91. Loom Loom is an upcycling app that helps users have their unwanted clothes redesigned into something special, instead of sending them to landfill. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founder: Daisy HarveyYear founded: 2022Website: theloomapp.comDaisy 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 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.