Canadian fashion designer Kaya Dorey has been announced as a Young Champion of the Earth for introducing to market her unique apparel business that not only delivers on sustainability but also an urban street style for a generation wanting to end our ‘fast fashion’, wasteful consumerism.
Kaya began her label, NOVEL SUPPLY CO., after her hunt for clothing that both suited her style and was made sustainably from natural fabrics failed in her local shops of Vancouver. Her ‘conscious apparel company’ produces garments free from toxic dyes and synthetics, instead sourcing hemp and organic cotton and environmentally friendly inks.
The business is based on the ‘closed-loop’ philosophy of production, which strives for sustainability by improving economic and environmental goals simultaneously. To do this Kaya is creating a ‘take-back’ programme so that the company takes responsibility for the garments it produces when they are worn out, as well as ensuring there is a solution for any waste created in the manufacturing process.
Dorey, 29, is one of six young winners each representing a region of the world, awarded the prize from the United Nations Environment Programme and Covestro aimed at identifying, supporting and celebrating outstanding individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 with big ideas to protect or restore the environment. Winners receive US15,000 seed funding, intensive training, and tailored mentorship to help them bring their big environmental ideas to life.