Imagine a future where the new normal is discarded clothes becoming a valuable resource – broken down and rebuilt into new fibres, again and again. For Arzu Sandıkçı, that future started to take shape while reading a science magazine at fourteen.

“I saw an image of a landfill that changed me,” she says. “I remember thinking: why do we even have landfills?”

That question stayed with her. Today, it’s at the core of RheaCycle™, a technology that uses biology and AI to turn textile waste back into high-quality raw materials.

RheaCycle works differently from traditional recycling. Instead of mechanically shredding fibres or using harsh chemicals, it uses AI-designed enzymes to break down textiles at the molecular level. These enzymes act like precise biological tools, selectively targeting polyester within complex fabrics, even when it is blended with other materials.

The result is high-quality raw materials that can be fed directly back into fibre production, without degrading performance. In simple terms, it allows old clothes to be broken down and rebuilt into new ones, creating a continuous cycle of reuse.

Since most garments are made from complex blends that existing recycling methods cannot separate, very few textiles are recycled back into new materials. As a result, materials that still hold value are lost from the system.

For Arzu, this was more than a technical challenge.

The image of that landfill shaped her path through science, from a PhD in biochemistry to years working across academia and industry.

“As a biochemist, I spent over a decade watching biology solve complex problems with elegance, while the fashion industry remained trapped in a linear, wasteful system,” she says, “I left my secure job because I believed biology could rewrite that story.”

She founded Rhea’s Factory together with Mert Topcu, combining her expertise in biochemistry with his background in building large-scale AI systems for companies such as Google and Amazon.

Together, they set out to design enzymes that could unlock the materials trapped inside textiles.

These enzymes can selectively break down polyester even when it’s mixed with other fibres and dyes, without damaging the rest of the material. This makes it possible to recover value from textiles that would otherwise be discarded.

Since the process operates under mild conditions, it requires significantly less energy than conventional chemical recycling.

By replacing fossil-based inputs with circular ones, it also reduces emissions at both ends of the lifecycle: avoiding extraction and preventing waste.

“The result is brand-new materials that look, feel, and perform identically to those made from fossil fuels but sourced from waste instead of the earth,” says Arzy.

At the same time, the output is fully compatible with existing manufacturing systems, enabling adoption without major changes.

For Arzu, the work with RheaCycle is shaped by a moment that stayed with her.

“That image of the landfill never left me,” she says. What started as a question at fourteen continues today in her work.

“What motivates me most is the belief that materials deserve dignity, that nothing should be wasted and everything can be reborn,” she says. “I’m driven by the possibility of building a world where science heals rather than harms, where innovation serves people and the planet equally.”