Fashion designer Kaya Dorey, founder of Novel Supply Co., poses for a photograph at her studio in North Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Dec. 22, 2017.Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Kaya Dorey had a problem. The clothes she wanted to buy weren't sustainably made. But the clothes that were produced from natural fabrics weren't quite her style.
And so Ms. Dorey launched her own brand – and the Lower Mainland fashion designer's efforts were rewarded when she won a United Nations environmental prize in November.
"I just think that designers really need to start thinking about solutions for the end of life of their products and the waste that goes along with apparel manufacturing," she said in an interview.
Ms. Dorey, 29, was named a Young Champion of the Earth by the UN Environment Programme. She was the winner for the North American region and this month travelled to Kenya for the UN Environment Assembly.
The program noted that Ms. Dorey's label, Novel Supply Co., produces garments free of synthetic fibres and toxic dyes. It instead relies on hemp, organic cotton and environmentally friendly inks.
Ms. Dorey said the $15,000 (U.S.) prize will help her develop a "take-back program," which would allow her company to collect clothing that has reached the end of its run.
"So when somebody has used it, loved it and it's done, then they can send it back to me and I will find a solution for the waste," she said.
One possibility, Ms. Dorey said, could be cutting up the fabric and transforming it into a new product. Another could be turning the fabric into insulation. The goal, Ms. Dorey said, would be to keep clothes out of the landfill.
"When you're done with your T-shirt, that becomes waste. And right now there are very few solutions for textiles waste," she said.
Karen Storry, a senior project engineer with Metro Vancouver, an organization that is responsible for the region's long-term planning and disposing of waste, said the organization hopes to release a white paper on textiles waste early next year.
Last year, Metro Vancouver announced it was considering a disposal ban on clothing, which it said makes up 2.3 per cent of garbage in the region. It noted there is an existing reuse system – clothes can be donated to charitable organizations or sold to second-hand stores – but said further strategies are needed.
Ms. Storry said Metro Vancouver's most recent annual waste composition study found there was about 40,000 tonnes of textiles waste in the region's garbage. About half of that was clothing, she said.
"That's what we've been focusing on, what do you do with apparel and how do you improve the system?" she said in an interview.
Ms. Storry said Metro Vancouver has examined how other jurisdictions are tackling the issue. The city of Markham, Ont., has said a bylaw that came into effect in April and banned the placement of textiles in the garbage is the toughest in North America. Markham has also invested in textile donation bins.
Ms. Dorey said she is aware of some retailers who have launched take-back programs and she will be considering what type of model works best. She said factors that must be considered include how the worn-out clothing would be shipped back to her, whether consumers would have to pay to do so and what ultimately would become of the textiles.
"There's a lot of different ways and it's just figuring out what the best way is for me and my fabric," she said.
Ms. Dorey launched a crowd-funding campaign for her business last year and raised more than $12,000, allowing her to complete her first production run of tank tops, T-shirts and sweaters.
She entered the UN contest after learning of it through her boyfriend. The UN Environment Programme said six regional winners were chosen from more than 600 applicants.
Ms. Dorey travelled to Nairobi earlier this month and, among other things, participated in a UN panel on how to reduce waste and pollution in the clothing industry.
"I got the opportunity to speak in front of many environment ministers from all around the world and just share my project with them and what I've been doing," she said.
She said the entire experience has been inspiring and surreal.
"I've been at markets and people have come up to me and said, 'I saw you on the news,'" she said with a laugh.
"… It's just funny, it's like weirdly celebrity status but not really. It's pretty cool, though, because it's what I'm really passionate about and I've worked really hard for it."