Monthly update from our startups

August has been a very successful month for the German startup Kleiderly, as it had a strong media presence and was featured in many articles. Moreover, they were selected to participate in the 15th Postcode Lottery Green Challenge. Among their 24 competitors are three former Green Alley Award finalists and winners Traceless Materials, Aeropowder and Mimica. The Green Challenge’s five finalists will be announced in September. The winner receives 500,000 €. Let’s see if one of “our” former finalists will win this price!

Find out more about the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge here.

The startup TrusTrace, a digital platform for product traceability and supply chain transparency, which operates mostly in the fashion and food sector has announced a new collaboration with the platform Renoon. Their new partner is a leading app for sustainability and fashion whose mission it is to enrich the experience of combining style with sustainability values. They will collaborate on the supply chain data side and aim to “benefitting both consumers with more accurate data and brands with recognition of their work”. We regard their new partnership as a step further towards a more sustainable fashion industry.

Check out TrusTrace’s new partner Renoon!

The startup Cellugy, which develops high-performing, sustainable and recyclable biomaterials with the potential to replace plastics, was selected as one of 20 participants in LEAP FORWARD – a brand-new accelerator program for Danish startups and scaleups. The purpose of this program is to speed-up growth of diverse startups in form of a 5 month program following the motto “We need a diverse pool of people to solve the diverse pool of problems that the world is facing”. LEAP FORWARD is supported by Industriens Fond and by a collaboration between Found Diverse, Intentional ApS and The Trade Council in New York.

Want to learn more about Found Diverse?

Aeropowder’s co-founder and CEO Ryan Robinson was interviewed by Veris this month. In their monthly campaign #verifiedbyVeris, they asked him various questions regarding the startup’s mission, it’s foundation and the main challenges they and their product Pluumo are currently facing. When asked about his company’s purpose with regard to sustainability and a greener future, the founder says: “it's beyond the feathers and it's really about inspiring people to reevaluate their relationship with waste and contribute to making the world a bit more of a sustainable place at the end of it.” Veris is a company that aims at disrupting the waste industry through behavior change innovation.

Read the whole interview here.

This month, the Dutch startup Sustonable shared their appreciation for being selected as one of the most Innovative Scaleups from the Netherlands by Estate Innovation. Estate Innovation listed several startups and companies operating in the building material industry. The construction sector, which is responsible for 50% of material extraction in the EU and more than a third of the waste production is in urgent need to become more sustainable. Therefore, the world needs more startups like Sustonable, which developed an ecological, affordable, and recyclable alternative to traditional composite stone surfaces and countertops. The composite stone they produce consists of recycled PET and quartz.

Read the article here.

The startup infarm announced the inauguration of a new vertical farming facility in Bedford, UK – which will be one of the largest in Europe with its 9,760 sqm. "The location of the facility enables us to serve 90% of the UK population within four hours, bringing the freshest plants just on time to our clients. Consequently, food mileage is substantially reduced.", says UK country director Jeremy Byfleet. In addition, the startup manages to save up to ten million liters of water annually through this innovative agricultural method – this facility is even expected to capture an additional 2.5 million litres. By the end of 2025, Infarm is planning to expand its business to 100 locations worldwide! We are thrilled to hear which locations they will be opening next.

Find out more in the corresponding article.