According to EU-Startups, British FashionTech startup Ponda has raised €2.09 million in Seed funding to commercialize its BioPuff insulation material. The oversubscribed round was co-led by Faber and Counteract, bringing Ponda’s total funding to €5.6 million when combined with non-dilutive support from Innovate UK. BioPuff is made from Typha wetland crops grown on rewetted peatlands and serves as a direct alternative to synthetic and animal-based insulation. The company claims every jacket filled with BioPuff actually funds peatland restoration while avoiding emissions. Ponda has already partnered with major brands including Berghaus, Stella McCartney, and Parley for the Oceans to develop garment prototypes. The funding will help scale production of what they call a “carbon-negative” insulation solution.
From swamp to sweater
Here’s where it gets really interesting. Ponda isn’t just making another plant-based material – they’re building an entire regenerative system. They work with landowners to rewet degraded peatlands, which are apparently emitting 2 gigatonnes of carbon annually globally. Then they grow Typha (that’s cattail plants to most of us) through something called paludiculture. Basically, they’re farming in wetlands intentionally.
The magic happens when you realize this isn’t just carbon neutral – it’s carbon negative. By rewetting these landscapes, they’re transforming what was a carbon source into a carbon sink. Ponda claims their system avoids up to 30 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per hectare per year. That’s the kind of math that gets climate investors excited.
Beyond the buzzwords
Look, sustainability in fashion is full of greenwashing, but this seems different. The technical specs are actually impressive – equivalent thermal properties to goose down but significantly cheaper. And they’re already at multi-tonne production scale, which means this isn’t just lab science anymore.
What really stands out is the supply chain integration. They’re not just buying existing materials and calling it sustainable – they’re building the entire system from ground up. One of their farmers, Will Barnard, mentioned how after recent flooding, the restored wetlands actually protected farmland. So you get flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, AND material production. That’s a pretty compelling triple bottom line.
More than just jackets
While Ponda’s current focus is on outdoor and fashion garments, the applications could be much broader. They mention soft toys, home textiles, upholstery, bedding – basically anywhere you need lightweight, warm insulation. The scalability question is always the big one with biomaterials, but their Bristol facility already has pilot-scale processing capabilities.
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The fashiontech funding wave
Ponda’s raise fits into a broader trend of early-stage investment in sustainable fashion tech. Paris-based Fairly Made just raised €15 million for supply chain transparency, while London’s Fit Collective secured €3.4 million for AI sizing technology. That’s over €18 million invested in the sector just this year.
But here’s the real question: can these solutions actually move the needle on fashion’s environmental impact? Ponda’s approach of linking material innovation directly to ecosystem restoration feels like a step in the right direction. Instead of just being “less bad,” they’re actively creating positive environmental impact through their supply chain. That’s the kind of innovation the fashion industry desperately needs.
