Six L.A. designers get ready to ship their fall ’11 to boutiques worldwide. We get a sneak peek.

Internationally recognized designers Karen Stewart and Howard Brown have been pioneering the sustainable fashion movement for nearly a decade now. Inspired by their love and respect for nature, their Fall 2011 collection draws on the nomadic lifestyle of keeping only what we need and value. This parallels their own belief that we should buy only quality items we absolutely love and that will last for many seasons.

In addition to extending their popular pima and luxe organic cotton collection, this season the duo are also offering four Mongolian Cashmere styles and have added a novelty group of 100% organic cotton French terry and 100% organic cotton polished twill, unlike anything currently in the marketplace.

I. Ronni Kappos

For the past nine years, jewelery designer Ronni Kappos has been creating memorable one-of-a-kind pieces from her collection of vintage glass, most of which was made in Germany during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Her work has been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone  and in several television shows, but her proudest moment was giving a piece to Marc Jacobs at a red carpet event, which he wore for the remainder of the night.

Recently influenced by Native American Indian themes, Kappos has incorporated diamond weaves, totems, and feather-like hoops into her Fall 2011 collection. We will continue to see a ton of color with this collection, as well as flat geometric shapes, flower shapes and more pendants.

LAVUK

Emerging sustainable designer Natasha Gindin is proud of the fact that LAVUK clothing is sweatshop free and made locally in Los Angeles. In addition, for every garment purchased, a tree is planted on behalf of the California Wildfire ReLeaf program.

Her Fall 2011 collection, Infinity, is influenced by the linear symmetry and crisp angles of the Art Deco movement, and was designed with closet longevity in mind (to be worn an ‘infinite’ number of times). Gindin has chosen to stick with jewel tones, intended to evoke an inner connectivity to one’s youth, something she personally achieves through Tibetan meditation.

Popomomo

Over the past couple of years, designer Lizz Wasserman has created sustainable collections inspired by the environment and art: from melting polar ice caps and exile in the desert, to photography and Russian constructivism. This time, Wasserman has been inspired by literature, particularly L.A’s “bad-girl” author of the 70s, Eve Babitz, and the recent Patty Smith memoir.

Playing with shape and proportion, this season we can expect to see some oversized and fitted pieces, longer silhouettes and warm, saturated colors.

Mi Capri

Mi Capri, designed by illustrator Carrie Perlow, is a footwear collection which is as uniquely fashionable and artistic as the people who wear them. Her fall ’11 collection is called Old School Meets the New Wave, and each pair is hand crafted and manufactured in and by LA’s most talented cobblers and artisans whose skills have been honed over generations. The designer says “It’s for people who like catching the new wave first.”

FROCK Los Angeles

Designed for a woman who exudes confidence, glamor, sex appeal, and independence, FROCK Los Angeles ­­is an emerging sustainable ready-to-wear line from designer Victoria Tik. Her Fall 2011 collection combines vintage glamor with contemporary style, and features several fitted pieces with sexy scooped backs.

Top Image: Stewart + Brown

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Canada’s sustainable fashion growth is a healthy sign of the times.

With easily more than 50 Canadian designers now working various sustainable practices into their collections, it was difficult to highlight just these five. Canada has seen tremendous growth in the number of eco fashion designers over the past few years. The following designers represent both those who have been leading the movement in Canada, and also some up-and-comers that you should be watching. Their A/W 2011 collections are sure to impress even the most discerning.

Nicole Bridger, Vancouver

Nicole was the first winner of Canada’s Fashion Takes Action award, Design Forward. Her A/W ’11 collection is entitled “Safe to Love,” aptly named after a personal experience she recently had. “Every season I reflect on life lessons that I’m learning”, Bridger says of coming out of a painful relationship. In addition to earth tones, we can expect to see passionate colours from Bridger this fall including reds, purples, and blush pink.

Thieves, by Sonja den Elzen, Toronto

Continuing on the theme of consciousness, Thieves’ A/W 2011 is entitled “Reflection,” which according to designer den Elzen is the embodiment of seasons layered and loved.  “It is about the seasons and years blending together, erasing the lines of time and offering genuine lifelong pieces that become the foundation of a wardrobe for those who are reflective and conscientious of their surroundings.”

This fall, we can expect to see more of the highly tailored look den Elzen achieves with beeswaxed organic cotton and hemp/wool/tencel suiting blends, combined with soft draped jerseys, organic wool knits, and lush, hand-knit wear.

Adhesif, by Melissa Ferreira, Vancouver

Newer to the scene but becoming known for their use of reclaimed and recycled materials, Adhesif recently rocked the runways at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week . For A/W 2011, we can expect to see more vintage tweed, wool suiting and printed cotton twill.

“The colour palette reminds me of a sunset on an open field in the Prairies,” states designer Melissa Ferreira. “Many pieces have a draped feel to them but I have added in some pieces that have a ‘sack’ or box-cut look as well”.

 Harricana by Mariouche, Montreal

For more than two decades, luxury fur designer Mariouche Gagné has been ethically recycling fur made in Canada. She claims to have recycled over 50,000 coats, saving 400 metric tons from landfill. The Harricana A/W 2011 collection features three themes: Femme Fatale, giving rise to elegance and femininity; Military, urban, unisex and streamlined; and Timeless, evoking the wild and untamed nature of the great Canadian outdoors.

Device by Melanie Ferrara, Toronto

Since 2008, designer Melanie Ferrara has produced a series of vintage-inspired modern classics, made in Toronto using tencel, organic wool and organic cotton. For inspiration for her A/W ’11 collection, she looked to the period of the 1940s. “Fashion at that time was influenced by wartime austerity measures, and was characterized by tailored silhouettes with an emphasis on the waist and shoulders,” says Ferrara who adds she used a neutral color palette of navy and black as the base, paired with greys, cream, plum and plaid.  “The result is a collection of timeless, wearable pieces which range in style from modern casual to sophisticated elegance.”

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Getting acquainted with bamboo’s true environmental impact.

When sustainable fashion first burst onto the scene, we were introduced to a number of “eco-friendly” fabrics, such as organic cotton, tencel, hemp and bamboo. Each carried sustainable properties, whether that meant being free of pesticides or fertilizers, produced in a closed-loop system, or made from durable and renewable materials.

At first, bamboo fabric made a lot of sense. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth, with one species recorded growing three feet in a single day. Bamboo does not use or rely on chemicals, fertilizers or insecticides to grow. Nor does it require as much water as alternatives such as cotton, where one t-shirt requires 400 gallons of water to produce from start to finish.

In comparison to cotton, bamboo is known to improve watersheds, purify air quality, and remove toxins from contaminated soil, all with less water consumption and no harmful environmental impact. Bamboo is often planted to prevent soil erosion, it can absorb up to 12 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare and it produces 30% more oxygen than any hardwood forest of similar size. It can also be selectively harvested annually, and it naturally regenerates without replanting.

Bamboo seemed like a miracle fiber – and in a sense, it is. It’s turning it into fabric that’s the more complicated issue.

Bamboo fabric can be made in one of two ways – chemically or mechanically. The chemical process has been met with much resistance from sustainable fashion experts because this process requires toxic chemicals. These chemicals, sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide, change the genetic structure of natural bamboo, turning it into rayon. But the disposal of these chemicals can lead to soil and water contamination.

The bigger issue is how bamboo is being marketed and sold – both to the fashion industry and the consumer. Both groups are drawn to its (questionable) claims of biodegradability, its softness, and let’s face it, its price point. Yet without knowing the facts about how that fabric was processed, or understanding its real positive attributes, how can one really be sure of the impact? Some marketers will rely on the fact that we immediately think it’s good because it comes from a plant that carries many good properties. They stick a panda bear or bamboo shoots on the label, and that seems to be enough to convince everyone of its sustainability.

You may be familiar with the Lyocell process, more commonly known as Tencel – a process that also requires various chemicals. However, Tencel is made in a closed-loop system that allows for the chemical effluent to be treated and recycled, thus making it a more sustainable option than rayon. Those of us in the sustainable fashion business have been waiting years for the bamboo industry to adopt this style of processing.

A Canadian brand, Miik, is challenging the status quo by using bamboo processed in a closed-loop system. In addition to tracking the bamboo used from the source, Miik has also earned a bevvy of certifications including USDA organic, Oeko-Tex Standard 100, and OCIA (Organic Crops Improvement Association). Even better is their processing method.

Miik

According to Bamboo Tex (the company that develops Miik’s bamboo yarn ), the bamboo is processed in a hermetic container where 100% of the chemicals used are trapped and contained rather than being released into their factory, environment or atmosphere. Miik also claims that each step of the process is supervised for adherence to company policy, brand commitment and China’s environmental ethical standards.

Within one week, I discovered yet another great example in Five Bamboo, which I recommend you check out for a more comprehensive explanation of the process (including diagrams).

Five Bamboo

Mechanically processed bamboo is also considered sustainable. Rather than extracting fiber, as in the case with regenerated cellulose, mechanical processing involves the separation and extraction of fibers directly from the bamboo shoots. However, it is a multi-step process that is more costly, and therefore is not commonly practiced.

The net situation is that bamboo fabric still poses some difficult issues for both the ethical fashion designer and the consumer. The use of bamboo plants in the textile industry is still relatively new, and too few companies are using the more sustainably processed fibers, although that is changing.

Regardless of how it is processed, some experts believe it is more important to be able to make an informed decision about environmental impact before ruling any fabric out. According to sustainability expert Lorraine Smith, we should all be taking an impact approach, rather than a prescriptive one. She believes it is more important for designers to be measuring, managing and demonstrating impact. Without data, aren’t we all just guessing?

Smith also feels that the real problem lies in making false claims or claims that don’t make any sense – whether it is about bamboo, cotton or any other fabric. “If they have certification to demonstrate that they are making a difference along the way,” says Smith, “Then it isn’t greenwash. It’s not about the fiber, it’s about the whole product life cycle.”

For more on Smith’s position on bamboo, read her article “To Be or Not To Be Biodegradable.”

Main image: odonoata98

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Why investment dressing costs far less than fast fashion.

The term “Slow Fashion” combines many aspects of sustainability. From an industry perspective, it can refer to slowing down the production cycle, giving more attention to detail and craftsmanship in each garment, manufacturing locally, or supporting fair wages. From a consumer’s angle, it means slowing down our consumption habits, buying fewer garments that are classic, of quality, and will last us for years.

As a frequent public speaker on the topic of sustainable fashion, I find that the concept of slow fashion resonates really well with the audiences I speak to. My guess is because it’s the one area where consumers feel they can make the most impact simply by shifting their consumption habits.

Those habits are hard to break.

Like fast food, we are victims of fast fashion in North America. We feel constant pressure from the media to buy the latest trends that change with each season: From short hems to long, pointy toe to round, skinny to wide leg, we yearn to stay current. Because most of us simply cannot afford to buy quality-made garments to keep up with these fluctuating trends, we resort to shopping at the “convenient” fast fashion outlets and the big box retailer that trend-hunts runways to bring you the latest fashions in a matter of weeks.

As consumers, we are a sale-driven culture used to the quality of disposable products. We think after we wear a piece of clothing purchased at such a dramatically low cost, it’s acceptable for it to fall apart, for buttons to drop off, threads to come undone, or for them to lose shape. After all, who cares,  it only cost us $10!

The problem with this mentality is that it fuels excessive over-consumption, which comes with a hidden price tag on the environment. According to sustainable super star Kate Fletcher, who coined the term Slow Fashion, laundering our garments has a greater impact than the growing, processing and producing of the fabric, as well as its disposal. So it makes sense then that the more garments we consume, the greater the cumulative negative impact.

This is a serious problem and one that cannot change overnight. However the with our ecological clock ticking, we have to make a change sooner than later, and perhaps when it comes to fashion, we need to adopt a more European mindset. We need to invest in our wardrobe and buy quality made pieces that are timeless, and can be worn for years without falling apart.

Cost-per-wear or investment dressing is a relatively new term. But it is a very powerful tool with potential to change the way we shop. Let’s use a button down shirt as an example. On the higher end, you might spend $150 on such a top (particularly if made from organic cotton).

• First, divide the cost of the shirt by the number of garments in your wardrobe that can be worn with it. For example it can be paired with 3 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of pants, so $150/5 = $30. The $150 shirt has now been reduced to a cost of $30;
• Next, divide the new cost of $30 by the number of times the shirt will be worn per year (say 4x per month for 12 months ie: $30/48 = 62.5 cents). The $150 shirt has now been further reduced to a cost 62.5 cents;
• The last step is to divide the new cost of 62.5 cents by the number of years the shirt will be worn – and if it was quality made and off trend it should last at least 5 years. So $.625/5 = 12.5 cents.

The final result is a $150 shirt reduced to a cost of 12.5 cents per wear over a 5 year period. Compare this to a cheaper option that falls apart in 6 months or is no longer in fashion and thereby rendered unwearable by the fashion gods. Your cost per wear can be up to 10 times more than an investment piece.

All this talk of slow fashion forced me to reflect on my own wardrobe. I was curious to know how many pieces I still wear that I have owned for 5+ years. I was surprised to see that about 40% of my wardrobe is of that vintage. I was then inspired to poll other eco fashion experts to see if they own, and still wear, items purchased from 5+ years ago. Not surprisingly, here is what I found:

Above (right): Anna Griffin, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Coco Eco Magazine pictured with astrologer Susan Miller

“I was at the Susan Miller Event at the W Hollywood Residences and wore my most treasured piece, a vintage Ozbek which always stops traffic and is absolutely stunning.”

Jasmin Malik Chua, Managing Editor Ecouterre

“I bought this sweet gingham dress from Benetton shortly after 9/11, after a harrowing 11 days away from my Ground Zero apartment.  It was a splurge for a graduate student living on a shoestring, but it’s held up magnificently over the past 10 years. Weddings, brunches, picnics, you name it. I even wore it when I was five months pregnant, so you can’t say I haven’t made the most of it!”

Emma Grady, Fashion Correspondent for Discovery’s TreeHugger, Lifestyle Correspondent for The Daily Green and Founder of PastFashionFuture

“This is a London Fog trench coat that I found at a consignment shop in Newport, Rhode Island when I was still in high school, which was more than five years ago. I have only had to mend the belt and sew on a couple of the buttons since then and it is still in fine shape and still very much a wardrobe staple of mine.”

Johanna Bjork, Founder & Editor of Goodlifer

“I’m wearing an olive green miniskirt that I bought over ten years ago. It’s been in and out of rotation in my closet, but the basic color and cut makes it a timeless piece .”

Kate Black, Founder & Editor, Magnifeco

“I bought those boots before I even knew what ‘sustainable’ fashion was, but I wanted a pair of boots with longevity, that offered both a style and brand that would see me through the years. And they only get better with age! Being a North American living in Japan, I can’t buy jeans here in my size. This means I have to ‘borrow’ from my partner’s closet. This pair, which he bought in 2006, reside permanently on my side of the closet”.

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Founder/Editor of Ecostiletto

“I bought this cotton shirt and jeans before I knew what sustainable fashion was! Even though I was eating and cleaning organic, I never thought about the implications of cotton production–that this outfit alone probably required about a pound of pesticides to produce. The empire waist has seen me through two pregnancies–my kids are 12, 9 and 4 so I’ll let you guess which ones. And the jeans are soft as butter. So I guess my non-sustainable fashion purchase turned out to be sustainable after all!”

To explore this a little deeper, there are some great organizations helping raise awareness with consumers around slow fashion, such as Make Do and Mend, which, according to Maureen Dickson, co-founder of of Slow Fashion Forward “Advocates consumers make do with what they have rather than buying new to combat over-consumption. The creative one-off Six Items or Less Experiment and The Uniform Project challenge consumers to minimize consumption by simplifying their wardrobe.”

Image: Zitona

Take a look at your wardrobe. Do you own any pieces that are more than five years old and still wearable? Why do you think that is?

The post We Can All Afford to Slow Down appeared first on EcoSalon.

Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in the eco fashion industry? Thankfully, there are many helpful sites that do a great job at pulling back the curtain so fashionistas of the world can understand what makes a garment sustainable. Valuable information like that can go a long way to justifying the expense, n’est-ce pas?

Perhaps one of the most unglamorous aspects of any “behind-the-scenes” look in apparel is the supply chain. And I mean unglamorous in that the term itself just doesn’t sound as sexy as an eco atelier, hempsilk, or fair trade. Yet it is the one big umbrella under which each of these elements resides, and one where companies can incorporate both social and environmental practices.

I realized just how many companies are taking this seriously when I read about the Green Supply Chain Awards. Run by Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the award recognized 65 companies for their sustainability efforts, with the goal of highlighting the industry’s best practices in the field, so that readers would have a means to assess their own efforts.

It was encouraging to see that in addition to companies based in logistics, transportation and healthcare, that clothing and footwear apparel companies were also included in this award. Timberland deserves a big congrats, the company that won in this category. After all, they have been committed to sustainability for years, and are one of the 100 well-known apparel brands behind the recent Eco Index (currently in beta).

As defined by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) a sustainable supply chain is “a system of aligned business activities throughout the lifecycle of products that creates value for all stakeholders, ensures ongoing commercial success, and improves the wellbeing of people and the environment.”

Therefore, a sustainable supply chain in the fashion business is pretty much the entire process involved in making a garment, along with its social and environmental footprint. From the farm where the raw fibers are grown, to the factories where the fabric and garments are made, and all the various transportation points in between.

Or think of it in reverse order, starting with that gorgeous dress hanging in the window at your favorite retailer, and then trace it back through the various stages along the way, back to it’s raw material form. How many of us think of this when we are buying our clothes? The point is, we all should.

A number of apparel companies have made great efforts to make their supply chain more sustainable. From providing fair wages and working conditions for farmers and factory workers, to smarter design and less use of toxic chemicals, to being more mindful of waste and effluent, and developing more efficient transportation methods.

This is no easy feat. Given the way the conventional apparel industry has functioned for decades, its no surprise to see corporations, non-profits and governments all working together to bring about greater sustainability in each stage of the apparel supply chain. They need each other for this massive market transformation.

So while an apparel company’s supply chain is not the first thing we think about when choosing what brands to buy, we have the ability to make better choices and be more mindful of it the next time we shop.

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Over the past few years, there has been a growing number of sustainable denim brands on the market, including Levi’s Eco, REUSE, Good Society, Loomstate Organic and the now (sadly) defunct Del Forte Denim.

Traditionally speaking (if you can call it that after only three short years), what makes denim sustainable is the use of 100 percent organic cotton and plant based indigo dyes. Some brands use recycled denim and Del Forte had a great recycling program where they would take your old jeans and recycle them into new ones.

Today however, the eco denim scene is abuzz with Levi’s and H&M’s recent announcement of their plans to globally ban sandblasting by 2011. Together, they are encouraging other brands to follow suit, in the hope that it will become industry practice.

The sandblasting technique involves the “˜blasting’ of an abrasive material in a granular or powder form, at a very high speed and pressure, on specific areas of the garment surface to give it the desired distressed or used look. You know the look some of us achieve more naturally from wearing our favorite pair of jeans for years and years.

Their surprising decision came about from rising concerns over textile workers developing silicosis, a harsh lung disease caused from the airborne particles produced from sandblasting denim.

Turkey imposed a ban on the practice of sandblasting apparel in 2008, following a study conducted by news channel France24 that uncovered numerous denim workers in Istanbul who contracted this incurable disease.

As a result of the ban, some of the large denim companies in Turkey are now subcontracting to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria and Egypt, thus proving it may be difficult to monitor.

However, brands that are engaged with their supply chain, such as H&M and Levi’s, are in a better position to police the restriction closely.

But not everyone is convinced that this is a good idea. Monitoring the ban means that someone would have to visit the factories, to which some argue that a more effective solution is to impose a ban on factories that fail to implement good health and safety practices when sandblasting.

And another possible solution could be to provide workers with the appropriate protection, and use dust extraction equipment, making it less of a health risk.

Still, H&M and Levi’s decision to impose the ban is a step in the right direction, toward more responsible production that cares for its workers and their overall health. And because the ban could pose great operational risks for both companies, their actions should be applauded.

While I sit back and watch this play out, I think I’ll stick to buying vintage denim that already comes with that worn out, distressed look.

Image: Vivian Chen

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Last week, Canada celebrated eco fashion on a national scale, with the first ever Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver, and the ModEthik show during Montreal Fashion Week. It was a tough decision for an ecofashionista like myself to choose which city to attend, but in the end Montreal was where I landed.

The ModEthik show was produced by Montreal non-profit organization FEM International whose mission is to support socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurial practices through awareness and education.

I had the opportunity to see the show that featured nine ethical designers, and attend a discussion around the eco fashion movement in Montreal, led by FEM International Executive Director Lis Suarez and Brenda Plant, Managing Director of Ethiquette. Ethiquette recently conducted a study on the ethical consumer in Montreal, and found that it is a younger female (age 20-40) who is more concerned with the social implications of what she wears, than the fabrics her clothes are made from. Interesting.

So it’s only fitting that the collections shown at ModEthik were all either manufactured locally, or were made in fair conditions.

Unlike the clothing shown on Canada’s west coast, which was entirely eco-friendly, ModEthik was the only show that represented ethical design in Montreal. A little disappointing nonetheless. However I did get to another runway show – Montreal designer Valerie Dumaine who produces 100 percent of her collection right in Montreal.

I also had the chance to hang out with eco fashion boutique owner Danny Lourenco of Rien a Cacher (which means “nothing to hide” for those whose french is a bit rusty) who provided me with some insight into the ethical fashion scene in Montreal.

I hope that next season Montreal takes its cue from Vancouver and injects more sustainable fashion into its Fashion Week. Here are some highlights:

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Fashion Weeks around the world have taken the headlines by storm with coverage from NY, Paris, Milan and London. And thankfully, each of these international shows have featured sustainable fashion on their runways.

Here in Canada, we tend to hold our Fashion Weeks a bit later in the season, mainly so that our top fashion media outlets don’t have to be in two places at once. This week we are hosting both Montreal Fashion Week and Eco Fashion Week (EFW) Vancouver.

For the first time, Montreal Fashion Week has teamed up with non-profit organization FEM International to present ModEthik, which will feature an exhibition and collective runway show, as well as an educational discussion around ethical fashion and responsible consumerism.

Vancouver is taking it to a whole new level with the first ever Eco Fashion Week. The three-day event will be focused on sustainable fashion and includes a trade show and seminar component as well. I caught up with the organizer, Myriam Laroche, who hopes that buyers will put EFW on their calendars twice a year and that Vancouver will become an international eco fashion capital.

“Our mission with EFW is to make it easy for the fashion industry to take the green road”, states Laroche. “In order to do this, we feel that the educational part of it is extremely important. The runway show presents the look of the collection, and is an opportunity to show buyers how to wear and style the clothes. The trade show provides a platform for designers and buyers to deepen their understanding of eco fashion, and at the same time meet and develop business relationships.”

Eco model, activist, designer, author and sustainable pioneer Summer Rayne Oakes is one of the presenters at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver. Delegates will learn about her new company, Source4Style (which is currently in private beta) – the world’s first online marketplace for designers to search and source leading sustainable textiles. I had a chance to chat briefly with Summer about her talk and the importance of having sustainability sessions at Fashion Weeks across the globe. Here is what she had to say:

“Sustainability is still such a black box in the fashion industry. It’s not uncommon to have workshops and presentations designed to elucidate and untangle its inherent complexities. And if attendance to these talks is any indication of people’s interest, well then I don’t see any sign of it stopping.”

And I couldn’t agree more. The industry is becoming hungry for this information. They want to understand the social and environmental impacts of their work, and how they can do their part. And it makes good business sense for Fashion Weeks to provide the venue for such growth.

Image: Courtesy of Montreal Fashion Week

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The fashion industry is facing many challenges, but one of the most pressing issues is water usage.  The textile industry is the third largest consumer and polluter of the world’s water. Water consumption is a huge problem for growing fibers such as the ever-thirsty cotton plant, with nearly 400 gallons of water required to produce just one cotton t-shirt.

Waste water is conceivably an even bigger issue than consumption. Toxic chemicals produced from dyeing textiles, along with other chemicals such as those used to produce synthetics, are contributing to a major crisis in pollution of fresh water, affecting the health of a number of species, including humans.  (Read The Consequences of Chemicals, Future Fashion White Papers).

Heavy metals such as chromium and cadmium, which are used to make bright and vibrant dyes, pose a threat wherever they appear in a product lifestyle, particularly the use of the dye in dye wastewater. Air Dye is a revolutionary technology that dyes textiles without using any water. Not only are they reducing the overall amount of water required to produce a garment, but this technology also prevents toxic chemicals from entering our ecosystems.

Some manufacturers work in closed-loop production, which means that the waste or effluent produced is treated and re-used, reducing the amount of toxic waste normally disposed of into the ecosystem.  The company Lenzing is a great example, with their fabrics modal and  tencel, made from a wood pulp much like bamboo (which has yet to be manufactured in a closed-loop environment).

But so much attention has been given to the energy, chemicals and water that go into making a garment that what many people don’t realize is the majority of the environmental damage comes once a garment has been purchased. The energy and water required to wash a garment has far more devastating effects than the growing of the raw materials and the manufacturing of the textiles. Surprising? Not really when you consider that the average piece of clothing lasts three years, and is laundered hundreds of times in its lifetime.

The average North American household washes 400 loads of laundry per year. This accumulated number of washes requires 13,500 gallons of water to complete, and is equivalent to how much water it takes to fill a standard above-ground pool!

The first steps towards recovering from our water addiction begin with wearing our clothes several times before washing. But once we get to a full laundry basket that is truly in need of a wash, there are a few basic tips to help you get started on eco-friendly and budget-smart laundering habits.

1) Wash your clothes in cold water: An interesting fact – using only hot water for washing your clothes uses more electricity in a year than leaving the refrigerator door open 24 hours a day for an entire year. Cold water is the best alternative, as it not only reduces fabric shrinkage, but it allows colors to remain vibrant. So your clothes will fit and last longer AND you’ll reduce your carbon emissions by 500 pounds a year!

2) Wash full loads: Washing machines are most efficient when operating at capacity. Take advantage of your washing machine’s full potential and load it up. Your budget will thank you for it.

3) Use the right amount and type of detergent: When doing a load of laundry do you use the cap size as an indicator of the amount of detergent you should use? If so, odds are you are using way too much laundry detergent than what is actually needed. The amount you use should reflect the guiding lines on the inside of the cap. Here’s a great article on Treehugger with more information.

Another helpful hint is to look for phosphate-free detergents. Phosphates are the leading chemical agent in algal blooms and a major cause of aquatic ecosystem depletion. Also, instead of fabric softeners, try using white vinegar in the rinse cycle. The acid vinegar will neutralize the basic detergents and as a result will help keep your clothes looking clean.

4) Consider an Energy-Star rated washer: Gone are the days of scrubbing our laundry by hand down at the lake. If you’re in the market to replace your washing machine, consider a more cost effective one. An Energy-Star or front-loading washing machine can save thousands of liters of water a year and be 30 – 85% more energy efficient.

Image above from Costello Tagilapietra’s 2009 show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week featuring Air Dye technology.

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As the founder of Fashion Takes Action, it has been a pleasure to work with so many emerging eco fashion designers over the past few years. Our recent Design Forward award, which recognized top sustainable designers was a great success in terms of raising awareness for who we considered to be the top fourteen designers, and more specifically how it has opened doors for our winner.

As our inaugural winner, Nicole Bridger received flight and accommodations to New York and a place to show at Nolcha Fashion Week‘s Ethical Fashion Preview in September. In addition, Nicole won a look book – styled, photographed and designed, which she will take with her to NY to accompany her Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Nicole was also awarded $1000 in eco friendly fabric, from Canadian supplier Telio, along with $1000 toward the certification of her line courtesy of Ecocert.

I had the chance to catch up with Nicole over a yummy vegetarian meal while she was visiting Toronto this week for her look book photo shoot. It was really important for me to hear first hand how the award has affected her business, and to learn more about what the future has in store for her.

How does it feel to be the first winner of the FTA Design Forward Award?

It’s a real honor to be recognized in this way, and it is so exciting that this award even exists. It’s a sign of the times of where things are going. For myself, it was a rare opportunity to acknowledge my own work. As business owners, we tend to look forward and project ahead to the next five years, focusing on how far we have yet to go. We don’t tend to acknowledge how far we’ve already come. And in the case of the award, it just feels good to know that I have accomplished something incredible, and that I am being recognized for my hard work and dedication.

Being the first designer is exciting because I hope I can be somewhat of a mentor or role model for other designers hoping to go down the same path and choose sustainability. We can show that it is possible, it can happen, and I hope I can help make it a little bit easier. The more people who are doing it, makes it easier for all of us.

What has the award done for your business?

It has been amazing for recognition on a North American level. Just carrying the title of Canada’s first eco fashion design winner has opened so many doors for me. Doors that were maybe more closed, or that were met with resistance before, and now I can say I just won this national award, and the reaction is different. Selling season hasn’t started yet, but I am expecting things to pick up as a result of winning. The opportunity for me to be in New York at Nolcha’s Ethical Fashion Preview in September, is huge. I will be in front of so many retailers, more than ever before, including international retailers. A lot of people say that my line is more European in its styling, so it could do really well in NY and could be a turning point for my business.

There has already been a big change in terms of the amount of press I have received over the past few months. It has given the media a reason to write, and now it would be great to see this same success south of the border and to gain that kind of recognition in the U.S.

The opportunity to come to Toronto, to meet and work with the team that Fashion Takes Action put together is amazing. Connecting with everyone in Toronto has really tightened up the community for me and it feels great to be a part of something so exciting. And the connection with Telio for the fabric has been amazing and I look forward to continuing that relationship. It has already solved a few fabric sourcing issues I had which is amazing because its one of the hardest things about being a sustainable designer.

The eco certification, when it goes through, is going to be huge. I think it will help answer any doubts that consumers may have about my true intentions, and whether or not my collection is in fact sustainable. So customers can feel good about supporting us or buying our product, if that is what’s important to them. I think it’s important for eco-minded consumers to feel reassured, especially since there are so many claims out there without any kind of backing.

Have you always considered yourself to be a sustainable designer?

I grew up in Vancouver and my family and community was big on recycling. Literally every school play I did was about “reduce, reuse, recycle”, so it really was ingrained in us. I’m not sure if that is just what it was like growing up in Vancouver but I felt like it was definitely more available for me to be mindful of the environment.

Personally, I have a threefold approach or philosophy to life. I care for the earth, I care in my heart for its people and also for our individual spirit. This translates into my business and is always top of mind when I am designing. I have sewn “I am love” tags on all of my clothing, because at the root of our true form we are all love energy. I think its important for us to all be kind to ourselves and to one another, and to come from a place of love and try to spread a bit of positive energy.

Where do you get your inspiration?

It comes from the life lessons that I’m learning at the time that I’m designing. With fall 2010 I had just left my husband, so I called the collection “Healing Heart.” It was a very difficult decision to leave because I had a 10-month-old son, but I had to do what I had to do. As a result, it’s a really small line of just seven styles, but they are seven really strong pieces.

But finally making that choice in my personal life felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I was finally able to be happy, maybe for the first time ever. It was a journey for me in reconnecting with myself, my spirit, and really about falling in love with myself again. I had completely lost touch with myself out of self-sacrifice for that relationship.

So Spring 2011 is called “Reconnection” and it’s a journey to true happiness and loving yourself. The color palette is playful and creative. I feel this creative energy re-emerging, so I’m really excited about where things are going to go from here. When you’ve been bleeding energy for so long, it’s nice to see it going somewhere good. I love personal growth and so every season I get to reflect a bit on where I’m at and what I’m learning. And that dictates both a color palette and silhouette.

What is the fashion scene like in Vancouver?

There is a lot of conscious minded people living on the west coast, in both Canada and the U.S, so I’m seeing a big change in terms of the number of sustainable designers that are emerging. It’s a great community to be a part of because we all openly communicate with each other and get to support each other and share whatever we can.

I have a strong following in Vancouver, where I do a studio sale once a month and tons of people show up. It’s a nice time for me to be with the customer because when you just wholesale or sell online, you miss that connection.

The fashion scene in Vancouver is definitely a bit slower. But now that we are becoming more of an international city, you see people becoming more comfortable with a particular style, where it’s no longer just about wearing jeans and a Mountain Equipment Co-op jacket. It is still very different from Toronto, where there is a very strong suit and business culture. But that is starting to change. People are starting to get more edgy with their style, and feel comfortable with it, which is nice to see happening.

With the upcoming Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver, do you think it is becoming the eco fashion capital of Canada?

Yes because we have the built-in health, earth and socially conscious consumer. On a daily level you are either walking on a beach or running in the woods, skiing on a mountain or kayaking on the ocean. People are just more connected to nature. They don’t have to be convinced. It’s a very laid back environment, where I feel there is less judgment. It’s kind of like yoga in a way, where it’s your own practice and you do what’s right for you. Nothing feels forced.

I’m very excited to be showing at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver.  I think it’s the one thing that can work in Vancouver. We can’t compete with LG Fashion Week in Toronto. Out west, sustainable fashion is a niche and it’s non competitive. It’s something we can offer that is authentic to Vancouver, that we are known for and that can draw international designers and buyers. And I think it can be really successful. I’m really excited to be a part of it and helping support that movement.

What does the future look like for Nicole Bridger?

Well, the very next step would be strengthening our wholesale accounts and I’m hoping that will really take off in NY.

My true vision for the company is to have our own retail outlets. So opening our first boutique will be a real milestone. I hope to have a store sometime in the next year. First in Vancouver, and then maybe a second one in San Francisco. From there I would love to take it global, with retail outlets all over. And then I would love to branch the line to carry both high end, and a lower end collection, kids and babies, bags and accessories, and even house and home products. Overall, creating a lifestyle brand that you can rely on for green, ethical and high style.

My long-term goal would be to create a co-op setting in a developing country, and help restore a community. It is the only time I would consider doing offshore production, where I would actually get right in there myself to do the farming of linen and hemp, and create a closed loop system.

Images: Portrait taken by Dawn Stenzel; fall “˜10 collection by Candace Meyer

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