eBay Launches $1.2M Circular Fashion Fund, Invests in AI Recycling Startup

• eBay Ventures, eBay’s venture capital arm, has awarded US business Refiberd USD$300,000 investment crowning them eBay’s Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year.
• By the end of 2025, eBay will have provided a global investment of $1.2 million to fashion innovators and small businesses through its global Circular Fashion Fund, designed to support start-ups to scale circular solutions—from production to end-of-life, including rental and repair services.
• The fund sees eBay partner with the fashion industry’s foremost councils—British Fashion Council (BFC), Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Fashion Council Germany (FCG) and Australia Fashion Council (AFC)—giving recipients access and visibility to propel growth.

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, global marketplace and leading destination for branded pre-loved fashion, eBay, is investing USD$300,000 into Refiberd in its ongoing efforts to support fashion startups to scale circular solutions through its global Circular Fashion Fund program. 

Refiberd was announced the winner of eBay’s Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year Award which saw 12 shortlisted businesses across the UK, US, Germany, and Australia rewarded for their work in pioneering a more circular fashion industry.

This funding is aimed to scale the impact of Refiberd’s cutting-edge AI system that can discern exactly what different fabrics are made of, allowing them to be accurately sorted and recycled. Their technology can be integrated into existing recycling infrastructures to sort materials and ensure they’re processed using the right methods—helping recyclers turn textile waste into new, usable fibers. By enabling more efficient recycling, Refiberd aims to tackle the industry’s waste-sorting dilemma and drive true circularity in fashion.

Since the Circular Fashion Fund’s launch in 2022, it has supported 27 businesses and by the end of 2025 will have invested a total of $1.2 million alongside over 200 hours of mentoring and upskilling from industry experts. In partnership with the fashion’s foremost councils—BFC, CFDA, FCG, and AFC—eBay gives recipients unprecedented access and visibility into the industry to propel their business’s growth.

eBay has championed recommerce since its inception and the fund is one of the many ways it continues to invest in tools and technology that fuel the circular economy and help drive the fashion industry to a more sustainable future. As appetite for circular fashion continues to increase, with 66% of Gen Zs saying that purchasing pre-loved fashion has grown in personal importance*—eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund comes at a pivotal time for the industry.

Sarika Bajaj, co-founder and CEO of Refiberd and Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year, said: “We’re honored to win eBay’s first Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year Award. The investment from eBay Ventures will help us close a significant round of fundraising for the business, allowing us to expand our technology to new recycling partners, strengthen our AI capabilities, and move faster toward our mission of enabling true textile-to-textile recycling. The journey for a startup is tough, so having the mentorship and access to eBay and the CFDA’s networks has already proven invaluable. With this added support we can accelerate our impact and help build a future where circular fashion is the norm—not the exception.”

“As the pioneering secondary marketplace, eBay has been driving circularity in fashion since its inception 30 years ago,” said Alexis Hoopes, VP Global Head of Fashion at eBay. “It’s a critical time for the fashion industry, and eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund—and the eBay platform at-large—are propelling the industry forward, enabling innovative ideas to help shape brand and consumer behaviors.”

How it works:

Country finalists included SOJO in the UK, which makes repairs easy with door-to-door service to keep clothes in use longer, MOOT (Made Out of Trash) in Germany, which offers a comprehensive upcycling plug-in to enable brands to seamlessly integrate scalable upcycling solutions, Shopfront in Australia, which uses AI to streamline the fashion resale process across multiple marketplaces simplifying the clothing resale process, and Refiberd in the US, which aims to help textile recyclers identify fiber composition through hyperspectral imaging and AI, who each received grants starting at $50,000 in their respective local currencies.

The winners were chosen by a judging panel of industry experts across fashion, academia, and sustainability.

Each of the four country finalists went on to a judging process with eBay’s venture capital arm, eBay Ventures, which saw Refiberd crowned as the overall Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year winning the USD$300,000 investment prize.

* eBay 2023 Recommerce Report

About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that connects people and builds communities to create economic opportunity for all. Our technology empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world, providing everyone the opportunity to grow and thrive. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, eBay is one of the world’s largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2023, eBay enabled more than $73 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

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