EBay’s Circular Fashion Fund Crowns Refiberd Its First Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year

EBay’s Circular Fashion Fund has officially announced Refiberd as its Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year awarding the company with an investment of $300,000. The company’s discerning AI solution aims to tackle the fashion industry’s waste problem head-on by making it easier than ever to reuse fibers.

While Refiberd represents the first to win the award, the program stems from a larger mission to invest in tools and technology that fuel the circular economy and help drive the fashion industry to a more sustainable future. As a leader in the secondary marketplace, eBay partnered with the British Fashion Council, Council of Fashion Designers of America, Fashion Council Germany and Australia Fashion Council to recognize the innovators driving this sustainable change to provide not only capital but access and visibility to propel growth.

“As the pioneering secondary marketplace, eBay has been driving circularity in fashion since its inception 30 years ago,” said Alexis Hoopes, vice president, and 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.”

Designed to support start-ups to scale circular solutions from production to end of life, the Circular Fashion Fund’s search for Innovator of the Year looked across the U.K., U.S., Germany and Australia, shortlisting 12 companies that were recognized as pioneers in circular fashion. These finalists were chosen by a judging panel of industry experts within the fields of fashion, academia and sustainability.

As this year’s winner, Refiberd will use the funding to scale the impact of its intelligent sorting solution for textile-to-textile recycling AI system. The company’s mission tackles the industry’s waste-sorting problem to drive true circularity in fashion.

According to the company, the technology “can be integrated into existing recycling infrastructures to sort materials and ensure they’re processed using the right methods.” In practice, this will help recyclers turn textile waste into new, usable fibers.

“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,” said Sarika Bajaj, cofounder and chief executive officer of Refiberd. “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.”

EBay continues to champion re-commerce through its Circular Fashion Fund and champion the increased appetite for circular fashion. Notably, the company’s research revealed that 66 percent of Gen Z say that purchasing pre-loved fashion has grown in personal importance.

Since its launch in 2022, the fund has supported 27 businesses and provided more than 200 hours of mentoring and upskilling from industry experts with a total investment of $1.2 million.