The Australian Fashion Council is proud to support eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund, offering $200,000 AUD in funding for Australian start-ups specialising in circular fashion solutions. 

For decades, eBay has been leading the charge in recommerce, driving the circular economy through its resale marketplace, in particular for fashion. eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund not only compliments but helps accelerate the roadmap for Seamless, the national clothing stewardship scheme, bringing us closer to our goal of achieving clothing circularity in Australia by 2030.

With every Australian buying 27 kilograms of new clothing a year and throwing away 23 kilograms on average each year, the Fund aims to bring together emerging technologies and forward-thinking solutions from innovative start-ups that can help change customer behaviours within the fashion industry and advance the circular economy.

eBay will support the winner and two runners-up of the Circular Fashion Fund by providing financial support via the Fund, mentorship, industry networking opportunities and a platform to showcase their innovative circular fashion solutions to a wider audience. 

The winners will be chosen by a judging panel of industry experts across fashion, academia, logistics and sustainability. The panel includes KITX Founder Kit Willow, the AFC’s Danielle Kent, Sendle Founder & CEO James Chin Mooney, Liandra Founder and Creative Director, Liandra Gaykamangu, Director of UTS and TAFE NSW’s Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion & Textiles Dr Lisa Lake, The Growth Activists CEO Rosanna Lacono and Head of Fashion eBay Australia, Brooke Eichhorn.

Applications are open until Friday, 10 November 2023. Businesses can apply here .

A shortlist of six finalists will be invited to pitch their ideas to the judges, who will select the three overall funding recipients. The winner will receive a $100,000 grant, and the two runners-up will each be awarded a $50,000 grant. In addition, the three recipients will then enter into a six-week program of mentoring, networking opportunities and workshops, including a workshop hosted by Clare Press, Founder of The Wardrobe Crisis.