Tingit raises €500k for circular economy platform for clothes

Lithuanian startup Tingit has raised a tranche of pre-seed financing that will be used to launch a platform that connects consumers to repair service providers, to encourage a circular economy and reduce waste.

The Vilnius-based company is developing what it calls a "zero-effort repairs marketplace", focusing its efforts initially on clothing but with plans to expand its focus in future to include sports goods, toys, and consumer electronics.

The current system asks people to upload a short video of the item they want to repair, which is sent out to the repair network, and Tingit then provides a quote for repair, and a drop-off and collection point if the terms are accepted. Most repairs are carried out within seven to 10 days, according to Tingit, which says it has already completed more than 600 orders and handled over 2,500 repair requests. Its vision is of a "global, tech-led longevity protocol for your closet."

The platform recognises the enormous environmental cost of what has become known as 'fast fashion' with the European Parliament concluding in a 2023 report that textile consumption per person in the EU requires 9 cubic metres of water, 391 kg of raw materials, and a carbon footprint of 270 kg.

The EU generates 12.6m tonnes of textile waste per year, and only 1 per cent of used clothes are recycled into new items. Tingit's approach complements ongoing European efforts to encourage more recycling schemes, as well as efforts by some producers including Zara and Uniqlo which have also started offering repair services.

In time, it hopes to introduce an API that can be added to e-commerce sites, expand beyond Lithuania, and add new functions like recycling,  resale of items, digital passports to track them through their lifecycles, and authentication tools to guard against counterfeits.

The EP is pushing for tougher producer responsibility schemes for textiles, covering the cost of collection, sorting and recycling, and there is an existing obligation for EU member states to collect textiles separately for recycling schemes by 1 January, 2025. Additional reforms are being considered as part of the revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive.

The financing round was led by Lithuania-based venture capital group Firstpick, with participation from Latvia's BADideas.fund, PurposeTech of the Czech Republic, and Germany's HEARTFELT.