Reprogramming fashion: why we invested in ZERØTEC

We’re proud to announce that we have led ZERØTEC’s pre-seed round. We invested in the business because they’re reprogramming one of the fashion industry’s most overlooked  (and most wasteful) systems: how garments are made.

Each year, over 60 billion square metres of fabric are wasted before a single garment reaches the shop floor, equivalent to $200 billion in lost materials and significant and avoidable carbon emissions. This is not just a supply chain issue: it’s a design problem.

ZERØTEC’s platform tackles this by offering designers and production teams data-driven tools to reduce waste and optimise fabric use at the design stage. By rearranging pattern pieces more cleverly before cutting, ZERØTEC helps designers waste less fabric, cutting material use by up to 15% per garment and saving both money and carbon in the process.

The team has secured early partnerships with academic institutions, with curriculum integrations underway that aim to embed sustainable design practices into the education of future designers. ZERØTEC’s strategy of starting with academia is smart - and proven. Similar platforms in the fashion tech space have gained significant market traction by building their user base among students, who often go on to champion the tools they trained with as they enter the workforce. 

And while education provides a strong foundation, ZERØTEC is already looking beyond it. With support from Innovate UK, the team has begun exploring international growth opportunities and is now in early-stage conversations with global industry leaders.

ZERØTEC is led by Nicholas Betts, a designer and pattern cutter by background, whose first-hand experience of the fashion industry’s inefficiencies has shaped every aspect of the product. Nic’s lived experience has helped him prioritise differentiated features, like the automated nesting system and the machine learning–powered optimisation tool, for which ZERØTEC has already secured its first patent. 

We’re excited to be backing Nic and the team at this early stage, and to support them as they grow ZERØTEC into a global leader in sustainable apparel design. You can follow the company’s journey and stay updated on their progress here. 

‍