift cards available in variable denominations for gifting Carbon38 products and fabric technologies.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alo Yoga: Alo Yoga is a premium women's activewear and athleisure DTC brand with proprietary fabric platforms, ambassador-driven marketing, and a similar premium-pricing strategy. It is the closest direct competitor to Carbon38 in the women's performance fashion segment.
• Outdoor Voices: Outdoor Voices is a DTC women's activewear brand focused on recreational running, yoga, and lifestyle — selling technical fabrics like Carbon38. Targets a very similar customer demographic with a community-led, ambassador-marketing approach.
• Sweaty Betty: Sweaty Betty is a UK-origin premium women's activewear brand (now owned by Wolverine Worldwide) operating globally through DTC and select retail. It sells leggings, sports bras, and technical fabrics into the same yoga/Pilates/running customer as Carbon38.
• Bandier: Bandier is a multi-brand premium activewear retailer that combines a curated marketplace of third-party brands (including designer collaborations) with proprietary product. Directly comparable to Carbon38's marketplace-plus-own-brand DTC model.
• Gymshark: Gymshark is a DTC fitness apparel brand that built scale through influencer marketing and a broad activewear assortment. While more unisex, it overlaps with Carbon38 in target demographic, channel mix, and use cases like training and yoga.

Broad incumbents

• Lululemon Athletica: Lululemon is the dominant premium women's activewear brand globally with proprietary fabrics (Luon, Nulu) and a strong DTC + retail model. Carbon38 competes for the same high-income, fashion-forward active customer.
• Athleta (Gap Inc.): Athleta is Gap Inc.'s women's activewear brand with a strong omnichannel retail and DTC presence. It targets the same yoga, pilates, and lifestyle customer as Carbon38 and competes on assortment and brand legitimacy.
• Nike Women: Nike's women's division is a broad incumbent serving the same activewear customer as Carbon38 across leggings, sports bras, and performance apparel. While much larger, it competes for share of the premium women's performance wardrobe.

Emerging players

• Year of Ours: Year of Ours is a smaller DTC women's activewear brand with a vintage-inspired aesthetic, focusing on leggings, sports bras, and matching sets. Comparable to Carbon38 in size and channel strategy though narrower in assortment.
• P.E Nation: P.E Nation is an Australian-based premium activewear and athleisure brand covering studio, street, and sports use cases with a fashion-led positioning. Comparable to Carbon38 on premium women's performance fashion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/carbon38
• Facebookfacebook.com/Carbon38
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon38

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors14 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carbon38