LOOPED IN with Carl Warkentin

What if secondhand felt as polished as buying new—and actually grew brand loyalty? We sit down with Relay, the Korean recommerce engine powering white‑label resale for major fashion groups and department stores, to unpack how trust, speed, and cleaning every item can flip circularity into a profit center. From doorstep pick‑ups and instant store credit to meticulous QC and photography, Relay’s model keeps resale inside the brand ecosystem and turns trade‑ins into repeat purchases.

We get into the mechanics: why department stores like Lotte and Hyundai became pivotal partners, how a white‑label experi...

What if the clothes, uniforms, and textiles your company discards could become a source of revenue instead of a disposal expense? Michael Brenner, co-founder of Mood, reveals how industrial-scale upcycling is transforming the textile waste landscape, creating profitable business models from what was previously considered garbage.

The conversation begins with Michael sharing how Mood evolved from a small Berlin-based B2C brand into a powerhouse B2B service provider, helping major corporations like DHL, Deutsche Bahn, and the German national football team transform their discarded textiles into desirable, sellable products. Through these partnerships, Mood has proven that...

Susanne Kadner's journey from climate science to circular economy pioneer reveals a profound shift in how we approach environmental challenges. Rather than focusing on restrictions, circular economy offers a positive vision of innovation and redesign that gets people excited about change.

"Coming from climate mitigation, it was always about what we shouldn't do," Kadner explains. "The positive vision of circular economy—how to do things differently while being innovative—is a much better way to get people into action." This refreshing perspective helped her build the Circular Economy Initiative Germany at Acatech, bringing together over 120 experts to crea...

Lisa Morales-Hellebo takes us on a captivating journey from her DIY beginnings in the Bronx to becoming a pioneering force in reshaping global supply chains. Her story reveals how necessity and curiosity led her through roles in design, tech startups, and eventually to founding Refashion Ventures – a fund uniquely positioned to transform how we think about manufacturing and materials.

After experiencing firsthand the challenges of being a Latina woman raising capital in the male-dominated tech world, Lisa chose a different path. Rather than following traditional venture capital models, she built a community-first approach that now connects over 5,000 me...

What if the most sustainable business model was also the most profitable? In this eye-opening conversation with Mazze Ballweg, we dive deep into why circular economy has evolved from an environmental nice-to-have to an economic imperative for businesses across Europe.

Mazze takes us on his journey from traditional consulting at McKinsey and strategy work at Volkswagen to the moment sustainability "hit him" in 2019, prompting his career pivot toward circularity. With refreshing clarity, he explains why material circularity tackles multiple planetary boundaries simultaneously - revealing how 90% of biodiversity loss and 50% of climate impacts stem from material extraction and...

What if our old clothes could become the foundation of an entirely new industry? Cindy Rhoades, a filmmaker who pivoted to become a textile entrepreneur, takes us on her remarkable journey from music videos to pioneering circular solutions for the fashion industry.

Rhoades' story begins with creative nightclub events that made social and environmental issues accessible and engaging. When one such event focused on ethical fashion, she discovered her passion for solving textile waste challenges, leading her to found Worn Again in 2005. The company's evolution from upcycling discarded airline seat covers into handbags to developing groundbreaking molecular...

How do you build a circular textile system in a country that lacks the infrastructure to collect, sort, or recycle at scale?

In this deep dive conversation, Carl is joined by Rachel Kibbe, founder of American Circular Textiles and Circular Services Group, to unpack the complexities of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the U.S. and draw sharp comparisons with Europe’s more established systems.

Together, they explore:

“Philanthropy isn’t just about giving — it’s about igniting. We step in where no one else can, absorbing risk, catalyzing innovation, and building ecosystems where businesses alone can’t go.”— Fernanda Drumond, H&M Foundation

Fernanda Drummond brings a refreshing perspective to the textile industry's sustainability challenges as Head of Collective Action at the H&M Foundation. In this illuminating conversation, she dismantles common misconceptions about philanthropy's role in creating systems change and reveals how the foundation operates as an orchestrator—not just a funder—of transformative collaborations.

Diving deep into the foundation's unique approach, F...

Alex Kremer takes us on a journey through the rapidly evolving world of branded resale, sharing hard-won insights from his pioneering work launching Patagonia's Worn Wear program and his current role as VP at Archive, which recently secured $30 million in Series B funding.

What truly sets branded resale apart from generic marketplaces is the trust factor. Customers consistently pay premium prices when buying secondhand directly through a brand they trust, knowing the items have been properly inspected and authenticated. This creates a powerful value proposition for brands looking to capture revenue that would otherwise flow through third-party...

Fashion has a dirty secret: brands routinely produce 30% more clothing than they'll ever sell. This deliberate overproduction is baked into a global supply chain that hasn't fundamentally changed in 75 years—one that pollutes watersheds, wastes resources, and disconnects production from actual consumer demand.

Trine, founder and CEO of Rodinia Generation, is rewriting these rules with a revolutionary concept called the O-Factory. Housed in just 200 square meters, this "Omni Factory" transforms digital designs into finished garments in as little as 48 hours, all without using a single drop of water in the production process. The secret? A proprietary software "br...

Meet the woman who's revolutionizing how we handle textile waste. Rikke Bech, CEO and founder of NewRetex, joins us from her facility in Denmark to reveal how her company has developed groundbreaking automated sorting technology that's changing the economics of textile recycling.

Five years ago, Rikke saw a gap in the textile industry's approach to waste. While brands were talking about sustainability, the infrastructure to actually recycle clothing effectively didn't exist. Textile sorting remained labor-intensive, imprecise, and unprofitable. Drawing inspiration from the food industry's traceability systems and leveraging advanced technology, she created a solution that sorts post-consumer...

Join us in this insightful episode as we engage with Steffen, the dynamic co-founder of Eeden, a pioneering startup in the textile recycling sphere. In this episode, we delve deep into how Eeden leverages innovative recycling technologies to reclaim the two most common materials in textiles: cotton and polyester. 

Steffen shares his perspectives on the current state of the textile recycling market, unpacking the implications of rising regulatory pressures, investor sentiments, and macroeconomic trends. He contemplates the relationship between supply, demand, and pricing dynamics, stressing the pivotal role regulations play in shaping investor confidence in sustainable solutions. T...

In this conversation, Martijn Lopes Cardozo shares his journey from a corporate career to becoming a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, discussing the challenges and lessons learned along the way. He reflects on his return to Europe, the struggles he faced in replicating his success, and how he found purpose after setbacks. Martijn emphasizes the importance of focusing on purpose over traditional success metrics and discusses his role in the circular economy, particularly through his leadership at Circle Economy Foundation. The conversation also touches on the significance of the Circularity Gap Report and the ongoing challenges in achieving a...

The landscape of corporate responsibility is changing, and in this episode, we explore how businesses are navigating the transition from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Join us as we speak with Kaitlyn Allen, a serial impact entrepreneur and sustainability expert, who shares her valuable insights on how these frameworks are evolving and the ways they can enhance corporate accountability.

Kaitlyn discusses the pivotal role of the Paris Agreement, which has shifted the narrative around sustainability from marketing fluff to essential business strategy. She explains how ESG practices address the risks associated...

In a world increasingly burdened by textile waste, the urgency for sustainable practices in the fashion industry has never been more pressing. Join us for an engaging conversation with Luke Henning, Chief Business Officer at Circ, as we tackle the complexities of textile recycling and the vision behind establishing a true circular economy. Luke shares his in-depth expertise and insights on how Circ aims to reinvent the way we view clothing waste and recycling through innovative technology and proactive industry strategies.

This episode dives into the essence of Circ's mission, emphasizing that striving for circularity goes beyond...

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