SuperCircle Secures $24M in Series A to Revolutionize Retail Waste Management

SuperCircle Secures $24M in Series A Funding

SuperCircle has made headlines by announcing a successful funding round of $24 million in Series A financing, led by Foundry, along with notable contributions from BBG Ventures, Renewal Fund, and Elemental Impact. This investment is poised to enhance the company's capacity to transform the textile waste management landscape for top retail brands worldwide.

With an annual discard figure of approximately $163 billion in unsold inventory globally, many U.S. retailers face the harsh reality of losses attributable to returns, processing expenses, and unsellable stock. Alarming statistics reveal that more than 85% of textiles ultimately end up in landfills or are incinerated. SuperCircle has positioned itself uniquely to tackle this pressing issue, offering retailers an advanced operating system designed to generate value through effective waste management, all while adhering to new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations that aim to ensure accountability in end-of-life processing for brands.

SuperCircle stands out as a full-stack digital operating layer that allows retailers to pivot their perspective on waste from being a costly liability to a potential asset. The platform provides end-of-life optimization for over 75 prominent partners, including popular retail giants like J.Crew, GUESS, Reformation, FIGS, and Parachute Home. This is achieved through comprehensive initiatives such as nationwide customer trade-in programs and efficient supply chain management, encompassing both store fleets and distribution centers.

A Vision for Reducing Losses
In discussing the inspiration behind SuperCircle, CEO and Co-founder Chloe Songer shared insights from her early career, where she witnessed immense quantities of retail products being written off due to a lack of efficient end-of-life pathways. She emphasized the platform's purpose: to provide a scalable and financially viable solution for retailers, enabling them to derive continued value from textiles well beyond the original sale. This model not only minimizes supply chain losses associated with overstock, damages, and returns, but also helps retailers capture maximum value from every item sold.

As the retail environment grows increasingly competitive with tighter margins and escalating operational costs, SuperCircle's infrastructure offers critical support in curbing waste-related financial losses. The company utilizes advanced AI technology to guide decisions on the most profitable and sustainable next steps for textile items, ensuring responsible routing of damaged goods, excess inventory, and other returns across the U.S. and Canada.

With a commitment to continuous improvement, SuperCircle collects over 50 garment-level data points to create a virtual twin for each piece of clothing. This intelligent dataset not only enhances the effectiveness of their sorting algorithm but also facilitates measurable cost savings, cuts down on waste handling expenses, and opens up new revenue possibilities for retailers.

Transformative Goals
The Series A funding will propel SuperCircle's ongoing technology enhancements, expand its supply chain integrations, and broaden its logistics and processing capabilities. Additionally, efforts will be made to refine data architecture for seamless compliance reporting and efficient onboarding of larger retail enterprises.

As highlighted by Nisha Dua, Managing Partner at BBG Ventures, the industry needs a comprehensive approach that redefines waste management, converting potential losses into cash streams. SuperCircle's innovative platform fosters a transformative shift within the consumer goods sector, allowing brands unprecedented control and visibility over their end-of-life processes, which traditionally have been opaque and inefficient.

Jaclyn Hester, a Partner at Foundry, affirmed that SuperCircle's solutions set a new benchmark for waste management infrastructure, assuring regulatory compliance, significant impact, and profitable outcomes. The company has already diverted an impressive 6 million textiles from landfills and sets its sights on a massive goal—profitably redirecting over 1 billion textiles by the year 2030.

About SuperCircle
SuperCircle operates as a full-service textile waste management platform that caters to apparel, footwear, accessories, and a wide range of home textiles. The company adeptly channels these products into the most advantageous next-life options through its AI-powered sorting technology, aligning with over 50 recycling and reuse streams. Dedicated to maximizing sustainable outcomes, SuperCircle maintains a steadfast commitment to recycling initiatives, ensuring zero textiles are sent to landfills. By partnering with leading brands and retailers, SuperCircle offers robust front-end consumer trade-in programs while also managing back-end collection of fabric scraps and unsellable inventory. With ambitions to act decisively against the ongoing textile waste crisis, SuperCircle has recycled numerous garments to date and aims to continue this vital work well into the future.

For further details, visit supercircle.world.