Ellen Mensink, CEO of Brightloops, a circular textile platform, announced that they have filed for bankruptcy after eight years of operations.
According to Mensink, the decision was prompted by a combination of factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, technical setbacks with their new website, a lawsuit, and a declining fashion market over the last six months.
“Sustainable fashion is expensive, and in a price-competitive market, it is difficult to compete with major fashion retailers with large marketing budgets and without appropriate regulations on impact measurement and the proper use of the terms ‘sustainable recycling’ and ‘circular.’ Necessary to differentiate our unique concept in the market,” says Mensink in a LinkedIn blog.
Mensink stressed the importance of relaunching Loop.a life; however, no specific details about the relaunch have been disclosed.
” We have shown that truly circular fashion and sustainable recycling is possible and important. We hope for a restart of Loop.a life. But first of all, we hope that our bankruptcy will mark a moment of reflection in the sector,” says Mensink.
Brightloops: What you need to know
Based in Amsterdam, Brightloops specialises in creating circular textiles from local post-consumer waste.Â
The company upcycles old clothes into new post-consumer yarns and end products.
In 2016, Brightloops launched the first 100% circular knitwear brand in the Netherlands www.loopalife.com.
The company has developed its yarn collection from wool, cotton, and denim. Additionally, Brightloops offered whitelabel services to support other brands in becoming truly circular and creating new circular styles for their collections.
01
Empowering Ukrainian Startups: Highlights from the PowerUp Ukraine 2024 Conference