Many thanks to everyone who voted for the winners on our Instagram! We can finally announce the winners. As a reminder, the candidates were drawn from your nominations! After selecting those nominees which embodied our sustainable values to the highest degree, we came up with a shortlist in four categories – and here are the results at last!
Best Sustainable Designer
SHORE AND PINE
What’s the story behind your brand?
Shore and Pine is based on a personal discovery of the waste the fashion industry creates.
It began during my time at university, and working in commercial fashion, but only really came to light when dressmaking at a professional level. The amount of fabric waste my small business was creating, through bespoke clothing and alterations off cuts, was astounding. If this was from a one person business, it’s scary to think about the scale of waste there would be from even just one high street clothing giant.
I then made it my mission to create a brand that not only reduces the demand for new fabrics to be created, but one that minimises the impact the fashion industry has on the planet by using up ‘waste’ and looking at it from a different perspective.
Why is sustainability important to you?
Sustainability is the only way to save the fashion industry. We need to change our idea of what the fashion industry is and how it runs.
Every single new item will exist somewhere on the planet for a very long time, if not forever. We have to reduce this demand for the constant consumption of new, and turn to using what already exists on this planet. There is a quote I go back to all the time by Maya Angelou: “Without change, there would be no butterflies”. Change is not just what the industry needs, but consumers need to change their perspectives too. I want to see more consumers choosing to buy something that has a past. Whether that be a vintage item, made from recycled fibres or repurposed from existing waste products. I hope the pieces I design and make can help reset the way we look at perfectly beautiful ‘wasted’ materials, and put a smile on your face!
What can your customers expect from you?
My customers can expect pieces that are one of a kind, because they are lovingly made out of what already exists in the world. I will always, if I can, tell the story that belongs to each piece, of what they used to be, so when they go to their new home their journey can continue – I think that makes each one incredibly special.
As a small business owner I can promise I pour part of my soul into every single thing I create and I hope my customers can truly feel that when they wear my pieces, as well as knowing that what they have bought does not harm our planet, it is better for it.
What would you like to say to your voters?
I am beyond grateful to everyone who has voted for me. I quite literally could not do what I do without people like you who connect with me, my brand and what I create on any level. Thank you for being part of my journey and I hope you continue on it with me.
Best Sustainable Accessories Brand
LITTLE BY LITTLE JEWELLERY
What’s the story behind your brand?
Little by Little: a sustainable jewellery brand that takes design inspiration from ingredients. Started by two friends, Annabel Cox and Georgina Fuggle who are an ethical jewellery designer and food writer respectively. The idea was born, over coffee, dreaming of ways to do business generously and raise funds for charity whilst doing so. The product followed, a happy combination of the girls’ passions.
Since its conception there have been four collections: The Seville, The Mustard Seed, The Wedge and The Pip. Made with sustainable gold, silver and glass the collections each have their own distinct identity and quality.
Why is sustainability important to you?
At Little by Little we believe in the importance of empowering women and are so proud of our partnership with Luminary Bakery in North London.
Little by Little Jewellery’s key sustainable values lie in championing a responsible social and environmental supply chain. We not only want to create beautiful jewellery; we also want to make a positive impact through our production and packaging.
We use local Peruvian silver, most of which is recycled, in the creation of our collections. Any virgin metal used is supplied by companies with rigorous environmental certifications that meet with strict labour standards and comply with human rights laws.
What can your customers expect from you?
Customers can expect a honest, beautiful product created with integrity.
What would you like to say to your voters?
Thank you for all the kindness and helping us fulfil our hopes through a small, sustainable business.
Best Sustainable Store
MY LITTLE GREEN WARDROBE
What’s the story behind your brand?
My Little Green Wardrobe is an online store selling sustainable children’s clothing brands.
The idea is to make clothing your little ones from top to toe in sustainably and ethically produced garments as easy and accessible as possible for modern day parents.
The idea came about when I was trying to shop more sustainably for my own two girls.
It took me a whole afternoon to buy just two items, researching various brands, checking their product specifications, and trying to ascertain the sustainability credentials of each particular garment.
There had to be a better way.
Why wasn’t there a site that had collated all this info already? That had checked out which brands were doing their bit for the planet, and could give parents the info about each one’s ethos in an easily-digestible format?
AND wouldn’t it be great if you could have all of these awesome ethical brands under one roof so you could shop a wide range of them, safe in the knowledge all of their claims check out and without having to do the legwork yourself??
And so the idea behind the website was born.
Why is sustainability important to you?
I feel like climate anxiety is definitely something that affects me. I worked in news as a journalist for the BBC for 15 years and so was always at the forefront of hard-hitting stories.
The ones about climate change frighten me the most, and i’ve always tried to take action to reduce my impact.
When I was working on the arts & entertainment desk for BBC News we’d cover major fashion events like Fashion Weeks. It was at this point that I received press releases from the likes of the Textile Exchange and other organisations which spelled out how damaging the fashion industry is environmentally and socially.
I was so shocked that I couldn’t continue to shop on the high street any more and immediately tried to seek out better options.
For me, just stopping shopping wasn’t difficult as i already had plenty of clothes, but it was a more difficult task for my children – and I found it surprisingly difficult.
So that;s when the concept of MLGW came up. I thought about it for quite some time, and thought if not me that does it, then who? And if not now, then when?
There’s a climate emergency taking place and when i’m older and my children ask me what I did to try and prevent it, I’ll be able to answer honestly that I did as much as i could.
What can your customers expect from you?
Every single item and brand on the site has been hand-picked and hand-vetted by me. I research each brand extensively and discuss with them the ways in which they are behaving ethically.
Every single product has been awarded a set of values which it adheres to – which means you can filter the clothing according to the values that matter most to you. For example, if you’re vegan or you want UK-made items then you can filter according to items that adhere to those criteria.
You’ll also get articles and content around sustainability issues. After all, I am still a journalist at heart and writing and investigating issues is a passion!
What would you like to say to your voters?
Thank you so much for your support!! As a small brand, any recognition is honestly really appreciated, and without you, I wouldn’t be here!
Sustainable Influencer of the Year
ZOE’S STORY
What’s the story behind your brand?
I started out on social media because I wanted a space to talk about clothes and life with a Disability. Disabled people are not that visible in the world of sustainable fashion (yet), and I wanted to be the representation I didn’t have growing up.
Because clothing is a massive part of who I am, the sustainability of my wardrobe is something I’m passionate about. I work as a dressmaker but it happened by chance after I posted a photo of a skirt I made and people loved it and asked where it was from, so I started selling them. I figured I’d maybe get a couple of commissions, but it’s become my full time job.
I predominantly use natural fibres, vintage, second hand, and deadstock fabric, and sustainability is a huge part of my brand ethics.
I make clothing alongside my social media stuff and they tend to build off each other which has been really cool.
Why is sustainability important to you?
Making our lives more sustainable just feels like common sense, but some of the sustainability rhetoric can be pretty abelist. Plastic straws were invented as a medical aid, but the straw ban means even straws for medical use were removed.
Nobody used any nuance in the argument, and many Disabled people who spoke about needing plastic straws got abuse online. I think it alienated people from the movement because they felt they didn’t have a place in it.
Living sustainably to me means doing the best you can, and making informed choices about what you consume, like biodegradable sponges rather than plastic. While also acknowledging that some people can’t make the same lifestyle changes that you can.
Many people living more sustainable lives does more for the future of our planet over time than a handful of people living a perfectly zero waste life.
My household halved the amount of plastic sent to landfill over the past 2 years by making a sustainable swap every month.
Sustainability means a lot to me, not just because I want a better future for the planet, but because every community needs a voice in the movement, at the end of the day it really is everyone’s problem!
What can your followers expect from you?
I really enjoy making educational videos alongside more basic fashion content.
On Instagram I focus on slow/sustainable fashion and inclusivity in the industry but on YouTube I tend to do more sewing vlogs and tutorials. I studied conservation with the aim of becoming a textile conservator and fashion historian, so I love that I can learn from how people in the past managed without modern conveniences like plastic and manmade fibres and apply it in a contemporary context. I recreated medieval shoes using upholstery leather offcuts, so now I have a pair of fully biodegradable shoes which I absolutely love wearing in the summer.
What would you like to say to your voters?
Just finding out that I was nominated was an enormous honour and I was so, so excited about it. It means a lot when people show that they care about what
I’m doing and what I stand for. I really didn’t expect to win, so I was totally blown away by it all. I’m really grateful for the different opportunities that have come from working on social media; I’ve met and been supported by so many amazing people and it knocks my socks off to be honest, it’s probably one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me, so thank you all!
