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!

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