This March Gladstone students enrolled in the school's business program developed a product that wowed the judges enough to win them top place in UBC's "Spend it Right" Business Case Study Competition.

Tasked with creating a prototype to help Fair Trade Vancouver gain greater exposure and generate revenue, the Gladstone students decided to develop a water resistant wallet composed of post-consumer materials (made from milk cartons and water bottles).

All the products needed to be ethically and sustainably produced, but Gladstone's students say part of the reason they think they won the competition was that their product stood out from the tote bags and water bottles that many of the other 6 teams brought to the table.

The Gladstone team also created a short promo video to really amp up interest in their new wallet. You can watch the video by clicking here. Gladstone Grade 12 student Kelsey Jang says the students decided to use stop motion in their video because they wanted to do something innovative that would break the traditional student advertising mold.

"We thought it would be an interesting approach," she said. "We wanted to appeal to a younger generation."

The competition took place at UBC's Sauder School of Business. After presenting their concept, Jang says her and her teammates were surprised and delighted to learn that they had won.

"It felt really good to win," said Asha Kaila, another Grade 12 student and Gladstone team member. "We were extremely proud of our team. All the hard work we put into the project paid off. It was a great stepping stone and learning opportunity."

Both girls say they're interested in continuing to hone their business skills. They say their teacher Chris Wong played a big role in getting them amped up about business as well as in their preparation for the Enactus competition.

"Mr. Wong was really kind and helpful in helping us participate in the competition," said Kaila. "This was the first time we participated in these case study competitions. It really allowed us to be independent and take initiative with our learning. Prior to our competition, we also learned important aspects of presentation skills as well as things like swat analysis, implementation planning and the 'four Ps'."