Dutch start-up The Movement complete €1M pre-seed round, aim to reduce the impact of the textile industry

04 March 2022

The Movement, the company behind the sustainable solutions Polylana® Fiber and Aware™ claim validation technology, today announced they have successfully raised €1.0 million in pre-seed funding. The funding will allow The Movement to grow its team, invest in technology and create more sustainable alternatives for the textile industry.

Risk of Greenwashing

Sustainability for textile brands and retailers is no longer a 'nice-to-have'. The textile industry is overwhelmed by the increasing public and regulatory pressure. However, implementing sustainability in textile supply chains is extremely challenging for brands & retailers. Global production networks are geographically long and complex, increasing the risk of greenwashing.

"We are a purpose-driven company, aiming to help textile brands and retailers to execute on their sustainability goals", says founder and Managing Director, Feico van der Veen. "With our solutions, we offer full transparency and traceability, proofing real impact. This funding from a strategic partner, allows us to expand our engineering, business development and teams. We are looking to hire the best talent wanting to join our mission to lower the impact of textiles.”

Feico van der Veen, founder of The Movement

Aware™: Technology will replace certifications

An important part of the investment will be used for the further development of the Aware™ blockchain platform. "With our technology, based on patented physical tracers and public blockchain, we will prove soon that 3rd party certifications are no longer needed. Also, we will be able to provide NFTs for physical real sustainable textile products", says Koen Warmerdam, Brand Manager of Aware™. "Only backed with disruptive technology and true clean data, consumers can trust sustainability claims made on final products by brands".

Polylana®: A better alternative to acrylic fiber

The innovative Polylana® fiber has been developed as a lower-impact alternative for acrylic fiber. As acrylic fiber is made from acrylonitrile (ACN), it produces large quantities of hydrogen cyanide and has a large environmental footprint. "With Polylana® fiber we offer a better alternative but with the same characteristics as wool", says Tatiana Ponce Carmona, Brand Manager of Polylana® fiber. "With the investment, we can intensify our presence and offering, but also start R&D with bio-based chemicals".

The Movement was founded in The Netherlands in January 2020, with a vision to make sustainable alternatives available for the textile industry, combined with a seamless supply chain integration. At the start, The Movement was backed by angel investors and now with a pre-seed investment from a strategic partner. Polylana® and Aware™ have already the support of large influential brands and partners worldwide. The Movement is member of the Textile Exchange and the traceability partner for the Denim Deal, launched by the Dutch Government. The Movement has offices in Amsterdam and Shanghai.

Feico van der Veen

Founder / Managing Director at The Movement

+31654365044