texfash.com: Did the bankruptcy come as a shock? Or, since the funding was not coming through, it was expected? There were shockwaves for sure across the industry. But expecting something is very different from grappling with reality. Your comments, please.
Tricia Carey: End of November 2023, the Board of Directors issued a strategic review for investors and end of December there was a compilation of short-term funding for three months. As a publicly listed company this was a transparent process.
In the last interview to texfash.com end June last year you had said: “…we have really been moving quickly over the past six months to ramp up the production of the first industrial scale textile-to-textile recycling facility…” Do you think Renewcell moved too fast? In retrospect, one thinks with greater clarity. Have you had time yet to think and understand why what happened and all so sudden?
Tricia Carey: Companies were buying Circulose pulp and viscose made with Circulose in the third and fourth quarter, but not at the rates needed to sustain business against the finances needed. The normal cycle for material adoption is 12–18 months with existing products.
We only launched the Circulose Supplier Network in July 2023 to signal to the market that there is Circulose available and open for businesses and not a market-back approach used with the pilot line. After the six-month delay in building Renewcell1, we needed more time for the commercial runway to get sampling started through the suppliers.
By October 2023, there was the announcement that our sales projections would not be met and then a cloud of concern came over the market. During that time, and up until the bankruptcy announcement, we were working on developing more brand leaders to signal to the market that viscose made with Circulose was a viable circularity solution and to encourage more brands to make purchases.
Frankly, all this takes time to meet the expectations of the market to have the systemic change needed.
