eBay Ventures has announced a $300,000 investment in Refiberd, named eBay’s Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year, highlighting its commitment to sustainable fashion through the Circular Fashion Fund.

eBay Ventures has announced an investment of $300,000 into Refiberd, a U.S.-based company recognized as eBay’s Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year. The announcement was made on April 9, 2025, from the company’s headquarters in San Jose, California. This initiative is part of eBay’s broader Circular Fashion Fund, which aims to support startups in developing circular solutions across the fashion industry, ranging from production to end-of-life services.

Since its launch in 2022, the Circular Fashion Fund plans to contribute a total of $1.2 million by the end of 2025, assisting fashion innovators and small businesses. The initiative partners with prominent fashion councils, including the British Fashion Council (BFC), Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Fashion Council Germany (FCG), and Australia Fashion Council (AFC). This collaboration offers recipients access to crucial industry resources and visibility to foster their growth.

Refiberd’s technology, which uses artificial intelligence to accurately identify fabric compositions, is designed to enhance recycling processes by improving sorting efficiency. This advancement is expected to enable recyclers to transform textile waste into new, usable fibers. Sarika Bajaj, co-founder and CEO of Refiberd and the recipient of the award, expressed gratitude for the recognition and emphasized the importance of the investment. “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,” she said.

Refiberd was chosen as the winner among 12 shortlisted businesses from the UK, U.S., Germany, and Australia, all recognized for their contributions to creating a more sustainable fashion industry. Other finalists included SOJO in the UK, known for its hassle-free clothing repair service, MOOT in Germany, which provides an upcycling solution for brands, and Shopfront in Australia, which leverages AI technology to facilitate fashion resales.

The selection process involved a panel of judges, comprising industry experts in fashion, academia, and sustainability, who evaluated each country’s finalists. Alexis Hoopes, VP Global Head of Fashion at eBay, noted the significance of the timing for eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund. “As the pioneering secondary marketplace, eBay has been driving circularity in fashion since its inception 30 years ago. 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,” she stated.

The Circular Fashion Fund significantly contributes to the growing trend toward sustainable fashion, with recent reports indicating that 66% of Gen Z consumers consider purchasing pre-loved fashion increasingly important. Through investments in technology and innovative startups like Refiberd, eBay continues to assert its commitment to fostering a circular economy within the fashion industry.

Source: Noah Wire Services