Excess inventory from e-commerce, logistics and retail companies, including returned items, is often removed. Manila-based Humble Sustainability is a circular economy startup that seeks to keep waste out of the Philippines’ landfills. Since its inception, it has processed more than 150,000 items such as clothing, consumer electronics, and home appliances that have been passed on to Thrift, supermarket storefronts, or B2B recyclers and sellers.
The company announced today that it has raised $750,000 in a subscription seed round led by Seedstars International Ventures, along with ISeed Ventures and angel investors Ula co-founder Alan Wong, Sagar Achanta, who holds product leadership roles at Amazon and Disney+, and investors Paco Sandejas and Richard Eldridge.
Humble will use the funds to expand its network of partners and buyers and grow its team, including hiring department heads. The company plans to bring its technology development fully in-house and begin work on long-term initiatives such as carbon footprint tracking.
Humble Sustainability founders Nina Opida and Joseph Werker
Humble was founded in 2021 by CEO Joseph Werker and COO Niña Opida. Werker told TechCrunch that the two met five years ago after holding leadership positions at various startups and wanting to see how technological innovation could be applied to the planet. The original version of Humble was a circular shopping solution for children’s clothing before expanding to other items.
“Neither of us are environmental scientists or sustainability experts,” Werker said. We simply had a passion for the land and saw an opportunity to apply our little experience building businesses.
Humble has worked with 20 companies so far. The sourcing process begins with receiving inventory for evaluation, so Humble can see what condition they are in and determine their value (as the company grows, it automates the quality control process). He then decides whether to list the items on Thrift or wholesale them to his B2B network. After their plans are approved, they sign an agreement with their customers, they can track the status of their goods and earn money from their sales. Humble plans to launch a live dashboard on the B2B platform so customers can track revenue, inventory and environmental impact in real-time.
Werker says that a humble collection of unwanted items either goes to landfills (for high-value items) or ends up in landfills. There are other solutions, such as internal employee sales, but those are only a small percentage.
“With Humble, it’s completely reinforced,” he said. “We take everything, making sure that nothing ends up in the landfill. The good quality items are at Thrift and fetch a high price, everything else goes right back into the circle through the B2B network and we generate value that can be passed on to the customer.
All investors in Humble’s seed round are actively involved in the business. For example, Seedstars introduces people to the global network through which the company has closed deals, Werker said. Thut is also participating in Seedstars’ three-month development track program. Wong and Achanta have worked together at companies including Amazon, Booking.com and Ula, and are leading Humble, advising on its technology development and long-term roadmap.
In a statement, Seedstars partner Patricia Sosrodjojo said, “We are delighted to support Humble in its journey to reduce waste and promote circular living. Humble is a great fit for the theory that an attractive business model can create meaningful impact by supporting Seedstars early-stage companies.
