Berlin, Germany: German textile technology startup reverse.fashion has secured a seven-figure extension to its pre-seed funding round from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), strengthening its mission to modernize textile recycling through artificial intelligence. The investment will accelerate the commercial rollout of the company’s automated textile sorting solutions, helping the fashion industry improve circularity and sustainability.
Founded in 2024 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Berlin, reverse.fashion was established by Dr. Karsten Pufahl, Paul Doertenbach, and Mario Osterwalder. The startup develops AI-driven systems that automate the sorting and digital classification of used textiles, enabling faster, more accurate, and data-driven recycling processes.
AI Technology Transforming Textile Sorting
reverse.fashion combines computer vision, machine learning, advanced sensing technologies, and Digital Product Passport (DPP) integration to identify and classify used garments. Its platform analyzes various garment characteristics, including:
- Material composition
- Brand
- Style
- Size
- Condition
Based on this information, garments are automatically routed to the most appropriate destination, such as:
- Reuse
- Repair
- Resale
- Upcycling
- Recycling
This intelligent approach replaces traditional manual sorting methods, which are often labor-intensive, time-consuming, and subjective.
Improving Efficiency and Sustainability
According to the company, its AI-powered textile sorting technology delivers significant operational improvements for textile sorters, recyclers, and circular fashion businesses.
Key reported benefits include:
- 40% increase in sorting productivity
- 20% growth in recovered revenue
- Higher sorting accuracy and consistency
- Reduced textile waste
- Better compliance with emerging sustainability regulations
- Support for Digital Product Passport implementation
The technology enables businesses to recover more value from used garments while reducing environmental impact and improving resource efficiency.
Funding to Drive Commercial Expansion
The newly secured investment will be used to expand the commercial deployment of reverse.fashion’s solutions, including:
- Scaling its co.sort software platform
- Rolling out its line.sort automated textile sorting system
- Expanding partnerships with textile recyclers and sorting facilities
- Accelerating the adoption of AI-powered textile sorting across the global fashion industry
Supporting the Circular Textile Economy
Built on years of research in collaboration with academic and industry partners, reverse.fashion aims to create the next generation of textile sorting infrastructure. As governments introduce stricter textile waste regulations and Digital Product Passport requirements, automated sorting technologies are becoming increasingly important for achieving a circular fashion economy.
The latest funding positions the Berlin startup to accelerate innovation and help the textile industry transition toward smarter, more efficient, and sustainable recycling systems.
