Mindful Fashion Circular Design Awards
27/11/2024
The 2024 Mindful Fashion Circular Design Awards recently celebrated New Zealand’s innovators leading the charge for sustainable fashion. The awards, which we proudly sponsored, emphasized innovation, circularity, and waste reduction in the fashion industry, recognizing designers who create high-value pieces from waste materials.
Above, you can see what 496 kilograms of clothing waste looks like—a staggering amount that ends up in NZ’s landfills every five minutes. This shocking statistic underscores the need for the Circular Design Awards. True change starts with thoughtful design and extends to using, repairing, reselling, remaking, and recycling our clothes. The Circular Design Award programme aims to inspire designers, businesses, and all New Zealanders with what’s possible
This year’s winners not only demonstrated immense creativity but showcased practical applications of circular economy principles in fashion.
Circular Business Innovation Award Winner - Untouched World
Untouched World received the Circular Business Innovation Award for its "Rubbish Socks" initiative. This standout project embodies Untouched World’s commitment to circularity, achieving a remarkable 99% textile waste recycling rate. The company’s initiatives go beyond product design, as Untouched World also diverts a significant amount of waste, recycling over a ton of textile materials annually. Their efforts demonstrate how businesses can actively integrate circular design into their entire production process. Check out more of their sustainable efforts here.
Circular Business Innovation Award Finalist - Offcut
Among the celebrated was Offcut, a finalist of the Circular Business Innovation Award for their innovative work in using fabric waste to craft stylish, environmentally responsible products. Offcut was recognized for its commitment to upcycling otherwise discarded materials, primarily creating caps from fabric remnants that would typically end up in landfills. Founded with the mission of reducing textile waste, Offcut demonstrates how every design choice can contribute to a circular economy. By educating consumers about waste reduction and showcasing how remnant materials can take on new life, Offcut inspires others to rethink waste.
Check out more of their work here.
Creative Excellence in Circular Design Winner - Jacqueline Tsang
The Award for Creative Excellence in Circular Design went to Jacqueline Tsang for her project (seen above) “Fabric Has Memory,” a luxurious garment created from upcycled coffee sacks, damaged kimonos, and vintage tapestries. This piece illustrates the potential of combining diverse materials to create new, sustainable high-fashion options.
Material Innovation Award Winner - Sue Prescott
Sue Prescott was honored with the Material Innovation Award for her work (seen above) “Southerly Change,” which utilizes sailcloth waste from Wellington. Prescott’s design brings colour and life to sailcloth, a material typically discarded, showing how it can be repurposed into stylish, functional wear.
Rising Talent Award Winner - Ella Fidler
Finally, Ella Fidler won the Rising Talent Award for her entry (seen above) “Scrap Yarn,” a collection that considers the full lifecycle of fabrics, from creation to end-of-life recyclability. Fidler’s work is a great example of how new designers can approach sustainability from the very beginning, highlighting how waste materials can re-enter the supply chain as new products.
Mindful Fashion NZ continues to lead by example, pushing the fashion industry in New Zealand towards a zero-waste future. This year’s awards highlighted not only exceptional talent but a genuine commitment to transforming the industry’s approach to waste. With initiatives like these, New Zealand’s fashion sector is taking significant strides toward sustainability and inspiring global change. If you want to be involved, check out Mindful Fashion here.
Pictured here is a few of the Ecotricity team at the awards night.
