Bags of ethics chief and shipping carbon-capture pioneer crowned at 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards

Smruti Sriram OBE was named winner of the 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award for building Bags of Ethics by Supreme Creations into a sustainable manufacturer. Alisha Fredriksson, co-founder of maritime carbon-capture pioneer Seabound, received the Bold Future Award. The awards, now in their 54th year, were presented in London by Thomas Mulliez. Sriram’s 18-year leadership at Supreme Creations grew the company into a vertically integrated supplier of reusable merchandise and sustainable packaging. The company estimates it has displaced about 30 billion single-use items. Bags of Ethics provides full supply-chain transparency and aims to counter greenwashing. The judging panel cited scaling a globally integrated supply chain and social impact, including a workforce with over 80% women at the Pondicherry factory and partnerships with the British Fashion Council and the Royal Forest.

"Smruti Sriram OBE, the second-generation chief executive who has built Bags of Ethics by Supreme Creations into one of Britain's most quietly influential sustainable manufacturers, has been named winner of the 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award. Alisha Fredriksson, the 31-year-old co-founder of maritime carbon-capture pioneer Seabound, takes home the Bold Future Award."

"For Sriram, the award caps an eighteen-year run at the helm of a business that has done more than most British SMEs to give the much-abused phrase "purpose-driven" some commercial heft. Founded in 1999 by her father, Dr R. Sri Ram, Supreme Creations has grown into a vertically integrated supplier of reusable merchandise and sustainable packaging that, on the company's own reckoning, has displaced an estimated 30 billion single-use items. Its "Bags of Ethics" label, which guarantees full supply-chain transparency, has become something of a quiet standard in a sector still riddled with greenwashing."

"The judging panel, which this year included Kristina Blahnik of Manolo Blahnik, Allwyn UK managing director Bridget Lea, Ada Ventures co-founder Matt Penneycard and The Dots founder Pip Jamieson, cited Sriram's work scaling a globally integrated supply chain alongside her commitment to social impact. More than 80 per cent of the workforce at the group's factory in Pondicherry, southern India, is female; partnerships with the British Fashion Council and the Royal Forest"

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