Start-Up Success: TextRe
Rethinking Materials provides a unique platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their dynamic innovations and success stories, driving transformative solutions that increase circularity.
TextRe was selected as one of the 20 Israeli climatech companies featured at the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. This prestigious recognition was for the company’s strides in converting synthetic textile waste into sustainable recycled materials for the plastics industry.
We caught up with Co-Founder & CEO, Lee Cohen , to discuss recent key milestones, commercialisation, and navigating the challenging economic landscape.
In no more than 50 words, explain what challenge you address and what your value proposition is. Be specific.
The plastic industry desperately seek recycled materials, with demand expected to outweigh supply by three times in 2030. The industry still lacks viable, scalable, and cost-effective alternatives. We take a wider look at circularity in the context of polymers, applying our propriety technology to convert mixed synthetic textile waste into sustainable compounds for the plastics industry. We see the opportunity for cross-industrial solutions, taking waste polymers from one industry and repurposing them in another.
What are your company’s key milestones since Rethinking Materials back in May?
A key milestone for us is that we have secured investment from a design partner in the textile industry. At this stage, I can’t disclose who that company is, but it was off the back of discussions already in place ahead of Rethinking Materials.
During the Rethinking Materials summit in May we were able to engage with other potential customers within our specific target market segments – and discussions with them continue. We know this recent investment is just the start of our scale-up story.
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How did your involvement in the summit support your company objectives?
The summit was a good platform to engage with our target customers and key players along the supply chain. We were also able to gain a deeper understanding of market trends from the panel discussions and presentations on the mainstage. This was important knowledge sharing for us as we look to further develop and scale-up our business.
Considering market dynamics and your company’s internal development, what is driving your commercialisation strategy? What have been the pivotal “aha” moments that shaped this strategy?
There have been many “aha” moments along the way, but the turning point for us was adopting a more pragmatic and viable approach to how we scale. Actually, following discussions at Rethinking Materials last May, a key takeaway for us was on the importance of having a deep understanding of our customers and players in the supply chain. To fully understand and address the challenges they face as they transition to use recycled materials. The emphasis on this has lead us to adopt a more pragmatic approach regarding our materials development, as well as understanding the real impact for their industry, and our ability to scale. For us – that means working with the industry as we further develop a solution to meet their needs.
What advice would you offer start-ups who are fundraising in today’s challenging economic climate? Why should they get involved in Rethinking Materials 2025?
My advice to other start-ups is to be practical and work on understanding your unit economics deeply. Rethinking Materials is a great event and a valuable opportunity to meet with peers and learn from the shared challenges that we all face. Last year we heard from VC and corporate investors on how they are approaching investments in this category. Their insights can be applied to your business plans and pitches – so you are addressing their key considerations.
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