Borski Fund and PDENH participate in The Next Closet

September 1, 2021

Borski Fund and the Sustainable Economy Investment Fund North Holland (PDENH) are investing in The Next Closet: a platform for sustainable fashion run by female entrepreneurs.

The Next Closet describes itself as: The sustainable marketplace for second hand designer fashion. This first resale platform in the Netherlands was founded by Lieke Pijpers and Thalita van Ogtrop. Since then, many women and vintage boutiques from across the Benelux have joined them. A quarter of a million items have already been given a second, and sometimes even a third, life.

Further expansion
The two female founders recently strengthened their management team with Peter Koning (COO), coming from OLX – a global network of online marketplaces – and Suzanne Kats (CCO), formerly Sr. Director Global Brand Strategy at Tommy Hilfiger. The team will use the 3 million euros in funding raised to recruit more talent and further expand its leadership position. In addition to Borski Fund and 4impact, PDENH is participating in this funding round as an existing shareholder.

Bertrand van Leersum of Borski Fund: ‘We invest in sustainable, technology-driven solutions. This diverse, female-led team is creating a better future in an explosively growing market.‘

Rising demand for vintage
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, with 50 billion new items of clothing being thrown away unsold every year. Thanks to increasing awareness and the recently government-introduced extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles, demand for second-hand fashion is expected to increase significantly.

Sustainable and inclusive
The market for second-hand clothing is expected to grow twelve times as fast as the fashion market as a whole and even become twice as large as the market for fast fashion. With this funding, The Next Closet can grow along with this explosively developing market. By prioritizing quality over quantity, The Next Closet also contributes to the international UN (Sustainable Development Goals).

About Borski Fund
Borski Fund is an innovative venture capital fund that invests in technology companies with a diverse team. Through its investments, the fund encourages more diversity in companies, more women in venture-backed entrepreneurship, and more women in venture-backed investing. This is the only way to achieve a diverse Dutch entrepreneurial landscape and a balanced situation for women in top positions. Success has no gender. More about Borski Fund.

About PDENH
PDENH stimulates sustainable business activity, employment, and innovation, thereby helping to build a sustainable economy in the province of North Holland. The fund is specifically intended for companies and projects that give the sustainable economy an extra boost and focus on the energy transition, a circular economy, and sustainable mobility. More about PDENH