Closed Loop Partners lends to Renegade Plastics to scale recyclable PP fabric
What's the deal? Closed Loop PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has provided a loan to Renegade PlasticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Denver startup commercializing a recyclable, mono-material polypropylene (PP)-coated textile. The financing, issued through the firm's Catalytic Capital & Private Credit group, supports Renegade's pilot production line in Denver.
What's the endgame? Renegade's fabric is designed to replace harder-to-recycle, multi-material textiles made from PVC, polyethylene, and polyurethane. Because it uses a single polymer — PP laminated onto a woven PP scrim — the finished product can be recycled at end-of-life.
The coated textiles market, spanning construction, signage, logistics, automotive, and healthcare, represents an opportunity of more than $91 billion, according to the company. It remains dominated by PVC, which is hard to recycle and faces scrutiny over links to phthalates and PFAS, or "forever chemicals."
Why now? As major brands phase PVC and PFAS-containing materials out of their supply chains, demand for recycled polypropylene (rPP) is growing. The loan adds working capital as Renegade builds toward a commercial-scale facility, backed separately by a $5 million grant from Colorado Circular Communities.
The firm said its focus is strengthening recycling end markets, particularly in states like Colorado that have Extended Producer Responsibility policies in place. Co-founded by Tony Ehrbar and Curran Hughes, Renegade has also built a network of more than 10 US recycling partners that take back used fabrics and return drop-in rPP resin.
The company said its recycled content drives a near-50% lower carbon footprint than comparable virgin PVC fabric, with a goal of exceeding 25% recycled content in finished products.
The signal: The deal is a financing and commercialization step in an emerging materials niche, not proof the market has arrived. Rivertex launched a similar fully recyclable PP coated fabric in 2025, and industry reporting notes that rPP adoption and scale-up remain slow and uneven even as state rules draw brand interest.
Read more: plasticstoday.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
