Watch MODA, Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week, and Circ in a conversation about erasing our global fashion footprint. Luke Henning, Chief Business Officer at Circ, joined MODA to talk about designing a business that protects the planet from the cost of clothing.

Did you know that clothing waste is one of the biggest contributors to global warming? Discarded fashion items — often made with chemicals, trees, and oil — are clogging our landfills, polluting our rivers, and draining our natural resources. And, all the while, we're manufacturing ever more clothes, wearing them for less time, and trashing them sooner.

Circ is a company founded to take on the challenges presented by the current fashion industry. Their cutting-edge technology enables fashion labels to recycle and reuse clothing waste. Circ's goal is to recycle 10 billion garments by 2030 — that's 10% of the global apparel market — and save 100 million trees in doing so. They've recently received over $30 million in Series B funding backed by some of the largest international apparel companies and venture capital firms to help them do that work.

In this conversation, we heard how Circ got started, the technology that's helping them return clothes to the raw materials from which they're made, and how they plan to meet the goals they've set in order to do good for people and the planet.

About Luke Henning, Chief Business Officer at Circ, CFA, FRM

Luke is leading Circ’s growth and financial operations. Driving the company toward partnerships with like-minded brands, and strengthening Circ’s position as it develops a truly circular solution to fashion waste. (Luke to add anything here related to his role at Circ)

Before joining Circ in July of 2013, Luke served as the Director of Adriaan Kuiters, an independent men's fashion label based in South Africa. Here, he was responsible for the financial management of the business, which included oversight as well as raising capital for expansion.

Prior to AKJP, Luke worked as a Senior Manager at KPMG International Limited for nine years. Here, he joined a team of six to launch a new division and helped grow the business to a team of over fifty with the highest gross margin of the advisory teams. His responsibilities included generating leads and new business, project management, content delivery, and quality assurance. His primary focus was on Financial Risk Management and structured financial modeling for project finance, banks and government. While at KPMG, Luke managed assignments across Africa and in the Middle East. He also led the Excel model review team.

Following his time at KPMG, Luke went on to pursue an MBA at the University of Oxford. It was during his study that he realized he wanted to work with businesses enacting change, which led him to Circ.

Luke currently holds many advisory roles outside of Circ, honing his passion for financial management and analysis. He serves as an Advisor for the waste-free direct-to-consumer brand Nohbo, as well as an Advisory Board Member at Hey, Blue!, a not for profit organization created to facilitate meaningful connections between police officers and the communities that they serve.

Luke holds a Master of Business Administration from The University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and a Master of Science in financial management from The University of Cape Town in South Africa.