Last night, eBay announced Trosort as the Global Winner of the 2026 Circular Fashion Fund, recognizing the business for its innovative contribution to advancing circularity within the fashion industry. Through its AI-powered textile sorting technology, Trosort is helping digitise and modernise secondhand clothing operations.
Selected from eight international finalists spanning the EU, UK, US and Australia, Trosort impressed judges with its potential to help address one of fashion’s key infrastructure challenges, scalable and efficient textile sorting, while supporting reduced waste and more efficient circular retail operations across the industry. As the 2026 winner, the company will have the opportunity to receive a US$300,000 investment from eBay Ventures.
Now in its fourth year, eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund supports businesses developing solutions across the circular fashion ecosystem, from resale, repair and recyclingtechnology to authentication, sourcing and textile recovery infrastructure. The program was created to help early-stage businesses scale ideas with the potential to drive long-term industry change, connecting founders with funding, strategic mentoring and access to eBay’s broader circular fashion ecosystem. Since launching in 2022, the initiative has supported more than 30 businesses globally, with eBay’s total investment through the program expected to reach $1.9 million by the end of 2026.
Winners were selected by a judging panel of industry leaders across fashion, sustainability and circular innovation, including Alexis Hoopes (VP Fashion, eBay), Henri Jaanimaegi, (Head of eBay Ventures), Indre Rockerfeller (Founder/CEO, The Circularity Project)Peter Whitcomb (CEO, Tersus), Federica Marachionni (CEO, GFA), Laird Borrelli-Perrson (Senior Archive Editor, Vogue), Joe Murphy (CIO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation)
Achille Mathot, Co-founder & CEO of Trosort said: “We’re honoured to receive this recognition from eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund. Textile sorting remains one of the fashion industry’s biggest infrastructure challenges, and we believe smarter, AI-powered systems can help unlock greater efficiency, transparency and garment recirculation at scale. This recognition is an exciting milestone for both our team and the broader future of circular fashion infrastructure.”
Alexis Hoopes,Vice President of Global Fashion at eBay, said: “The future of fashion depends on building solutions that make circularity more scalable, accessible and commercially viable. Through the Circular Fashion Fund, we’re supporting entrepreneurs who are rethinking the systems, technologies and infrastructure needed to drive long-term change across the industry. Trosort reflects the kind of bold innovation that has the potential to accelerate progress toward a more circular future for fashion.”
The eight finalists selected for eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund 2026 were Circular Sourcing, Ragpiq, Silhouet, Refabric, TRUSS, eComID, It Goes Forward and Trosort. Each finalist received a monetary grant, mentoring and access to eBay’s global network of circular fashion experts, investors and industry leaders.
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About Trosort
Trosort develops semi-automated hardware and software systems to digitize textile sorting. Since expanding to a team of six in February, we have deployed four systems across textile sorting centers in Belgium, Australia, the UK, and France, with a target of 10 installations by year-end. Our current technology processes 3 tons of garments per shift, with a roadmap to reach 90 tons per day and full automation within three years. Our modular system enables a single-step process that strictly adheres to the Waste Hierarchy, sorting for reuse, repair, upcycling, and recycling through high-speed data extraction.
By computing the highest recovery potential for each garment, Trosort maximizes economic and environmental returns while providing the objective compliance data required by eco-organisms to manage export flows. Backed by a €1.15M Seed round, Trosort is building the high-capacity infrastructure needed to transform manual, subjective sorting into a transparent, global resource stream.
Website: https://www.trosort.com/
About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that connects people and builds communities to create economic opportunity for all. Our technology empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world, providing everyone the opportunity to grow and thrive. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2024, eBay enabled $75 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.