eBay named Circular Sourcing a regional winner in eBay's 2026 Circular Fashion Fund. Founded by Courtney Holm, who spent eight years building the circular fashion label A.BCH before pivoting to tackle the industry's material waste problem at scale.

Circular Sourcing is a platform building the data infrastructure behind physical textiles, making surplus materials visible, accessible and commercially viable for brands and designers.

A few weeks ago, Courtney travelled to New York City to pitch alongside the global finalists. We caught up with her to hear more.

Could you share some insights into your background and the journey that led you to launch Circular Sourcing?
I founded circular fashion label A.BCH in 2016 at a time when sustainable fashion had a few major players, but no one was yet talking about circular design. Over the next eight years, I built A.BCH from concept to beloved brand in Melbourne; we established our own factory and eventually manufactured 100% of our products in-house through an on-demand model. It was through A.BCH that I gained a deep understanding of supply chains, materials and manufacturing. It was also how I saw the enormous waste issues up close. It dawned on me that whatever little universe we created with A.BCH wouldn’t have an iota of impact on the industry at large. So we started small, just as a little esty store, selling surplus here and there for ourselves and then our brand friends, and eventually with a co-funding from A.BCH and Sustainability Victoria and contributions from Full Circle Fibres, MTK Australia and The Social Studio, we built a central platform for this to scale.

That led us to realise the problem was less about surplus being a problem needing to be solved downstream and more that the industry extracts and grossly undervalues important material assets simply because the data behind them is lost. We realised that we could build the data infrastructure behind physical textiles and that's exactly what we're doing today.

You were one out of 8 successful global finalists for the eBay Circular Fashion Fund so take me back to that pitch room. What was it really like standing in front of industry experts, how did you prepare for that moment, and what would you tell other businesses heading into pitching opportunities?

This was honestly one of the most intense pitches I've ever prepped for. The judges are all seriously iconic people in the industry; they know the problem deeply and they will scrutinise every word much more than a generic investor ever could. The pressure was real, including from traveling halfway around the world! But I think I was fairly well prepared..

Prep looks like getting your deck right so the visuals can help you share your story, not distract or cause confusion. It looks like practising a lot, because when you only have 5 minutes, every word you say counts. It's also getting to the point as soon and succinctly as possible. And it's managing nerves and pressure, though the other founders in the competition were so supportive and it made the whole process feel really good, regardless of who won the final prize.

You founded the brand A.BCH in 2017 and built it into a world-leading example of circular design, before making the strategic decision in early 2024 to focus on building Circular Sourcing. What was the defining moment that convinced you the industry needed a dedicated platform for surplus textiles rather than another circular fashion brand?
I guess I talked about it a little already, but I think it was the moment when the scale of impact hit me. It was like, could I dare to think bigger? Globally? Transformationally? Could I go from being heads down, running around and doing my own creative thing in my own little world, to opening myself up to the very public, scrutinised, and tumultuous life of a technology founder where my business is far more likely to fail? Ultimately I chose yes. It hasn't been easy, but it was the best decision I could have made.

Circular Sourcing’s mission is to divert materials from ending up in landfill. How do you go about shifting the mindset of brands and manufacturers from seeing surplus as a liability to treating it as a premium material opportunity?
You know, the cool thing about surplus is, once the data is restructured and the product is made visible, it's actually very easy to get brands on board to use it. It's available immediately, enabling speed to market, it's unique, providing endless story telling opportunities, and the material and impact data work has all been done for them, so it's pretty much a win-win. Brands are coming to us already. What is more challenging is getting brands to think and design for the full circular lifecycle, that is our real challenge and where we are heading, big picture.

You deliberately use the term "material streams" rather than "waste streams," viewing all material as a valuable resource. How does that language and philosophy shape the way Circular Sourcing is designed both as a platform and as a business?
I think we just have particular phrases and language that we lean into at Circular Sourcing. The reason why is that we are building a company culture, and a big part of culture is language. We’re also industry operators by trade. Certain words and phrases make supply chain folks bristle. The way things are framed is so important not only for shaping the vernacular but for shaping the actions those words invoke. The call to action for revaluing resources is a lot more powerful than reducing waste.

What does being selected as a finalist for eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund mean to your business and what are you hoping the funding will unlock for Circular Sourcing?

It's epic. I feel so lucky to be building this business at this moment in time. It’s a privilege to be shaping the future industry we want and need. Being selected for the fund is a resounding YES to our central thesis. While I don't know exactly what it will unlock yet for Circular Sourcing, I’m open to the possibilities of who will come alongside us next, because one thing I know for sure is this is not something we can go at alone. So I'm excited for who will join us, partner with us, invest with us next – and what that unlocks.

Discover more about Circular Sourcing through their social media channels or official website.