Circ
Circ develops patented hydrothermal technology to recycle polycotton blends into Circ Lyocell, Viscose, and Polyester fibers, selling recycled pulp and partnering with mills such as Lenzing, Birla Cellulose, and Xinxiang Bailu to supply fashion and footwear brands including Zara, H&M, and Allbirds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersDanville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Circ does
Circ is a US-based textile-to-textile recycling company that develops and licenses proprietary hydrothermal technology to separate polycotton blended fabrics into recoverable cellulose (from cotton) and MEG/PTA (from polyester) streams. The company was founded in 2019 (with a predecessor entity dating to 2011) and is headquartered in Danville, Virginia. Its core commercial outputs are three branded recycled fibers — Circ Lyocell, Circ Viscose, and Circ Polyester — produced by manufacturing partners such as Lenzing, Birla Cellulose, Xinxiang Bailu, Tangshan Sanyou, Arvind, Selenis, Far Eastern, and Acegreen using Circ's recycled pulp and licensed process know-how.
Circ generates revenue through two complementary streams: direct B2B sales of recycled pulp and finished fibers to fiber manufacturers and fashion brands, and strategic technology and supply partnerships with mills that license or procure Circ's recovered inputs for commercial fiber production. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting major apparel, footwear, and luxury brands (Zara/Inditex, H&M Group, Allbirds, Reformation, Madewell, Zalando, Bestseller, C&A, Eileen Fisher, Everlane, Mara Hoffman, Christian Siriano, Vivobarefoot, PYRATEX). Circ addresses the textile-waste crisis by offering what it describes as the only market-tested commercial solution for polycotton recycling, and it is constructing a $500 million, 70,000-metric-ton-per-year industrial facility in Saint-Avold, France. Backers include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Inditex, Zalando, Taranis Investment, Circulate Capital, Avery Dennison, Youngone, Milliken & Company, and Lansdowne Partners, with cumulative disclosed funding above $85M.
Circ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Circ
- Legal name
- Circ, Inc.
- Website
- https://circ.earth
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Circ develops patented hydrothermal technology to recycle polycotton blends into Circ Lyocell, Viscose, and Polyester fibers, selling recycled pulp and partnering with mills such as Lenzing, Birla Cellulose, and Xinxiang Bailu to supply fashion and footwear brands including Zara, H&M, and Allbirds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Circ industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Textile Recycling Materials
- NAICS
- Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252), Fiber, Yarn, and Thread Mills (31311)
- SIC
- Textile Mill Products (2200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Regenerated & Recycled Fiber Production (rPET/rNylon/Regenerated Cellulose) (IMAOAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Blended-Fiber Separation & Material Recovery (Cotton-Poly/Elastane Blends) (IMAOAMAF), Textile & Apparel Recycling and Sorting (Non-E-waste) (BPALADAL)
Keywords
Where Circ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Danville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Circ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Recycled Fiber Sales: Circ generates revenue by selling recycled pulp, lyocell, viscose, and polyester materials to fiber manufacturers and fashion brands. The company works with partners to transform recovered inputs into commercial-grade fibers sold to brands for use in their products.
- Technology Licensing and Partnerships: Revenue derived from strategic partnerships with fiber manufacturers who license or procure Circ's technology and recycled pulp for commercial production.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Circ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Circ operates a textile-to-textile recycling platform that uses a patented hydrothermal process to separate polycotton blended fabrics into recovered polyester (MEG and PTA) and cellulose inputs. These recovered inputs are transformed into Circ Lyocell, Circ Viscose, and Circ Polyester fibers, which are sold to fiber manufacturers and fashion brands for use in commercial apparel and footwear collections. The company also sells recycled pulp directly to fiber manufacturers as a feedstock for downstream fiber production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Circ® Lyocell: Textile-to-textile recycled lyocell fiber integrating regenerated cellulose from textile waste into staple and filament fibers.
- Circ® Viscose
- Circ® Polyester
- Fiber Club
- Circ-Ready
Products and services
- Circ Lyocell Recycled lyocell fiber made from cellulose recovered from polycotton textile waste, sold to fiber manufacturers and fashion brands for use in apparel collections as a drop-in sustainable alternative to virgin lyocell.
- Circ Viscose Recycled-content viscose fiber made from cellulose recovered from polycotton textile waste, supplied to fiber manufacturers for use in brand apparel collections.
- Circ Polyester Recycled polyester fiber produced from recovered MEG and PTA monomers extracted from polycotton textile waste, designed as a direct substitute for virgin polyester in apparel and footwear applications.
- Circ Recycled Pulp Recovered cellulose pulp feedstock produced from polycotton textile waste, sold to fiber manufacturers for integration into commercial viscose and lyocell fiber production lines.
Quantifiable outcome
- Aims to recycle 10 billion garments and save over 100 million trees
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Circ
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Circ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Circ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Xinxiang Bailu Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.coreNew partnership agreement with one of the world's leading producers of viscose filament. Xinxiang Bailu will procure Circ's recycled pulp for commercial-grade viscose filament production, serving as a commercial partner in China with the world's largest viscose filament production capacity.
- Lenzing AGcoreSupply chain partner in Fiber Club program. Lenzing coordinates production from recycled pulp to fiber to yarn, producing TENCEL | Circ with REFIBRA technology.
- Linz TextilcoreSupply chain partner in Fiber Club program coordinating production from recycled pulp to fiber to yarn.
- Niccolò PasqualettiminorDesigner debuting Circ's recycled materials at Paris Fashion Week.
- Patrick McDowellminorLondon-based designer bringing Circ's recycled polyester filament to the runway at London Fashion Week.
- PYRATEXminorPYRATEX adopts Circ recycled fibers to accelerate circular textiles in Europe and beyond.
- Tangshan SanyoucorePartnership to scale Circ Lyocell in China with Tangshan Sanyou Chemical Fiber Co.
- T2T Alliance (Textile-to-Textile Alliance)coreCirc is a founding member of the T2T Alliance alongside Circulose, RE&UP, Syre, Samsara Eco, and Recover. Alliance shapes shared standards, demand signals, and policy frameworks to enable recycled materials to compete with virgin fibers.
- American Circular Textiles (AMCIRC)coreCirc plays a central role in advancing global policy and industry standards through AMCIRC alongside other leading closed-loop recyclers.
- Birla CellulosecoreStrategic partnership with India's Birla Cellulose to accelerate scaling textile recycling innovation. Birla is a leading producer of man-made cellulosic fibers.
- VivobarefootminorPartnership to pioneer chemical recycling for footwear applications.
- Arvind LimitedcorePartnership with India's Arvind Limited to expand access to circular polyester and lyocell at scale.
- SeleniscoreStrategic partnership to scale textile-to-textile polyester production in Europe. Selenis makes high-quality rPET from Circ's recovered terephthalic acid.
- Far Eastern GroupminorPartnership with Far Eastern Group to drive circularity at scale.
- UNIDO SWITCH2CE ProgramminorUNIDO program bringing stakeholders to Bangladesh to advance blended textile recycling.
- Acegreen Eco-Material TechnologycoreStrategic partnership with Taiwan's Acegreen to manufacture lyocell from recycled textile waste. Collaboration ongoing for nearly five years, aiming to increase use of reclaimed cotton to create sustainable fibers, including capsule collection with Zara.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Circ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- RE&UP: RE&UP operates textile-to-textile recycling plants converting polyester and polycotton waste into recycled PET chips, polyester fiber, and other inputs. It competes directly with Circ in T2T polyester and cotton-polyester separation, serving similar fashion brand customers.
- Syre: Syre is a textile-to-textile polyester recycler scaling virgin-equivalent recycled polyester, backed by H&M Group and Inditex (both Circ investors and customers). It targets the same circular fashion demand and overlaps with Circ on polyester and polycotton feedstock.
- Circulose: Circulose produces dissolving-grade pulp from textile waste for viscose and lyocell production, a direct analog to Circ's cellulose-recovery output. It is a co-member of the T2T Alliance with Circ and serves overlapping fashion brand customers.
- Samsara Eco: Samsara Eco uses enzymatic recycling to break down polyester and polycotton waste into monomers for infinite-loop fiber production. It is a direct T2T competitor to Circ and fellow T2T Alliance member pursuing fashion-brand offtake.
- Recover Brands: Recover produces recycled cotton fiber from textile waste and operates as a T2T Alliance member alongside Circ. It overlaps with Circ on cotton-rich feedstock and serves a similar brand base in circular fashion.
- Ambercycle: Ambercycle uses chemical recycling to convert textile waste into regenerated polyester fibers (cycora), competing directly with Circ's recycled polyester stream. It targets similar fashion brand customers seeking circular synthetics.
- Worn Again Technologies: Worn Again Technologies recycles polyester and cotton from textiles into PET pellets and cellulose, overlapping with Circ on both feedstock and outputs. It targets apparel brands seeking closed-loop recycled inputs.
Broad incumbents
- Eastman: Eastman is a large specialty chemicals company with polyester and chemical-recycling capabilities (including textile-to-textile polyester work via Naia Renew). It competes with Circ's polyester stream from a broader polymer portfolio.
- Lenzing AG: Lenzing is a global leader in man-made cellulosic fibers (TENCEL Lyocell, Modal, Viscose) and is both a Circ manufacturing partner and a broader incumbent in regenerated cellulose fibers, producing virgin and partially recycled alternatives to Circ Lyocell and Viscose.
- Birla Cellulose: Birla Cellulose (Aditya Birla Group) is one of the world's largest producers of man-made cellulosic fibers and a strategic Circ partner in India. It is comparable as a major incumbent in viscose/lyocell competing for the same regenerated-cellulose demand.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Circ social profiles
Digital presenceCirc financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Circ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Circ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors18 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Circ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Circ
What does Circ do?
Circ operates a textile-to-textile recycling platform that uses a patented hydrothermal process to separate polycotton blended fabrics into recovered polyester (MEG and PTA) and cellulose inputs. These recovered inputs are transformed into Circ Lyocell, Circ Viscose, and Circ Polyester fibers, which are sold to fiber manufacturers and fashion brands for use in commercial apparel and footwear collections. The company also sells recycled pulp directly to fiber manufacturers as a feedstock for downstream fiber production.
Is Circ a public or private company?
Circ is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Circ founded?
Circ was founded in 2019. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Circ based?
Circ is headquartered in Danville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Circ make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Recycled Fiber Sales are the primary driver. The others are technology Licensing and Partnerships.
Who are Circ's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are RE&UP, Syre, Circulose, Samsara Eco, Recover Brands, Ambercycle and Worn Again Technologies. Broad incumbents are Eastman, Lenzing AG and Birla Cellulose.
Does Circ have an API?
No public API is recorded for Circ.
What industry is Circ in?
Circ's product category is Textile Recycling Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAOAMAD, Regenerated & Recycled Fiber Production (rPET/rNylon/Regenerated Cellulose), with a secondary code of IMAOAMAF, Blended-Fiber Separation & Material Recovery (Cotton-Poly/Elastane Blends). Its NAICS code is 3252 and its SIC code is 2200.