This week, Rebundle, a sustainable hair-focused startup based in the US raised $1.4 million in funds.
Rebundle creates and sells hair extensions made from plant-based materials. Their unique selling point,
“Give your scalp the love it deserves.
We are revolutionizing hair extensions with more comfort and less waste. You deserve peace of mind while wearing braids. Our proprietary braiding hair is made from a non-toxic, biodegradable plant that is better for your scalp and better for the environment.”
Prior to the innovation of Rebundle, hair extensions are mainly available either as low-cost plastic-based products or more expensive human hair. Plastic extensions are often irritable,
1 in 3 women experiences scalp irritation from plastic synthetic hair. We’re often forced to choose between enduring the pain and discomfort with at-home remedies or taking the braids down, resulting in a loss of time and money.
Created by Ciara Imani May and Danielle Washington, Rebundle is the first beauty brand to address both the health and environmental disparities in the hair extensions industry. They provide accessible information and resources on beauty products allowing the customer to empower themselves to make their own informed decisions.
To create the product, Rebundle uses banana fibre as the core material in the extensions that come in a variety of colours. They also offer a recycling scheme, “roughly 30 million pounds of plastic synthetic hair goes to landfills in the US per year. Instead of tossing it into the trash, drop it into a box and mail it to us. We’ll Rebundle it for you.”
The brand prioritises natural ingredients, “what goes on your body should be just as clean as what goes in your body. We NEVER use animal meat fat, polyvinyl chrolide, emulsifiers, phthalates, or toxic dye.
The CEO, Ciara, has said that the funding will be used to invest both in her team, and her supply chain. Rebundle was selling out of stock in an hour or less before raising more capital, which meant that prior funding sources were too small for it to properly scale. Enter venture capital.
In line with their fair focus, Rebundle is now building new production facilities in its home of the United States rather than offshore.
“I see [Rebundle] as a movement within commerce that is culturally aligned with what the natural hair movement has been but truly capitalizes on disruptive innovation in markets that are highly profitable and coveted,” Ciara Imani May says. She adds that looking at hair extensions and other hair products from a sustainability standpoint “could prove to be a next-tier conversation for the industry.”
