"Innerleithen eco-business takes home trophy" - Peeblesshire News

INDEPENDENT clothing brand, FINDRA, brought home the prestigious Small Business Scotland Award at the 20th VIBES Scottish Environment Business Awards this week.

The awards celebrate innovation and environmentally concious businesses in Scotland, rewarding those who have shown their efforts in moving towards more sustainable practices.

FINDRA, which is based in Innerleithen, was awarded the Small Business Scotland Award for its work producing outdoor clothing made from merino wool, a renewable and biodegradable textile.

Founder and CEO of FINDRA, Alex Feechan, said: "Sustainability and innovation are at the heart of everything we do at FINDRA.

"We are committed to producing clothing which combines natural or recycled raw materials with innovative manufacturing. It is a real honour to have won this award.

"We were up against tough competition from some fantastic businesses. It is great to see so many inspiring Scottish businesses making such a commitment to sustainability.

"FINDRA will be five years old in December and winning this award is a great way to start our celebrations.

"We are committed to doing whatever we can to reduce our impact on the environment and deliver a sustainable future. A spotlight has been shone on the fashion industry and the extensive supply chain behind it, highlighting the massive contribution that fast fashion and our buying habits make to landfill sites.

“We are proud to receive the VIBES award in the Small Business Scotland category, which recognises the work that we do to counter this, and we hope it will also inspire other companies to play their part."

This year marked the 20th anniversary of VIBES.

Since its creation, the awards have praised companies for their dedication to becoming more sustainable and taking the environment into account when conducting their business.

Bob Downes, chair of SEPA and head of the VIBES judging panel, said: "The scale of the environmental challenge facing humanity, from climate change to plastics in our oceans, is enormous, with a real urgency to act.

"The most successful businesses in the future will be those that are not just compliant, but which are also low carbon, low material use, low water use and low waste, and which see environmental excellence as an opportunity. This is at the core of SEPA’s One Planet Prosperity regulatory strategy.

“It is very encouraging to see the diverse range of businesses, small and large, which are taking important steps to reduce their impact on the environment and which understand how environmental excellence can also benefit their bottom line.

"I would like to congratulate each of this year’s winning businesses and organisations, and hope that others will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.”

Winners and runners up from the VIBES awards and other RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) accredited awards, are now able to enter the European Business Awards for the Environment 2019/2020.

VIBES is the only Scotland-based RSA Accredited award scheme.

To see what helped FINDRA win their award visit, www.findraclothing.com. For more information on VIBES - Scottish Environment Business Awards go to, www.vibes.org.uk