The future of sustainable fashion relies on innovation. The startups working to find solutions for the industry today will be the ones to lead tomorrow. The Ebay Circular Fashion Fund seeks to spotlight those startup founders who have a vision for how to create a better fashion industry and get one step closer to sustainability.
Ebay Ventures, the investment arm of Ebay, has awarded $300,000 to Refiberd, the global winner of the Circular Fashion Fund, naming Sarika Bajaj, Refiberd’s co-founder and CEO, the Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year.
“We’re honoured 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 towards our mission of enabling true textile-to-textile recycling,” said Bajaj, following the win. “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,” Alexis Hoopes, VP and global head of fashion at Ebay, says. “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 behaviours.”
