Two weeks ago, we covered Tapestry’s initial 10-year DAC deal with Climeworks. New details have emerged: the partnership now explicitly includes biochar alongside direct air capture, making this a multi-pathway CDR portfolio commitment.
That distinction matters. Single-pathway purchases are bets. Multi-pathway portfolios are strategies.
What Changed
The original announcement focused on direct air capture. Climeworks operates Orca in Iceland (4,000 tCO₂/year) and is building Mammoth, which will capture 36,000 tonnes CO₂/year when operational. DAC is permanent, verifiable, and expensive: current costs run $600-1,000+ per tonne.
The expanded details confirm that Tapestry’s portfolio includes certified biochar, which operates at a different point on the cost-permanence curve. High-quality biochar, produced at pyrolysis temperatures above 500°C with H/C organic ratios below 0.4, costs $100-300 per tonne and stores carbon for centuries. It is not as permanent as geological storage from DAC, but the cost advantage is significant.
By including both, Tapestry gets portfolio diversification: lower blended cost per tonne, reduced delivery risk (if one pathway faces delays, the other can compensate), and exposure to two distinct scaling trajectories.
Why 10 Years Is Unusual
Most corporate CDR purchases are structured as 1-3 year agreements. A decade-long commitment from a publicly traded company is rare because it requires board-level approval, long-term budget allocation, and confidence that the underlying science and suppliers will deliver.
For CDR suppliers, long-term contracts are the critical input that unlocks investment. Building a DAC plant takes years and costs hundreds of millions. No rational company invests that capital against one-year purchase agreements. Climeworks can use deals like Tapestry’s to secure project financing, reduce capital costs, and plan capacity expansion.
The fashion industry is not an obvious early adopter for CDR. Tapestry is a $6.7 billion revenue company with brands (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman) that compete on brand perception. Climate commitments carry reputational value in luxury and fashion, where consumers increasingly scrutinize sustainability claims. But unlike many corporate climate pledges, a 10-year CDR purchase with third-party verified removal is not a vague promise. It is a financial commitment with measurable outcomes.
The Biochar Quality Question
Climeworks’ entry into biochar raises the quality bar for the pathway. The company built its reputation on scientific rigor in DAC measurement and verification. Applying that standard to biochar means insisting on the same kind of process documentation, independent auditing, and transparent reporting that DAC buyers expect.
As we wrote earlier this week, biochar’s credibility problem is the quality variance across producers. Feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and H/C ratio determine whether a biochar credit represents centuries of storage or decades. Climeworks’ involvement should push toward the higher end of that spectrum.
CDI portfolio companies Syncraft and Cotierra have been operating at this quality standard for years. The fact that Climeworks is now building biochar into its product offering validates their approach.
What This Signals
Three trends converge in this deal:
- Pathway diversification is becoming standard for serious CDR buyers. Single-pathway purchases are giving way to portfolios.
- Long-term commitments from credible buyers provide the demand signal suppliers need to build infrastructure.
- Fashion and consumer brands are entering the CDR market, expanding the buyer base beyond tech and energy companies.
When Coach handbags fund direct air capture and biochar production, the CDR market has moved past the pilot phase.
Source: BiocharToday, April 2026.