EBAY CIRCULAR FASHION FUND

In collaboration with the Fashion Council Germany (FCG), eBay is using the competition to promote innovative ideas that will transform the fashion industry towards sustainability and the circular economy. In addition to young designers and established brands, start-ups and tech companies that have an idea on how they can have a sustainable impact on the fashion industry can also apply. In Germany, a total of 100,000 euros will be awarded as prize money, which will be divided among three winners: First place is endowed with 50,000 euros, second and third place with 25,000 euros each. In addition to the financial incentive, the Circular Fashion Fund also offers the winners a comprehensive mentoring program. Through individual support and industry-specific expertise, the award-winning ideas are to be further developed in a long-term and responsible manner.

For the first time, the fund will be held simultaneously in four countries - Australia, the UK, the USA and Germany. As a special feature, the winners will have the opportunity to enter a further international competition stage. In a second application phase, a transnational winner will be selected from the winners, who will receive an additional 300,000 US dollars on top of the original prize money.. The jury places particular emphasis on four key areas when evaluating the submitted projects: Innovation, circular economy, scalability and sustainability. The eight most promising companies or projects will be invited to pitch to a high-caliber jury made up of leading industry experts. The jury members include:

• Eirik Frøyland Rime (Founder & CEO, Tise)

• Eva McGeorge (Head of Marketing & Communication, Lenzing)

• Henri Jaanimägi (Global head of eBay Ventures, inorganic & strategic partnerships)

• Julia Kirschner (Impact & Innovation Director, Armed Angels)

• Kirsten Siegler (Co-founder & Managing Director, vbc Agency)

• Kirsty Keoghan (GM Global Fashion, eBay)

• Tanja Vojkic (Category Lead Fashion, eBay)

• Scott Lipinski (CEO, FCG)

• Silke Friedrich (Publisher, Berliner Zeitung)

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Gries (RWTH Aachen)

  
  

Following intensive workshops in spring 2025, the Circular Fashion Fund entered the final selection phase. Three outstanding start-ups were selected from a strong field of applicants: Repair Rebels, Ninyes and MOOT.

The three finalists presented their revised pitches to the jury. The concepts were evaluated according to four key criteria: innovation, circular economy, scalability and sustainability. The German winner: MOOT impressed with its creative upcycling approach and was named the winner. In addition to the prize money and mentoring, the Berlin-based start-up went on to represent Germany at the international competition in London.

Here, the title ‘eBay Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year 2025’ and an investment of US$300,000 from eBay Ventures went to Refiberd – a pioneer in textile-to-textile recycling, whose business model impressed the jury.