Ebay expands Circular Fashion Fund across Europe and North America

Online marketplace Ebay is expanding its Circular Fashion Fund’s reach across Europe, Switzerland, and Canada, building on its established presence in the UK, Germany, Australia, and the US, as it looks to fund innovative solutions that extend the life of clothing and reduce textile waste.

The annual programme, first launched in 2022, is designed to support entrepreneurs tackling the fashion and textile industry’s environmental footprint, from production to end-of-life. Since its launch, it has supported more than 25 businesses with funding and mentoring, and with the expansion, its total global funding through the programme is set to reach 1.9 million US dollars by the end of 2026.

This year’s Circular Fashion Fund will be open to businesses and start-ups between six months and six years old across the UK, the US, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland, who can offer circular ideas to solve real-world problems, which align with Ebay’s fashion business.

Alexis Hoopes, vice president and global head of fashion at eBay, said in a statement: "When we launched the Circular Fashion Fund, we set out to support the businesses turning circularity from ambition into action.

“Over the past three years, we’ve seen scalable solutions emerge in areas like textile recycling, resale, and repair, but these businesses need capital and support to grow. With this expansion, we’re helping more founders build the infrastructure to make circular fashion an integral part of the fashion industry."

Ebay’s Circular Fashion Fund extends reach across Europe, Switzerland, and Canada for 2026

Applications for the Circular Fashion Fund close on March 8. A panel of judges will then select eight businesses, which will each receive 50,000 US dollars in funding, alongside mentoring to help develop and scale their ideas.

One standout business will also be named the Global Winner of the Circular Fashion Fund and will have the opportunity to receive an additional 300,000 US dollars investment from Ebay Ventures.

Last year, the coveted Global Winner accolade was awarded to Refiberd, a California-based company using AI to identify fibre composition in garments, enabling high-precision sorting for textile recycling.

Refiberd’s co-founder, Sarika Bajaj, alongside fellow Circular Fashion Fund alumnus Josephine Philips, founder and chief executive at Sojo, will be part of this year’s judging panel, alongside Australian Fashion Council Chair Marianne Perkovic, CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb, and Fashion Council Germany chief executive Scott Lipinski.

Commenting on being part of the Circular Fashion Fund programme, Bajaj, co-founder of Refiberd, added: “Ebay’s support has been truly transformative for our business. With both funding and mentorship, we’ve been able to scale our technology faster and expand our reach across the circular fashion ecosystem.

“The programme has also given us access to Ebay’s expertise as a long-term player in the industry, opening up new opportunities for collaboration and partnership. Together, this allows us to deliver our solution to a broader network of brands, recyclers, and ultimately consumers who are committed to building a more sustainable future for fashion.”