Recycled leather manufacturer, ELeather, has rebranded itself as Gen Phoenix and secured $18 million in funding.
With fresh funding under its belt, the company plans to focus on developing the next generation of eco-conscious materials and expanding into new fashion and footwear categories through brand partnerships.
The company currently works with more than 250 transportation companies spanning the aviation, railway and bus industries.
So far, the company’s recycled leather product has been used to make four million seat covers globally, which has diverted 8,000 tons of leather waste from landfills.
“We’re thrilled to be working with a consortium of like-minded, sustainability-focused partners across a variety of sectors,” said John Kennedy, chief executive of Gen Phoenix. “We look forward to extending our vision of circularity to new markets and providing our customers, strategic partners and end consumers with best-in-class circular materials.”
The company is also looking to develop new leather alternatives, such as plant-based leather and post-industrial and post-consumer waste leather, at its newly built state-of-the-art facility, which is capable of generating more than six million square meters of material annually.
The funding round was led by venture capital firm Material Impact and supported by Dr. Martens, InMotion Ventures, which is the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tapestry, the parent company of brands such as Coach and Kate Spade. The round also saw participation from the company’s existing investors, Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund and ETF Partners.
