Gaia Project Australia - Nadun Hennayaka - Winner
Gaia Project Australia (GPA) is a Melbourne-based Agtech start-up specialising in leafy green cultivation. Founded in 2017, the company has revolutionised the industry with its new modular channel solution, which enables more than 50 mature plants per square meter without transplanting.
This innovation offers a sustainable option for growers while supercharging their yields and profits. Everything GPA does is with a commitment to a brighter and more sustainable future, to enhance food security and reduce strain on our ecosystems.
Knovus - Patricia Chircop - Finalist
Knovus is Australia's most advanced 3D knit manufacturer. The business follows strict sustainable and ethical knit manufacturing processes and collaborates with key local and international clients on innovative technology and design projects.
Established by Patricia Chircop, the Knovus team holds expertise in a broad range of industries, from fashion to furniture, sports, medical and consumer products. This experience is combined with state-of-the-industry knit innovation to develop 3D knit innovation solutions, host workshops and manufacture a range of zero-waste 3D knit products.
Other Matter - Jessie French - Finalist
Other Matter is a sustainable materials studio founded in 2021 with the goal of developing new solutions for plastics.
Emerging from a pivotal research project, founder Jessie French and her team have created a renewable algae-based bioplastic that can be recycled infinitely supporting a circular economy.
Other Matter is redefining design, environmental responsibility, and collective impact through a multidisciplinary approach that includes research, product development, events, collaboration, and client partnerships.
Petal Back Clothing - Linda Dugan - Finalist
Following on from her fashion buyer and designer career, Linda Dugan identified the need to create adaptive clothing for those with limited mobility when her Nana suddenly lost her independence.
She developed a unique clothing design that keeps the wearer's needs first and foremost while also making it easy for carers to remove and re-dress their clients.
Petal Back Clothing moved from its original Dandenong workshop to open what is believed to be the world's first-ever stand-alone adaptive clothing shop in Docklands in 2022, and in the same year, was awarded The Most Innovative Australian and International Clothing Supplier to the Mobility Impaired.
