Are you implementing sustainable, circular and regenerative approaches to your design? Are you fostering ethical practices? Are you challenging business-as-usual? If these are issues that concern you, then we’re looking for you! The Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2021 are open for nominations. Nominate yourself or a peer for an award. You do not have to submit garments or prepare a portfolio: you need to simply fill in an entry form for your chosen category. Changemaker Award winner will receive R100 000 cash from Country Road. This category is not open for nominations, instead the winner will be selected from the winners of the nine other categories.
Please request a form from awards@twyg.co.za for the relevant category.
- Accessory Award
- Student Award presented by Levi’s®
- Innovative Design and Materials Award presented by adidas
- Trans-seasonal Award presented by BMW i
- Nicholas Coutts Award
- Retail Award presented by Inscape
- Influencer Award presented by Reebok
- CMT or Manufacturer Award
- Textile Maker or Mill Award
Nominations close on 11 October 2021.
Criteria
Please ensure you understand the awards criteria and choose your category carefully, as we’re only accepting one nomination per brand/designer. Please note that we have introduced two new categories: 1) Textile Makers and Mills and 2) ‘Cut Make and Trim’ Factories and Manufacturers.
Winners of the 2020 Awards may not apply for 2021.
Submissions will be judged against the criteria for each category (see below) and will be rated between 1 and 5 for the sections detailed in the nomination forms. We expect nominees to be able to demonstrate:
- Finished, quality fashion garments, accessories and/or collections;
- Ethical labour practices;
- Transparency in design and manufacturing practices and sourcing of materials;
- The extent to which materials have been sustainably sourced;
- Besides the student category, designers, businesses or brands should have been operating for at least 2 years, and should have made new garments/collections in the last 12 months and before September 2021;
- The awards are open to designers living in South Africa.
To nominate yourself or someone else, email awards@twyg.co.za to request a nomination form for the category you’ve selected to enter. Nominations close on 11 October 2021.
Prizes
The total value of prizes is over R260,000.00.
- The overall winner of the Changemaker category, sponsored by Country Road, will receive R100,000.00. The Changemaker Award will not be open for nominations. This category is supported by Country Road and will be awarded to the overall winner who will be drawn from the winners of all the categories and based on the judges scoring results.
- SA Fashion Week will be giving the Changemaker Award winner a slot in a three-designer, shared show.
- The Influencer Award winner will receive a Reebok Package to the value of R40,000.00. This comprises of a R10,000.00 shopping voucher and the opportunity to partner with Reebok South Africa on Sustainability related campaigns in SS22, to the value of R30,000.00.
- The winner of the Nicholas Coutts Award will receive R10,000.00 from the Coutts family.
- The design, textile, CMT and manufacturer, and retail winners each receive an EcoStandard South Africa assessment of their brand.
- Each winner will receive a towel from Mungo, a GOTS-certified homeware textile company based in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.
Categories 2021
Student Award presented by Levi’s®
This award will go to a student who has produced a garment or collection that addresses the challenges of sustainability in the most exciting and beautiful way. The assessment will look for creativity and innovation and will recognise that student designers have the freedom to challenge fashion’s status quo. We expect students to task fashion with environmental and social responsibilities in a playful and creative way.
Accessory Award
This award recognises an accessory brand that implements ethical labour practices, limits toxic chemicals and uses sustainable materials to create a quality item and considers end-of-life. Ideally, it should be locally sourced materials and/or recyclable or recycled materials. The quality, durability, creativity and innovative design of the nominated brands will be assessed.
Innovative Design and Materials Award presented by adidas
This award seeks to recognise a designer who has used innovative techniques to reduce fashion’s negative impact. For instance, this designer could be minimising textile waste through creative pattern cutting using pre- and post-consumer fabric waste, and/or reconstruction techniques. If the innovative approach is not original, the innovation being adopted should be acknowledged. The award also seeks to recognise a commitment to using sustainable fabrics.
Trans-seasonal Award presented by BMW i
This award recognises a collection, garment or brand that promotes trans-seasonal, multi-functionality and versatile style. It rewards quality design that aspires to be timeless and is made to last, i.e. design that transcends seasons and trends. This category also recognises brands that remain invested in garments after their sale, for example, through the provision of lifetime guarantees and repair services.
Nicholas Coutts Award
This award honours the talented young designer Nicolas Coutts. Nicholas, who beautifully used and explored traditional crafts and techniques in his design, tragically lost his life at the beginning of 2019. This award recognises a designer who uses artisanal craft techniques such as weaving, embroidery or botanical dyeing to make fashion that foregrounds, celebrates and values the skills of the people who make the garments. Craftsmanship is a living example of slow-paced, resource-mindful and socially-sustainable production.
Retail Award presented by Inscape
This award recognises a retailer or retailing initiative that enhances sustainability, including pre-loved/gently worn, swap shops, garment rental, and similar activities. The award is also open to retailers who support local producers and sustainable design and manufacturing.
Influencer Award presented by Reebok
This award recognises a personality or think-fluencer who has actively promoted slow, sustainable fashion over the last 12 months and who has sparked relevant conversations. This person has also explained sustainable issues factually and has cautioned against harming nature on social media and other platforms. The influencer supports conscious local brands while promoting these 5Rs (reduce, repair, refashion, reuse, recycle). The judges will also look at how the fashion content intersects with issues such as race, diversity, inclusion and body positivity.
CMT and Manufacturer Award
This award will be presented to a ‘cut, make and trim’ factory or manufacturer of clothes or accessories that is socially and environmentally conscious and/or whose business practices are socially and environmentally responsible. Nominations are open to ethical CMTs and manufacturers who are reducing their impact on the environment. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. Twyg celebrates organisations that respect its employees and practices fair employment.
Textile Makers and Mills Award
Preferred local fabrics are a key ingredient for sustainable fashion. Sourcing textiles is one of the great challenges for designers who are adopting more sustainable practices. As such, we’ve introduced this category to celebrate and encourage South African textile makers and mills to use natural, regenerative fibres, non-toxic dyes and finishes, and closed-loop systems. This award is open to established companies, SMMEs and independent creatives.
Changemaker Award presented by Country Road
The winners with the highest scores in the design categories (Student, Accessory, Trans-seasonal, Coutts, Innovative Design and Materials Award) will be judged against the criteria set for the Changemaker Award. This award recognises a designer whose career has embraced sustainable and circular design practices. The recipient’s collection/s will have helped raise awareness of environmental and social issues. This designer demonstrates a commitment to promoting slow consumer fashion habits. This category is not open to nominations.
Please email awards@twyg.co.za to request a nomination form and jackie@twyg.co.za if you have any queries.
Nominations close on 11 October 2021.
