Putting a sustainable spin on laundry, Oxwash, a UK-based startup backed by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has raised GBP500,000 in equity investment through a public crowdfunder.
The company founded in 2018 by ex-NASA scientist and Forbes Europe’s 30 under 30 alumni, Dr Kyle Grant and Oxford engineer Tom de Wilton, secured GBP250,000 from five angel investors including Magnus Rausing (Tetra Pak), Kal Patel (ex-CEO of Best Buy) and Vala Capital, in addition to a quarter of a million from 318 public Crowdcube investors.
And follows a GBP2.08 million raise in June 2021 from committed investors such as Holly and Sam Branson, together with Pinterest and Beyond Meat investors – Future Positive Capital (NYC/SF), who are backing the sustainable on-demand laundry service trying to achieve net zero carbon emissions for the whole process, from collection, through washing, back to delivery.
Cleaning up the traditional and environmentally costly washing and dry cleaning sector with its space-age technology, Oxwash uses water-saving ozone technology to sanitise fabrics at low temperatures achieving higher than medical-grade disinfection; biodegradable detergents along with electric cargo bikes for a sustainable washing and hyper-local zero-emission logistics footprint.
Re-engineering the cleaning process from the ground up, the UK’s first sustainable on-demand laundry service has grown more than tenfold since the start of the pandemic.
Dr Kyle Grant, chief executive, says Oxwash was “totally blown away by the level of interest.”
“Our goal was to build a wide network of shareholders who care about our purpose as much as we do and can be true ambassadors for the brand, which is why we capped the investment level at GBP5,000 per person.
“To witness GBP100 thousand pledged in just three hours, and be able to close the round in fifteen, we’re over the moon with the outcome and level of support.
“We know being just another laundry app won’t cut it. Developing a model that is hyper local, carbon neutral and tech enabled – that reverses the sector’s adverse impact on the planet rather than adding to it is absolutely critical.
“Partnering with the likes of Reckitt, The Oxford Foundry and Founders Factory, as well as being part of the Collective Impact programme with Virgin StartUp have given us access to some of the best minds in business which has undoubtedly been a leg-up for the business.
“Our team is not only developing chemistry that works at 20 degrees better than at 40 degrees or higher, but we have integrated water reclamation and reduction technology into our process so that saves up to 60 per cent of the water consumption versus you washing at home or any other typical commercial washing service.
“There is a growing awareness and appetite for green washing services – and we’re confident that Oxwash can clean up and deliver substantial returns.”
