Kelly Drennan and her crew over at Fashion Takes Action are movers and shakers (we’ve known this for a while), but we are delighted to hear of their FTA Design Forward contest for Canadian designers. (That’s Kelly, above.)

Drennan says FTA’s first annual award is being created in recognition of the many talented eco fashion designers in Canada.

Designers include: Thieves, Elladora, Elroy, Paper People Clothing, Laura Chenoweth, Revolve Clothing, Nicole Bridger, Salts Organic, Preloved, Lav & Kush, deux fm, Nixxi, Flora & Fauna, We3 (twigg & hottie). You can learn more about each of these designers by visiting the FTA site.

Thieves

“There are a number of fabulous designers working toward a sustainable fashion future,” says Drennan, “And we believe that our fourteen nominees represent the driving force of the movement in Canada.”

Each designer has been hand-selected by FTA based on a set of criteria including materials used, carbon footprint, ethical production practices, design aesthetics and any extra “eco-initiatives” they’ve implemented, like energy efficiency and organic hang tags.

We3 (twigg&hottie)

The lucky winner will receive a $50,000 package including: a three-month national PR campaign provided by Third Eye Media, participation at Nolcha Fashion Week’s Ethical Fashion Preview in NYC in September 2010, look book photo shoot with full creative team including photographer, models, hair & makeup and stylist along with $1,000 towards Fair trade and Organic certification to be provided by Ecocert.

FTA wants you to vote by April 16th. Go and review each nomination (see the site’s side bar for list of designers), and vote based on your favorite Canadian sustainable fashion designer.

Nixxi

Each of the profiles created includes images of the designs, how they are meeting each of the four eco criteria, and FTA’s comments on how the designers can improve. This is good for you to see as it can help with your decision making.

Of course, all of these designers are talented and hard-working in their own right. They’re sustainably-minded entrepreneurs who are making a tangible, positive impact in the fashion industry by virtue of their efforts.

From your votes (one vote per person), FTA will gather the top three finalists, who will then face a jury of recognized leaders with fashion and corporate sustainability backgrounds including yours truly, author and eco personality Summer Rayne Oakes and sustainability consultant Lorraine Smith.

Good luck to the designers!

The post Fashion Takes Action Launches Design Forward appeared first on EcoSalon.

Henry Schwab of Kate Organic, Synergy Organic and son

There are lots of men thriving in some way or another in the eco-fashion world. We’ve decided to give them a plug as it’s often their female counterparts getting the buzz on EcoSalon.

In fact, we’re going to do a weekly mini-series celebrating their work. We’ll call October “Men In Eco-Fashion” month.

First up is Henry Schwab, co-president of Kate Organic (Kate’s his wife) and sister company Synergy Organic. In addition to recently becoming a dad to a second child and balancing his firstborn on his hand, Henry is busy with all that makes a business go round successfully.

I caught up with him recently amidst the bustle of his daily life in California.

What challenges you more in the fashion world, the design or the business end of things?

I work more on the business end, but help with colors and styles. Challenges come up everyday in so many ways. We all have the same problem as everyone in the non-eco world: shipments late, wrong fabrics, kids getting sick, price points”¦

I asked the question on Twitter “Do you know of any men involved in the eco-fashion industry?” and all said they didn’t know of one. Does that surprise you?

No. If you asked men if they knew women involved in professional sports you would hear the same thing. At least we are seeing more male nurses.

How challenging is it to either design or work with the designer creating for the opposite sex?

Both men and women like to see a woman look good so I don’t find it hard. My main problem is the women on our staff (my wife), liking for me to be well-groomed and as a Santa Cruz, California hippie, my look is for 1969. But I try to keep up with the modern eco-fashion. I’m just waiting for the cycle to come back to my look.

What do you think is the hardest part of being a sustainable designer?

Survival!

The post Here’s a Little Ditty about Henry and Kate (But More About Henry) appeared first on EcoSalon.