Welsh slow and sustainable fashion company Maykher was named Ethical Business of the year at the Wales Federation of Small Business Awards this month.

The fashion company founded in Newport bagged the award fittingly on the 100th year anniversary of women’s right to vote thanks to its not-for-profit business model and sustainable structure, which supports women across the globe. Priding itself on creating products which allows its customers to ‘purchase with a purpose’, 10 per cent of its profits are invested into the education of young women and girls in poverty-stricken areas.

Founder of Maykher and Newport-raised Heidi-Louise Griffiths said: “We are very proud to have won the FSB Wales Green business of the year award and it couldn’t have been a more perfect day for it, marking the 100th year that women first won the right to vote in the UK.

"It is a priority for Maykher to continue the crucial movement of complete equality of the sexes around the world, which is why we are passionate about providing fair employment to the talented women who create our products and invest our profits into the education of young women and girls in developing countries where they are often undervalued simply because of their gender. For us, it’s fantastic to be recognised for this work.”

This is the second achievement for the business in 2018, having recently announced that it was able to fully fund its first young girl’s education in Guatemala, putting its profit to good use and marking a milestone for the business.

Heidi said: “Since first establishing the company in 2017, we have dedicated ourselves to educating people on the benefits of slow and meaningful fashion.

"We have had an incredible start to 2018 already and winning this FSB award which recognises and applauds our sustainable business model is a real coup for us. As a whole, Maykher has received a great deal of support so far, especially in our local area.”

The Federation of Small Business recognises small businesses and self-employed individuals for the hard work that they do across all sectors. Hosted in February 2018 saw the first FSB awards hosted in Wales, celebrating and endorsing the best Welsh businesses in operation.