Investors recently took a large bet on a sustainable manufacturing method created by Rio Rancho's Green Theme Technologies.
According to a Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, 22 investors have participated in the $3.4 million round.
The company, which produces water-repellent textiles through a waterless process that bonds chemicals with fabrics at the molecular level, has "almost converted from a manufacturing business to a licensee business model," according to Chief Financial Officer Jordan Clancy. Green Theme Technologies, which will use the money to scale its technology platform, operates two manufacturing facilities: one in Rio Rancho and another in Taiwan.
Both "are intended to be demonstration facilities and training facilities for new potential licensees," helping them learn how to operate the equipment and fill gap production times, Clancy said. Bringing production to town would open up opportunities in the domestic and military markets, CEO Gary Selwyn told Business First.
The filing represented the first part of the Series B funding, which closed May 28. The second part of the round will close in about three months, Clancy said.
The recent investments come after the close of a $6.8 million Series A round in 2018, pushing its total amount of investment disclosed to the SEC to more than $10 million. The company currently has 14 workers in Taiwan and eight in Rio Rancho, where it plans to double the size of its workforce. The jobs are focused on product development, engineering and research and development.
Green Theme Technologies says its platform eliminates water use in water-repellent textile production. It works by taking fabric that has been coated with a water-free solution which is then pressurized and then heated. That process causes polymerization — a chemical process where monomers, or small molecules, combine to form larger molecules, or polymers — blending the solution and fabric. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that textile mills accounts for abut 20 percent of global industrial water pollution, and the development of waterless alternatives could mark a major step forward for sustainability in the textile industry.
The startup formed in 2018 as part of a merger between two firms, one of which owned the intellectual property for the manufacturing technology and another that Selwyn said acted as the group's production arm. Within the past year, Green Theme signed on two new licensees, Clancy said.
Big-name brands have worked with Green Theme Technologies to produce water-repellent clothing. In 2018, Marmot Mountain released the first product using Green Theme technology at REI stores, a waterproof jacket called EVODry. GTI also worked to test new products with dozens of other companies, including some of the world's top sportswear companies and fashion brands, reported the Portland Business Journal.
Green Theme also works with Utah-based Black Diamond Equipment to produce a shell jacket for skiers that uses its EMPEL finish. The jacket took first last year in the ISPO Awards, which highlights certain sports products, and retails for $349 online.
