Targeting “early stage businesses with the potential to transform the fashion industry, offering a variety of sustainable solutions, from rental models to curated children’s pre-loved clothes boxes” the finalists are:Swoperz, a subscription-based preloved kids’ clothing community (run by kids and managed by grown-ups); Give Your Best, a circular platform where people and brands donate clothes online, so vulnerable people in the UK such as refugees or trafficking victims can shop clothes online for free; Made Super, enables rental business models on Shopify with its beta product Supercycle allowing merchants to offer rental membership, manage inventory and returns, and sell via Shopify; Finds World, a social marketplace that lets people use videos to buy and sell secondhand, vintage and handmade fashion, while connecting with like-minded people; Thrifthood, a female-founded online retailer of secondhand childrenswear, individually curated and delivered to customers’ doors; and Loanhood, a circular commerce platform including a fashion rental marketplace app and a B2B solution for SMEs. 

The Fund offers £15,000 for each selected small business with an additional £10,000 awarded to the overall winner. Alongside the financial support, finalists also embark on a six-week mentoring programme, gain access to industry networking opportunities and receive support from environmental charity Hubbub, an ongoing advisor for the Fund.Jemma Tadd, Head of Fashion, eBay UK, said: “We are dedicated to empowering the UK’s most innovative thinkers who are pioneering solutions for fashion waste and driving a circular fashion economy. I am immensely proud of this initiative and can’t wait to see this year’s Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund winners grow with our support. Together, we are truly reimagining the future of fashion.”