New Brunswick firms get regional Startup Canada Awards
Wear Your Label, four other companies win east coast awards
Two young Fredericton entrepreneurs who turned their struggles with mental illness into a successful clothing business have won a regional Startup Canada Award for Sustainable Development.
Wear Your Label is one five New Brunswick companies to win east coast regional awards with Startup Canada.
Remsoft, Introhive, Ignite Fredericton, and Rt.Tech Software Inc.are also winners.
Kayley Reed, 21, and Kyle MacNevin, 23, said one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness at some point in their lifetime and that mental health issues should be treated the same as physical health.
The pair started the Wear Your Label brand in 2014 in hopes of sparking conversations to create awareness and reduce the stigma.
Their T-shirts, tank tops and sweatshirts carry messages, such as "Sad But Rad," "It's Okay To Not Be Okay," and "Self-care Isn't Selfish."
Wear Your Label, along with the other New Brunswick winners, will receive their awards at the Atlantic awards reception will take place in Halifax on Oct. 14.