The Milan-based startup, founded in 2021, closes a €1M round with Italian and international investors to scale the platform enabling fashion companies to manage excess inventory and textile waste in a circular, efficient, traceable and compliant way, just as Europe introduces the ban on destruction of unsold goods. 

Milan, June 2026 — Musthad announces the closing of a €1M financing round. Lead investors are Alante Capital (USA) and Style IT (ITA), a FashionTech program by the Rete Nazionale Acceleratori of CDP Venture Capital SGR, developed together with Startupbootcamp and GELLIFY. NextSTEP (UK) and Ragnarson (Germany) also participated in the round. 

The capital raised will be used to strengthen the team with commercial and tech profiles, accelerate product development and support geographical expansion, with the goal of doubling revenue in 2026 compared to the previous year.

From problem to opportunity 

Every year, approximately 35% of textile materials become waste before ever being sold, generating over $500 billion in lost value globally. Unsold goods, defective items, returns and samples sit in warehouses for months, accumulating significant hidden costs: prolonged storage, manual labour, tied-up capital and disposal. 

Matteo Aghemo, Co-founder of Musthad, comments: "We keep producing as if resources were infinite, while every year billions of garments end up in landfill.  Giving new life to what already exists is not just good for the planet, it is the smartest response to a world where raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce and costly." 

Musthad reduces these inefficiencies through an automated, data-driven platform that connects brands with a growing ecosystem of over 300 vetted circular operators globally — specialised in recycling, resale, upcycling and donation — with everything tracked and reported in real time.  

The startup already counts clients ranging from mass market to luxury, across multiple international markets, and estimates having enabled significant savings in end-of-life management: -44% on manual labour costs, -30% on storage costs, -18% on disposal costs, among others. Companies that have adopted the platform have also ensured regulatory compliance, protected their reputation and, where possible, recovered economic value from waste.

Leslie Harwell, Co-founder & General Partner of Alante Capital, comments: "Alante Capital is excited to back the Musthad team in their next phase of growth. Reducing friction for textile and apparel recycling and enabling transparent discovery of vetted recyclers and other circular destinations is a critical piece of the transition towards a circular economy. With the ESPR regulations providing tailwinds for an already clear business case, we see Musthad as a pragmatic solution for brands, manufacturers and retailers sitting on excess inventory - and equally, the recyclers and others who will transform the materials for their next best life". 

The European regulatory landscape is accelerating the transformation of the sector. From 19th July 2026, the ESPR Regulation introduces the ban on destruction of unsold goods for fashion brands, with annual reporting obligations and documentation of activated supply chains.  On 16 July, Musthad is hosting a webinar with international experts to guide brands through the practical application of the regulation, an event that follows the startup's presence at the Textile Recycling Expo in Brussels, confirming its positioning at the heart of the global debate on circularity in fashion. 

Founded in 2021 by Eugenio Riganti and Matteo Aghemo, Musthad carries its manifesto in its name: it derives from must-have, the expression that for decades has fuelled consumption beyond all limits. By turning have into had, the founders set out to mark a paradigm shift: from the desire to possess ever more, to the value of giving new life to what already exists. Eugenio Riganti, Co-founder of Musthad, concludes: "In a circular fashion market projected to generate over $700 billion in value by 2030, our goal is to build the global reference infrastructure to make this transition possible, measurable and scalable." 

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