An interview and visit with Kelly Drennan, founder of Fashion Takes Action.

I recently headed north to Toronto and had the opportunity to meet up with Fashion Takes Action’s Kelly Drennan who is hands down, the most connected women in Canadian sustainable fashion. From her Distillery District showroom, Drennan runs part education/retail for the public and base operations for the eco fashion industry grooming designers to be better at what they do, and raising public awareness for the benefits of sustainable fashion and responsible consumerism.

Busy as she may be, we nailed Drennan to her seat to ask her some questions. Here’s what she had to say.

FTA seems to do everything for designers including helping them be more sustainable to selling from your showroom. Are there many places in Canada doing what you’re doing?
FTA is the only organization that does this kind of work in Canada – both from working with designers and retailers in helping them along their sustainability journey, and also with respect to raising consumer awareness. We provide our members with the tools and resources to help them become more successful. To us, this means helping them gain a genuine understanding of sustainability and how it relates to their business, being transparent with their branding and messaging, accessing eco friendly fabric, certifications and other services, as well as getting their product in front of the media and general public.

Sole Rebels footwear

Tell us how the showroom came to be.
We poll our members regularly to ensure that we are on the right track and are delivering the kind of services that they need – that are both timely and that will help them achieve more success. We would continually hear, from our more established members, that they needed help with sales. These are, for the most part, the designers who already had a solid grasp on their sustainability plan, and who had a credible product on the market, but who needed help reaching the media and the consumer.

As a non profit organization, finding the most affordable space was a bit tricky, until the opportunity to move into the Distillery District came about. We share the space with one of our members, Lara Bazant which has enabled us to deliver even further on our mission to support our members. The showroom is currently focused on retail sales, however we have plans to grow our relationship with buyers. Our goal is to soon be supporting our members on the wholesale side of their business as well.

Miik founder and designer Michael Gaughan

How hard is it for designers today to produce sustainably? Do they need to pick a niche within the eco-fashion realm or can they do it all?
We realize perfection doesn’t exist, but that even the smallest steps can make a huge difference. We encourage our members to do whatever they can. In order to help out with their increasing costs, we provide various discounts with preferred suppliers ranging from eco friendly fabric to FSC certified business cards. We are seeing more creativity and diversity with emerging designers who are taking the term “sustainable” and making it their own. The past year or so has seen a boom in reclaimed, rescued and upcycled collections and some more established designers who were using only organics or closed loop fabrics, are now also adding in reclaimed pieces. We love to see experimentation as this movement is constantly growing and changing. What was considered to be sustainable 5 years ago is quite different today. Certification is also one of the biggest challenges that our members face, and we hope to address this in the coming 12-18 months by making it both more accessible and more affordable.

Anne Pringle of Local Buttons and Fashion Takes Action founder, Kelly Drennan

Can fashion be a portal for people to think differently about how they consume?
Absolutely. Our tagline is “Changing the way we create and consume fashion,” so we spend a great deal of our time trying to make this shift happen. It has to be about more than just the fashion alone. We rely heavily on the support of the media to continue to spread the word. We also believe that designers also have a responsibility to provide more information to their customers about why sustainable is better. It isn’t good enough to just say that it is organic or recycled, but why that is important. What are the conventional alternatives, and how are they negatively impacting our planet and its people.

When consumers are empowered with the knowledge that something fashionable was made from something else and thus saved from its otherwise destined landfill, or that a stylish dress was made from quality eco friendly fabric and not mass produced in a sweatshop, then it is that very knowledge that can help people change the way they consume. I at least like to think this is true.

Monica Mei of AIME and Melanie Ferrara of Device

What is the #1 bit of advice you’d give a designer just getting out of design school?
It’s hard to think of just one bit of advice, but I do think that if a young designer can secure an internship with a small independent designer, then they will learn so much from that experience. It will provide a huge learning opportunity, and with a the right kind of leadership and mentoring, can prove to be invaluable.

Another very important bit of advice would be to focus. I see too many young designers who lack focus – their collections are not cohesive and they are clearly still experimenting. I have also seen collections drastically change form season to season so that they in no way appear to be made by the same brand (but they are). Finally I think young designers need to just slow it down and take the time to really understand who their demographic is and thus how to properly price their work. Research and testing is one way to do it. It will save time and money in the long run, instead of learning through trial and error, which is not only expensive but often results in an excess of dead stock – this is a problem both financially and environmentally!

Images: Amy DuFault

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A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

We like being single but we also like companionship. In Abigail Wick’s weekly column Sex By Numbers, she tackles the topic: Can I Stay Single But Commit To One Man? Wick decides to address the issue penning it as an open letter to her dear friend and in truth, as much a letter to herself.

Dude, are you astrocartographically correct? In her article The 20 Best and Worst Cities for Your Astrological Sign, Shelter editor K. Emily Bond says: “Whether you actually buy into planetary politics (we’re reserving judgment), the cosmos are a fun and convenient foil for a range of bad behavior and bum luck.” Check out the story to see if your sign matches where you live.

Every city has a bevy of sustainable designers and L.A. has hurned out a fair share of them. In Sustainable Los Angeles: The Pioneers and Emergents, writer Kelly Drennan tallies up the best and brightest from shoe designers to ready-to-wear.

We have a lot we could be learning from the great north, especially when it comes to being truly environmentally friendly. In her story 7 Lessons From Canada’s Environmental Pragmatism, writer Senior Editor Luanne Bradley says: “According to the Vancouver Sun, the city is now moving ahead in 10 key areas that range from greening the economy by securing the city’s international reputation as a mecca of green enterprise, improving food production, cutting greenhouse gases and making walking, cycling and public transit the preferred transportation option for its citizens.”

Once a month, The Green Plate harvests the most interesting, biggest, weirdest, and puzzling recent news stories on food politics, the food industry, eating trends, and edible discoveries from around the web, and shares them with you. This month’s focus was on the latest food safety stories which are both shocking but fixable. Columnist Vanessa Barrington writes in (Shocking) News From the Food World: “This month, intentionally mismarked Chinese honey contaminated with heavy metals and illegal antibiotics is being shipped to the U.S. through India, preventing the U.S. from collecting tariffs and endangering your health, yet the FDA doesn’t want to inspect the honey entering the country. What gives?”

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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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A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Before we all have a big love fest for bamboo, let’s get to know it a little bit more. Kelly Drennan, in her article Bamboo, We Hardly Knew Ye, writes: “Bamboo seemed like a miracle fiber – and in a sense, it is. It’s turning it into fabric that’s the more complicated issue.” It’s important to be able to make an informed decision about environmental impact before ruling any fabric out – read up to learn more.

In our weekly Insider’s Guide To Life: Bite Me, Sara Ost dishes out tips on how to deal with female bullies at any age. Ost writes: “If the thought of never seeing your bully again gives you more joy than the thought of a bathtub full of calorie-free sea-salt and caramel chocolate truffles dipped in lottery tickets, fame, a flat stomach and true love, it’s time to walk away.” Enough said.

Unless you’re living on the moon or ride a bike, you’re probably painfully aware of gas prices rising. If you don’t live in a city and have access to public transportation you might even be feeling doomed, damned or find yourself prone to yelling at the sky with a clenched fist. News editor Andrea Newell’s 11 Ways To Save At The Pump gives city and country dwellers the opportunity to become environmentally empowered (and financially enhanced) by being just a bit more conscious.

Has your sustainable path led you to veganism? You’re not alone, but there are also many ex-vegans like EcoSalon writer Abigail Wick who, in The Conscious Case Against Veganism, writes: “Conscientious consumption means eating and living ethically, not religiously. As Slate’s Christopher Cox says, ‘Eating ethically is not a purity pissing contest, and the more vegans or vegetarians pretend that it is, the more their diets start to resemble mere fashion – and thus risk being dismissed as such.'”

As you can imagine, vegans near and far were interested in this topic so we also published a rebuttal from Laura Hooper Beck, a vegan writer, the founding editor of Vegansaurus, Editor-at-Large for VegNews Magazine, and the community manager of VegWeb, to speak on behalf of the vegan community.

While we continue to hear bad news from Japan, how its people are managing in the face of this crisis is deeply inspirational. In Heroism And Hope: 7 Heartwarming Tsunami Stories, Newell finds, “…heroism is not dead, love is a powerful motivator, hope is still alive, and people can be compassionate toward strangers.”

Image: kimubert

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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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A weekly round-up of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Take five. Here’s an at-a-glance chance to reconnect with or catch top stories you might have missed this week at EcoSalon:

1. Fashion writer Kelly Drennan thinks We Can All Afford To Slow Down, asking us to consider why it is we need so much in our wardrobes. Investment dressing, slow fashion and an awareness of clothing production are highlighted.

2.Frenzied marketing campaigns to move out excessive SUVs are the target of senior editor Luanne Bradley’s article on Greenwashing The Beast. Says Bradley: “While the sticker deals appeal to all consumers, the language lauding eco-flavored 2011 models is shamelessly aimed at a specific audience: The responsible buyer who might break down and crossover to a road hog at last.”

3. Is it possible to disappear off the grid and do it in style? Writer Leigha Oakes says yes with her article on an Australian eco-friendly retreat in No Water, No Electricity, No Roads. Architect and owner Rob Brown, of Casey Brown Architecture says: “You can stay and be at one with nature on a mountain. The ability to go to a place and be in solitude in today’s over-scheduled urban lifestyle is romantic, something perhaps we all long for.”

4. Food expert and chef Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate: Street Eats, shows how you can virtually travel all over the world eating street food from the comfort of your kitchen. From Banh Mi in Vietnam to Falafel in Israel, Barrington has even gotten you all the recipes.

5. Ever open your bedroom’s closet doors and realize your wardrobe is less than interesting? Writer Rowena Ritchie asks you to take a New York Fashion Week challenge in her Catwalk Considerations: ‘Why Not?‘, implementing five quick wardrobe fixes to make your closet runway worthy.

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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.

The post Finding the Sexy In a Supply Chain appeared first on EcoSalon.

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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