The Queen Elizabeth II High School in Peel, Isle of Man, have been named the Ecover Young Green Champion at the 2013 Observer Ethical Awards, which took place at a ceremony in London this evening hosted by The Observer’s ethical living correspondent and awards founder Lucy Siegle.
The school’s winning project was based around the concept of growing new fabric for clothing using microbes, sugar and tea. By creating environmentally friendly biodegradable clothes, the school wanted to raise awareness of the problems surrounding ‘fast fashion’ and educate a wider audience about the impact the throw-away fashion industry has on the planet. The project was a great success for the school, producing a waistcoat, an apron and a skirt and has since created much discussion amongst pupils, with GCSE textile students now considering to use the new material in their work.
Alison Tickell, founding director of Julie’s Bicycle and awards judge said: "The school's project was extraordinary. It is a great concept for the fashion industry and gives a platform for talking about changing the world.”
Clare Allman, UK marketing manager, Ecover, said: “We have had an extraordinary number of inspirational entries this year, but the vision behind this entry is beyond their years – real clever thinking.”
Speaking about the winners, judge and awards founder Lucy Siegle said: “This year's awards represent an extraordinary roll call of ethical achievement and ambition. Our winners are driven by finding solutions for the most vulnerable people and habitats. Tonight we've honoured four graduates from top UK design schools whose ‘Big Idea’ has the potential to solve a global sanitation nightmare. We have a travel winner specialising in tours of London conducted by guides who were formerly homeless. We have a man who has dedicated his life to creating and protecting wildlife habitats in his own community and and an Isle of Man school that takes home a ?6000 bursary courtesy of our lead sponsor Ecover, to fund a bio-science project that will take the sting out of fast fashion. This represents fighting talk on behalf of planet earth!'”
The Observer Ethical Awards, in association with Ecover, are the only ones hosted by a national newspaper which celebrate the standout campaigns, breakthrough business ideas, people and initiatives which make sustainable change and social justice a reality.
The full list of winners:
Young Green Champions (sponsored by Ecover)
QE11
A school eco project which created a new clothing material using tea, sugar and microbes. The biodegradable material was then used to make items of clothing such as a skirt, an apron and a waistcoat.
Lifetime Achievement
Lenny Henry
Unsung Local Hero
Francis McCrickard
Francis has made a significant different to his local area, establishing wildflower meadows and a climate change walk in the Myddelton Grange Centre in Ilkley.
Retailer of the Year
Riverford Farms
An online organic farm shop and highly successful box scheme. Each of their farms are part of a local grower group and they have a great presence in their regional community.
Campaigner of the Year
Joanna Lumley
Malala Yousafzai
Big Idea (sponsored by National Grid)
Loowatt
A unique toilet project which uses biodegradable lining instead of water.
Arts and Culture
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Travel (sponsored by Virgin Holidays)
Unseen Tours
A unique enterprise in London which offers walking tours led by professionally coached homeless guides. The tours offer previously unexplored glimpses of the city and introduce a new social consciousness into London tours.
Products and Services (sponsored by B&Q)
ColaLife
Opens distribution channels which Coca-Cola uses in developing countries to enable products such as oral rehydration salts and zinc supplements to use those routes.
Business Initiative (sponsored by Jupiter Asset Management)
Virgin Atlantic (with Lanzatech)
Uses gas fermentation technology to create sustainable biofuels for aviation.
Well Dressed (sponsored by Eco Age)
Rosalind Jana Peters
Edits blog ‘Clothes, Cameras and Coffee’ and supports ethical fashion.
The winners of The Observer Ethical awards recognise the brightest people and companies which make sustainable change a reality and were drawn from every corner of the UK, from the familiar to the entirely unsung. Pick-up this Sunday's Observer for a special ethical issue of the Observer Magazine detailing the winners. For more information visit www.guardian.co.uk/observer-ethical-awards.
Photo - The Queen Elizabeth School II collecting their award. Far left judge Rick Edwards; far right judge and awards founder Lucy Siegle.
