The World Circular Economy Forum presents the world’s best circular economy solutions and gathers together the most recognised experts and decision makers in the field. The event is organised by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. Read more: www.wcef2019.com

1. 11 |
Dr. Juha Koponen, Co-Founder
World Circular Economy Forum
4 June 2019

2. 22 |
● $343B Clothing & Apparel market
● $100B Pre-owned opportunity
● 400B€ Clothing & Apparel market
● 100B€ Pre-owned opportunity
85%
goes to waste
75%
goes to waste
Unsustainable clothing & apparel market has created
a big business opportunity

3. 33 |
Swap.com
● On-line consignment store for
pre-owned items in the USA
● Offices in Helsinki, Finland and
Woodridge, IL, USA
● Launched 2013
● Raised 50m+ EUR

4. 44 |
Sold 8m pre-owned items
200,000 tons of CO2
saved

5. 55 |
Industrial scale operations for pre-owned item processing

6. 66 |
Neural network automates item recognition and attribute extraction
…pattern…
Polka dots Floral
Recognized with
99% accuracy
Recognized with
96% accuracy
…and look
Active Bohemian
Recognized with
97% accuracy
Recognized with
95% accuracy
Items are recognized based on type...
Dress pants Sweatpants
Recognized with
90% accuracy
Recognized with
80% accuracy
Data from >8m items with high quality photographs and metadata trains the neural network to extraordinary levels

7. 77 |
Growth and Turnaround
● Among 5 fastest growing US
clothing retailers 2016
● Prepared to very fast growth
● Turnaround in spring 2018 with
cost savings
● Turning profitable in 2019
● New round open

8. 88 |
● Real world problems require scale
○ Costs big money and requires risk taking
● Commercial investor will not fund solving the
sustainability issue
● Doing good helps to put your business to some
investors’ focus
● Align your business with the sustainability goal
Learnings