Dempstah has been named as the recipient of Ebay’s $100,000 Circular Fashion Fund this year.

Ebay, in partnership with the Australian Fashion Council, launched the Circular Fashion Fund aimed at supporting innovation in the fashion industry to reach circularity by 2030.

“The fund will go towards establishing a micro mill in North West Tasmania, which will allow us to house and operate fibre recovery machinery and develop greater insight into this milling process,” said Dempstah founder Guy Dempster.

Dempstah, in collaboration with international and local textile mills, recycles Australian textile waste into spun yarn.

Meanwhile, RCYCL and The Very Good Bra emerged as runners-up, with each of them receiving $50,000.

The Circular Fashion Fund evaluated participants based on innovation, circularity and business viability.

In addition to the funding, the three winners will enter into a three-month program of mentoring, networking and workshops to learn how to market and scale their business.

Ebay first launched the Circular Fashion Fund in the UK in 2022 and intends to run the competition over the next three years to help build a more circular future.