Media releases
Click on a date below to display media releases.
Rapanui highly commended in RSPCA awards
15.0.10
An ethical clothing company started by a graduate from the Combined Universities in Cornwall and his brother has been highly commended in the RSPCA's Good Business Awards 2010.
Mart Drake Knight and his brother Rob, who founded Rapanui in early 2008, received the award in the fashion and sportswear category at a ceremony in London for the company’s ‘contribution to sustainability, animal welfare policy and for fulfilling the ethos of doing business the right way’.
The judging panel included Cosmopolitan Fashion Director Shelly Vella and Red or Dead Founder Wayne Hemmingway who said “There is a real commitment within the industry to improve animal welfare, and it's reassuring to see big brands at the forefront of this change.”
Rob said, “We're stoked to have been present and to be a part of what feels like a good group of 21st-century ethical business. Rather than see it as a reward, we'd like to think of this achievement as the start of something bigger for Rapanui - the first step on the way to making a real difference as a bigger, bolder company in 2011."
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said, “With the success of their business in these national awards Mart and Rob are helping to put ethics and sustainability in the clothing industry on a global stage.”
The commendation follows close on the heels of a 2010 Sustainable Business Award for designing a world first tool to help customers trace exactly where their clothing comes from and how it’s made.
When Rapanui was founded Mart was still studying for his BSc in Renewable Energy run by Camborne School of Mines via the University of Exeter at the CUC Tremough campus. CUC receives support from both the ESF (European Social Fund) and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence programmes.
For further information please contact:
Rob Drake Knight, Rapanui. Tel: 07762410094
Clare Morgan, Media Relations Manager for the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Tel: 01872 223439 /07973 813647.
Email: cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk.
