Loom is an upcycling app that helps users have their unwanted clothes redesigned into something special, instead of sending them to landfill.
See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index.
Founder: Daisy Harvey
Year founded: 2022
Website: theloomapp.com
Daisy Harvey was working for a fast fashion company when she walked past a group of schoolchildren protesting climate change. Handing out flyers, the children asked passers-by what impact they were going to have on their future. It was then that Harvey decided to change course and try to make a difference.
From her work, Harvey knew that people rarely wear all the clothes they own, and that huge amounts of clothing end up in landfill, causing damage to the planet. She wanted to help prevent this.
Harvey’s solution is Loom, a clothing upcycling app that enables users to send unwanted pieces of clothing to designers, who’ll redesign them into unique pieces that users will want to wear again and again.
To use Loom, users upload a photo and description of their piece of clothing to the app, and detail what they hope to turn it into (or, if they’re not sure, they can leave the designers to suggest their own ideas).
There are currently over 100 vetted designers on the Loom app. Those who want to take the project on get in touch to discuss it, and once an idea is approved, the chosen designer sends a quote to be accepted and paid for. Next, users ship their clothing to the designer or hand it to them in person, and wait to receive their rejuvenated piece back.
Harvey refers to herself as a non-technical founder who’s building a fashion tech business. With a strong vision but little technical knowledge, she applied to several accelerators and grants to help her learn the ropes, created a no-code minimum viable product (MVP), and found investors in the tech space to back her up.
Loom went on to win Innovate UK’s Creative Catalyst grant, and beat 500 other applicants to win the H&M Global Change Award, which came with a €200k grant and a year’s worth of business support and connections.
Excitement about Loom has been growing, as the startup has partnered with Oxfam on an exclusive upcycled collection, and has been featured in Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, The Telegraph and The Guardian.
Looking ahead, Harvey’s ambition is for Loom to become a leading global fashion app, the go-to B2B upcycling solution, and the largest community of independent designers in the world.
View the full Startups 100 Index for 2026
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3. MAGIC AI
4. OXCCU
5. Lightyear
6. Neuranics
7. Hormona
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75. PetProov
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81. Zero Fintech
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91. Loom
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100. Recondition
