Startup Xefco raises $10.5m for sustainable textiles
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Sustainable manufacturing tech startup Xefco has raised $10.5 million in a funding round led by Australian deep tech venture capital firm Main Sequence.
The numbers: Co-founded in 2018 by Tom Hussey and Brian Conolly, Sydney-based Xefco has spent the past six years advancing textile solutions to scale and reduce textile emissions for a greener supply chain in the fashion industry.
With its latest capital injection, Xefco plans to nearly double its headcount in 2024 and scale its manufacturing process.
Xefco has previously received up to $4 million in grant funding from Deakin University's Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub, supported by the Australian Government’s inaugural Trailblazer Universities Program.
The context: Xefco has attracted investment from new backers Breakthrough Victoria and Virescent Ventures, investing on behalf of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and existing shareholders Investible and Voyagers Climate-Tech Fund.
Xefco's first product XReflex increases the thermal efficiency of insulated clothing, and is used by major apparel and fashion brands including Zara and The North Face.
Its latest product Ausora is a water-free manufacturing solution that uses a shower plasma process to dye and finish textiles with a reduced environmental footprint.
What they said: Xefco CEO and founder Tom Hussey said: "The existing wet processes used to put colour and other functional properties on fabrics have the biggest environmental footprint of the entire fashion supply chain.
"These outdated, resource-intensive operations have not changed in centuries. It’s destroying our waterways and our planet. We’re determined to create a greener supply chain for the fashion industry."
The source: Xefco media release
