C.L.A.S.S Interviewed Stacy Flynn – CEO and Co-Founder of Evrnu
What is Evrnu and what are its mission and objectives?
Evrnu is an advanced materials innovation company focused on developing technologies for the textile industry that solve the most pressing problems facing our environment starting with textile waste. Our first technology, NuCycl™, creates pristine new r-lyocell fibers from textile waste, providing both performance and environmental advantages compared to virgin fiber. Products made with NuCycl™ fibers are “made to be remade” and can be recycled and transformed into new fiber and fabric over and over again.
You have not just created a new way to make fibers, but also a new business model starting right from the way you look at raw material. Can you share?
Our goal is to greatly reduce the 50M tonnes of textile waste which goes to landfill and/or is incinerated each year, resulting in a loss of the raw material resources that went into the creation of those textiles (e.g water, electricity, oil), as well as producing GHG emissions and the synthetic waste entering our oceans. Our solution is the invention of a regenerative lyocell fiber made from textile waste which can greatly reduce the natural resource extraction from the creation of virgin fiber, as well as to work with our brand partners on the development of garments which are designed for disassembly, and take-back mechanisms to create a truly circular model where old well-loved textile items become the continuous input feedstock to regenerate new fiber from old textiles.
You have invented and created an entirely new kind of engineered fiber called NuCycl™ with extraordinary performance and environmental advantages. Can you please introduce it to us with its full environmental/technical background and go to market model together with partners involved? We know you have a lot more in your basket, can you share ..at least what is possible?
NuCycl™ r-lyocell fiber is a substitute for virgin cellulosic, cotton and plastic-based materials, accounting for 90% of current textile fibers. NuCycl™ is made from either 100% textile waste or 31% textile waste/69% FSC certified wood pulp, in a closed-loop system which recovers and reuses the solvents for minimal environmental impact.
Due to our proprietary IP, NuCycl™ fiber can withstand 6-8 grams of force per denier compared with conventional rayon at 2-3g and polyester at 3-5g. Further, NuCycl™ is made entirely from cotton textile waste that is recyclable up to 5x into new fiber without any meaningful loss in quality. Key fiber characteristics include:
- High tenacity (vs. rayon, cotton or poly)
- Naturally soft next to skin
- Breathable
- Recyclable up to 5x with no meaningful loss in quality
- No plastic microfiber shedding
- Static resistant
- Excellent colorfastness
Evrnu’s business model is based on securing revenue streams from multiple channels including licensing, royalties and project development fees
Why did you decide to join the C.L.A.S.S. platform?
We value your relationship with key supply chain partners and brands who share the same commitment to sustainabilty and regenerative principals that we do at Evrnu.
Can you share examples of NuCycl™ products adopted by brands ?
We have done one-off’s and/or capsule collections with Adidas/Stella McCartney and Carlos Campos. A more steady stream of commercial launches with notable brands will begin late Q4 2022/early Q1 2023….we are under NDA and can’t disclose the brands yet, but we will be able to provide you with this info shortly.
Next steps for EVRNU and NuCycl™
Big next steps are
1) completion of our flagship commercial recycling facility and scale-up beginning 2023.
2) supply chain commercialization and retail market launches of our 31% and 100% fiber with notable WW suppliers, brands and retailers, continued development of our R&D priorities including regenerative polyester, recoverable stretch and blend.
