eBay UK and the British Fashion Council have announced The Seam – an on-demand tailoring business – as the grand prize winner in the Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund (CFIF) initiative.
The Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund aims to help small businesses that are providing sustainable fashion solutions to grow, by bringing new technology and services to the market that can help people think and shop differently.
The fund, which launched in December 2022, has already awarded six businesses – including social fashion rental app By Rotation and the Circular Textiles Foundation – £100,000 of grant funding, as well as mentoring from industry leaders.
The Seam provides an on-demand tailoring service, which makes clothing alterations and repairs accessible through tech. It has already completed more than 10,000 repairs and provides white-labelled care and repair services to fashion retailers.
It has now been awarded the CFIF grand prize by judges from eBay UK, the British Fashion Council and the Ellen McArthur Foundation, in recognition of its innovation and approach to sustainability.
We will use the £10,000 funding to help accelerate The Seam’s growth, by developing its data and insight capabilities to drive behavioural change within the industry.
By developing our data, we will focus on informing consumers of their carbon savings and the increase to resale value when they repair a pre-loved garment. We will also use insights to inform brands about the lifecycle of their products to encourage greater circularity.
We’re immensely proud to be recognised by eBay and the British Fashion Council for shifting the dial towards a more conscious and connected world where garments are cared for and used again, rather than disposed of after their ‘first life’.
The Circular Fashion Innovator’s Fund has already helped us to develop our digital innovation, connect with other industry leaders and unlock our next growth chapter, and the skills we’ve received from our mentors have been invaluable.
We all have a crucial role to play in empowering consumers and brands to close the loop on circularity, which is why initiatives such as the CFIF are so important in driving positive change.
– Layla Sargent, Founder and CEO,The Seam
The Seam are true pioneers of circular fashion, and a real source of inspiration for the industry.
It’s fantastic to support them as they grow, and we will be there every step of the way as they develop their data capabilities to influence consumer behaviour and support brands to extend the lifecycle of their products.
It’s our goal to leverage our industry expertise and connections to help more businesses at the forefront of the circular economy, and last year we saw a 24% in new circular fashion businesses listing on our platform. It’s been inspiring to see how the first CFIF cohort is flourishing following a dedicated mentoring programme and with the support of our grant funding. We look forward to expanding the programme in the years to come and continuing to support transformative change.
– Lucy Peacock, Head of Pre-loved, eBay UK
