Ebay UK is partnering with the British Fashion Council (BFC) and Hubbub to launch the Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund, offering £100,000 in funding for small businesses specialising in circular fashion solutions.
- The Fund, announced on Monday, will bring new technology and services to the market that can help people think and shop differently, with a particular focus on areas such as customer experience, circular inventory & services, and social commerce.
What the Partners Will do: Ebay UK brings to the table its experience as a leading online resale marketplace for second-hand fashion in the market and will support the winners of the Fund to grow and thrive like the many thousands of small businesses already on the platform.
- The BFC will leverage its industry expertise and access to fashion innovation businesses to identify and assess the circular solutions that are most likely to succeed.
- Environmental charity Hubbub will support in an advisory role, drawing on its experience in delivering high-profile grant funds.
The Process: Applications are open till 3 November.
- Small businesses can apply via a simple form on Ebay’s website.
- A shortlist of ten businesses will be invited to pitch to a panel of industry experts from Ebay and other leading organisations, who will then choose the six overall recipients of the funding.
- Each of the six winning businesses will be awarded a £15,000 grant, and a final overall winner will receive an additional £10,000.
- On top of financial support, winners will participate in a six-week mentoring programme, featuring one-on-one sessions with business leaders from Ebay and organisations including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, as well as networking opportunities.
The Backdrop: Ebay UK claims to sell two pre-loved fashion items every second.
- Growth in the sector has been strong since Ebay partnered with reality TV show Love Island in the summer.
- Since then, Ebay has seen 7,000% more searches for ‘pre-loved fashion’ on its site compared to the same period last year (May-August).
- The partnership with Reskinned has expanded Ebay’s offering of preloved clothing to include a wide range of items which have been repaired and made fit for resale, and the new ‘brand approved’ shopfront connects Reskinned with Ebay’s 20 million plus customers.
- Ebay’s Imperfects Hub is a destination for sought after in-season branded fashion that may not be 100% perfect. It features over 180 brands including North Face, Off White, Puma, Fila and Timberland.
- The partnership with Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign is in its third year.
What they said:
Over the past few years, there have been so many brilliant start-ups and small businesses that are changing the way we think about a circular fashion economy. We hope that the Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund will help scale these innovative start-ups in size and reach, and in turn make sustainable fashion practices more accessible to more people and businesses.
— Lucy Peacock
Head of Pre-loved
Ebay UK
Supporting excellence and innovation is at the core of what we do. We all have a part to play in creating a positive future for the fashion industry and now more than ever, it is crucial that the fashion community does its utmost to protect and nurture innovative start-ups and small businesses specialising in circular fashion solutions.
— Caroline Rush
Chief Executive Officer
British Fashion Council
