Circular Economy Startups

HIVE PRELOVED is an online marketplace for pre-loved luxury items sourced directly from Japan, offering curated secondhand fashion and accessories to global customers. The company sources, verifies, and sells carefully preserved pieces based on the Japanese philosophy of Mottainai, emphasizing quality, authenticity, and minimal waste.

1 investor

KAIXIA provides comprehensive demolition, transport, and waste disposal services for construction materials and building debris. The company operates advanced intermediate processing facilities that achieve up to 98% recycling rates using proprietary wet-separation technology to convert construction waste into reusable materials.

1 investor

OZ1 develops software solutions focused on implementing smart cities in Japan that prioritize human welfare over business interests. The company aims to address social challenges such as income inequality, demographic decline, and educational gaps through technology-driven urban infrastructure and data sovereignty.

1 investor

Spacewasp develops interior space solutions and circular economy products for furniture, interior design, and building materials. The company also works on spatial coordination services and interior space development for space environments.

1 investor

airCloset is a fashion subscription service in which professional stylists select and ship coordinated outfits to subscribers' homes, offering monthly plans with rental, exchange, or purchase options. It serves women in Japan and operates a circular rental model, with a physical styling salon offering body-shape and color diagnoses.

1 investor

Ecologgie produces specialized insect-based feed products for reptiles, including Leobait, a leopard gecko food made from 95% freeze-dried crickets. The company develops species-specific nutritional formulas in collaboration with Japanese universities.

1 investor

Gear provides BtoC repair services on behalf of manufacturers, positioning itself in "repair marketing" to improve manufacturers' customer satisfaction, fan base, and branding. The company anticipates growing demand tied to robotics and elderly-care needs in an aging society.

1 investor

Phil Company develops real estate solutions that repurpose underutilized urban land and spaces by building structures above parking areas and converting difficult-to-develop plots into mixed-use developments. The company creates solutions for landowners and tenants while addressing local community needs and regional challenges.

1 investor

A company that sources and sells acai berries and other Amazon fruits, focusing on authentic quality products for consumer enjoyment.

1 investor

Reconnai develops AI-powered hardware and software for waste management, including a device for instant, structured waste data capture and a platform for tracing waste flows, tracking Scope 3 carbon emissions, and benchmarking circularity performance. It also offers annotated datasets for training waste-recognition AI and robotics.

1 investor

Lalalog develops IoT-enabled mushroom cultivation systems using fermentation and circular economy principles. The company provides digital twin technology and machinery for automated, sustainable, and cost-effective mushroom production.

1 investor

A Chinese company providing after-market trading services for consumer electronics, focused on used mobile phone recycling with standardized inspection, data-wiping, and logistics handling. It serves consumers in China, offering device recycling, resale of usable phones, and environmentally sound dismantling of non-usable ones.

1 investor

ALL Power Labs designs and manufactures biomass gasification systems and containerized energy solutions that convert forestry and agricultural waste into power, heat, and biochar for communities and rural areas. The company develops portable systems for microgrids, carbon sequestration, and disaster recovery applications.

0 investors

Anellotech develops the Plas-TCat process, a one-step thermal-catalytic recycling technology that converts mixed plastic waste back into basic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) used to make virgin plastics. The company operates a demonstration plant in Silsbee, Texas, and licenses its technology for plastics recycling and the circular economy.

0 investors

Aqua Metals develops AquaRefining, a water-based, closed-loop process for recycling and refining metals from lithium-ion and lead batteries to produce high-purity battery materials while avoiding the emissions of conventional smelting. The company serves the battery and energy-storage supply chain and operates an Innovation Center and demonstration plant in Reno, Nevada.

0 investors

Beyond Plastic develops high-performance biopolymers from renewable plant sugars and natural oils using patented PHA technology, offering compostable packaging formulations engineered to replace conventional plastics across industries. The company provides custom polymer development and manufacturing feasibility validation for packaging applications requiring specific performance characteristics.

0 investors

BioLogiQ makes plant-based thermoplastic resins (BioPolymers such as NuPlastiQ, DuraPlantiQ, and BioBlend) that convert starch into plastic resins for manufacturers to blend with traditional plastics, reducing plastic pollution and improving recycled and compostable content. Its products serve manufacturers seeking more sustainable, planet-friendly plastic materials.

0 investors

Black Earth Compost provides compost collection and processing services, turning food and organic waste into compost. It operates across New England and serves residential, commercial, and municipal customers.

0 investors

Bolder Industries produces sustainable materials from end-of-life tires and rubber scrap for the rubber, plastics, and petrochemical industries. Its flagship product, BolderBlack, is a carbon black alternative made entirely from post-consumer and post-industrial tires that replaces petroleum-derived carbon black as a rubber reinforcing agent and plastics pigment.

0 investors

Personal website of Srikanth Bolla, a public speaker, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who is co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Bollant Industries. The site promotes his speaking engagements, philanthropic work, and an online entrepreneurship/leadership aptitude test.

0 investors

Boomerang Water makes a self-contained, closed-loop water bottling system that purifies local water and washes, sanitizes, and refills reusable bottles on-site for use across a customer's property. It targets organizations seeking to cut costs and reduce single-use plastic waste from traditional bottled water programs.

0 investors

Cariloha is a consumer goods company that creates and sells products, including apparel designed for charitable causes.

0 investors

Caris Cares Incorporated addresses waste plastic pollution and environmental degradation caused by plastic materials in natural systems and landfills. The company focuses on ending the lifecycle of waste plastic through solutions related to plastic waste management and environmental remediation.

0 investors

Circular Systems develops technologies that convert textile waste and crop residue into fiber, yarn, and fabrics for the fashion industry. Its platforms include Texloop (textile-waste-to-fiber), Agraloop (crop-residue BioFibre), and Orbital (hybrid yarn spinning), aimed at brands and supply chain partners in the circular economy.

0 investors