KUALA LUMPUR - A 16-year-old who made a floral dress from 4,000 used tea bags and cups won a top prize at the Green Awards 2011 yesterday.

Suraya Mohd Zairin's "Blossom in the Meadow" was named the best sustainable fashion design at a ceremony held at Universiti Malaya.

The science stream student from SMK Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, said she chose tea bags for her design as they were easily available.

"I collected 4,000 tea bags with the help of my friends. It took me three months to produce this dress."

When asked why she chose flowers as her theme, Suraya said she was always mesmerised by their shapes.

"We take flowers for granted and we never appreciate them. With this dress, I hope this will highlight the significance of nature, especially flowers."

Being the youngest participant in the category, Suraya said she never expected to win, let alone defeat nine others from various universities and colleges in the country.

"I was shocked when they announced my name, because other contestants are so much older than I am," she said.

The award, organised by EcoKnights, aimed to inculcate eco consciousness among youths aged between 14 and 25 through fun elements in the programmes.

There were two categories in this award -- wildly creative and totally active.

In the first category, participants were asked to create sustainable wear made from recyclable everyday objects while in the second, participants produced a one- to two-minute video on environmental issues.

The winners received RM4,000 (S$1,620) each and a trophy.

A short documentary entitled On Borrowed Time released by WWF Malaysia and wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic won the eco film festival award.

It focused on the long-standing poaching crisis in the Belum-Temengor forest complex, considered among the last of the strongholds for tigers and other endangered wildlife.