Ravel secures $8.2 million to scale elastane-free polyester recycling
Ravel raised $8.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round to advance its blended-textile recycling technology from a Seattle pilot toward commercial scale. The pilot handles 20-24 metric tons of material each year, while the company aims for its first commercial lines to process about 10,000 metric tons annually.
Ravel’s Purification Recycling washes away elastane, dyes and other contaminants while keeping the underlying PET polymer intact, avoiding shredding or depolymerization. The resulting recycled polyester can enter existing fiber, yarn and fabric production lines without a green premium or subsidy. Initial feedstock will come from post-industrial waste such as cutting scraps from apparel factories, which the company says offers consistent quality near production hubs.
“The technology works. We know how to scale it. We’re proving that out,” Zahlen Titcomb, co‑founder and CEO said.
Elastane gives performance apparel its stretch but can make the surrounding polyester difficult to recycle. Conventional mechanical recycling shreds textiles into lower‑grade fibers, while chemical recycling breaks PET into monomers, both of which are hindered by the presence of elastane. Ravel says its process avoids those steps, preserving the PET polymer for reuse in existing supply chains.
What we know
Ravel raised $8.2 million
Seattle pilot processes 20 to 24 metric tons annually
First commercial deployments expected to process roughly 10,000 metric tons annually
Seed round led by One Small Planet with significant participation from AP Ventures
Pending U.S. patent application assigned to Ravel describes removing elastane