Inditex, or Zara for ordinary mortals, continues to advance in a field that, despite everything, remains alien to it. A neophyte when it comes to startups, the Spanish fashion company par excellence has delved a little deeper into something that its listed colleagues have been working on for years. It has also broken the barrier of advertisements. For once in its intense history, Inditex shows off one of its decisions. In this case, the investment in Circ, an American fiber and fabric recycling startup, which follows the one made a year ago in LanzaTech, chosen to create sustainable capsule collections.
It’s quite a surprise, no doubt. It is not at all common in the history of Amancio Ortega’s empire to talk about something that happens within the company. Since the arrival of Marta Ortega, who came with the mantra of digitization and the closing of physical stores under her arm, winds of change have blown in the fashion empire. Circ, which for the moment will not have any more company in terms of investments, is another of the symptoms of change. One that Telefónica, BBVA, Santander or Repsol, to name a few national listed companies, have been working for some time with better or worse wisdom. Years after the boom of business accelerators within large corporations, it seems that the sector is beginning to find its place.
Is it late for Inditex? The fact that it has announced the investment in Circ – from only 2% expandable to 15% eventually in a round of 30 million dollars – It is not synonymous with a radical change. The future will tell if the Zara empire knows how to add to this entrepreneurship. All in all, what has Inditex seen at Circ?
A joint investment with Bill Gates, that always helps
For startup connoisseurs, perhaps reading Circ in an Inditex release might sound strange. Until two days ago, a German company with the same name circulated with its scooters in Spain. Ultimately, it ended up being bought by its direct competitor, Bird. The Inditext Circ, the American one, the one that did not perish under the bubble of shared mobility, is light years away from these.
As expected, the Inditex Circ has the focus on the recycling of fibers and fabrics. Founded in 2011, the US East Coast company was conceived with very different intentions. Peter Majeranowski and Conor Hartman created a system to recycle the fiber stems from tobacco farming to create pulp. From Sweden they were asked to do the same, but with a shirt. Almost 10 years later, they are still successful in their mission to recycle two of the most common fabrics in the fashion industry: polyester and cotton. capable of rrecover 90% of the tissue compositionits daily volume of work can assume almost two tons of clothes.
Since then, large companies in the fashion sector – those with a deep ecological conscience – have turned to Circ’s technology to solve the serious problem of recycling.
The startup is also working on a textile line made from the recycled fibers they generate.
Not everything goes for Inditex
Zara, and the Inditex empire in general, have a problem on their hands. One that directly attacks the business model that launched the company to international fashion stardom. Conceived as the cradle of fast fashionit is the ecological responsibility that the company has, and must have, that can reverse the success of the goose that lays the golden eggs.
In other words, to solve the environmental issue, Inditex should stop producing so much in such a short time. Investing in Circ, and using it as a resource for Amancio’s empire, is not the answer to the problem at hand.
Because the problem comes from its origin, from deep within the nature of Inditex. Investing in recycling is not being in favor of sustainability. Every year, more than 92 million tons of textile waste ends up in a dead sack and the consumption of 20% of drinking water worldwide, responds to the manufacture of this fast fashion. Water that, in fact, comes from the natural resources of developing countries where fashion factories tend to settle. That is the real problem of Zara and that little is going to solve the investment in a startup of recycling. Because the goal is to stop generating waste, and stop doing it now.