The winners of this year’s Circular Design Awards have been revealed, ranging from regenerative homeware to a craft-focused ensemble made from campsite materials, plus an adorable accessory that’s all about comfort.
Run by industry organisation Mindful Fashion New Zealand, the 2025 winners were announced this evening at an event at Webb’s in Auckland with finalists, judges and other industry figures in attendance including Mindful Fashion NZ chair Juliette Hogan who spoke about the importance of positive action, like the awards, and having hope for the future of the industry.
The winner of the Circular Business Innovation Award, sponsored by Untouched World, is Lof. The Waiheke Island-based business, launched in late 2024 by Sophie Poelman and Alain Brideson, transforms underutilised strong wool (coarse wool) into regenerative products including lighting.
The judging panel, which included Untouched World founder Peri Drysdale and Seamless CEO Ainsley Simpson, was impressed by Lof’s tenacity and ability to embed circularity into products and the entire business model.
“By working with local producers to turn waste wool into a beautiful lamp, Lof embodies the kind of thoughtful elegance and excellence we need in circularity,” said judge Lucianne Tonti, respected Australian-based sustainability journalist and author of Sundressed: Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothing. “Durability, simplicity and desirability with a practical plan for end-of-life and thoughtful material origins.”
The winner of the Circular Clothing Innovation Award is Kensa Munroe with her ensemble titled Deconstructed Heritage. Made with waste cotton household linen, an antique hemp mosquito net and salvaged canvas from a stretcher and tent, it uses plant-based fibres, botanical dyes, and near-zero-waste cutting techniques.
A critique of the turbulence of the global fashion industry through craft, the garments feature hardware that’s recoverable for reuse and fabrics that are compostable or recyclable at end-of-life.
Untouched World’s Peri Drysdale said that every year she has been inspired by the intention that goes into the Mindful Fashion Award entries but this year the depth of thought raised the bar.
“The challenge we set is no small one: to take textile waste and reimagine it into something not only wearable and beautiful, but also responsible in every part of its life cycle,” she said of the Design Innovation Award, which she judged alongside the Business Innovation Award.
The judges were drawn to clever use of materials, creative flair but more importantly how thoughtfully each designer considered the bigger picture. “From where their materials came from to how long their piece would last, and what might happen to it after its first life, we saw a real commitment to design that honours the full life cycle of the piece,” says Drysdale.
Choosing a winner was not easy but Kensa Munroe’s beautifully made and considered design stood out for its cohesive story. “It gave us hope. Hope that circular design is not just a concept, but a creative force for good.”
The winner of the Circular Accessory Innovation Award, sponsored by Webb’s, is Deonne Schollum & Maryna Lottering for their school backpack called Comfort Bear, made using waste textiles (uniforms, cloths and towels) through their work at a commercial laundry, for emotional comfort for children facing anxiety.
Mindful Fashion NZ’s chief executive Jacinta FitzGerald said that the judges across all categories were impressed by entrants’ lateral thinking and emphasis on innovation. “We saw a growing maturity of circular initiatives balancing commercial viability with environmental and social impact,” she says.
“The winning entries stood out for their clear purpose, holistic approaches to design and material choices, and resolved execution, demonstrating that circular design can be both beautiful and practical. The importance of circularity’s social dimension came through strongly this year, showing circularity can be a mechanism to build stronger communities.”
Jacinta also acknowledged the importance of partners like Untouched World in using their experience and authority to support other businesses on a circularity journey. “Untouched World’s involvement in the Business Innovation Award is significant because they’ve been pioneers in embedding sustainability long before it was mainstream. Their work shows how a New Zealand business can scale globally while holding circular and sustainable values at the core of how they operate,” she says.
“As the inaugural winner of this award in 2024, their support this year underlines why it is so important: to enable more businesses to rethink not just what they make but how they make it, proving that circular, values-led innovation is both commercially viable and vital for fashion’s future.”
The Mindful Fashion NZ Circular Design Awards have run since 2023, and are part of the collective’s ongoing advocacy to build a sustainable ecosystem and future for NZ’s clothing and textile industry.
Their Threads of Tomorrow Report released last year showed that NZ sends 52,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill annually, and that in 2023 our fashion and textile sector contributed $7.8 billion to GDP (1.9%), paid $4.4 billion in wages and employed 76,000 people (78% women).
