Eco Fashion World

Ok, so we’ve published our share of less “fashiony” items over the past week, with the Primark Protest, the ethical fashion seminar and the launch of a user’s guide to ban the plastic bag, there’s been a lot to report! But here’s one more occasion to flex your inner activista (after that, we promise, it’s all back to organic sparkles and bamboo frills), today is international Buy Nothing Day. The campaign started by the famous Adbusters organization has now spread to the whole world and gives us a much needed 24 hour break from shopping. For those of us caught in a cycle of consumption so deep and dark that we can’t even think of what to do on a day without shopping, or simply if we feel like causing some harmless trouble, both websites have whole lists of suggested Buy Noting Day actions. Although I personally wouldn’t cut up my credit card just yet, the suggestion for throwing a temper tantrum or starting a conga line in the middle of a store sound like a good deal of fun. We also congratulate small shop owners who are taking a stand by closing their stores on the “first day of Christmas shopping”, choosing to follow their beliefs even if it means loosing a bit of revenue. So if you’re in Toronto, today’s not the day to pop into the vegan shoe store Left Feet or the fabulous eco boutique Heart On Your Sleeve, as they’ll be closed to mark the event, their owners probably walking nearby malls dressed as consumer zombies!

PRIMARK is currently bragging about its recent media cover up and this is your chance to protest against that! Campaigning organization Labour Behind the Label and Tara and Stacy from Blood Sweat and T-shirts will lead a stunt in telling PRIMARK that the crisis for workers is not over.

The country where Mahatma Gandhi once created a revolution by wearing a simple locally hand woven cotton garment called the Khadi as a sign of independence is still a leader in terms of textile innovations. From high tech weaving to rediscovering ancient dyeing traditions, India has some interesting new answers for eco fashion design.

Yes, it has come to this…despite our best intentions we are forced to give some credit to the new 90210. Sometimes a golden nugget really can be found in the most unlikely places: in this case the latest episode of the series, "Model Behavior”. We’ll spare you the details but basically one “Debbie” (Lori Loughlin) is given the opportunity to shoot a fashion show for Nylon magazine, and this is where the eco chic twist comes in, the brand on the runway is none other than fashionably green favorite The Battalion. Designing sisters Chrys and Linda Wong (aka: the Bat and Lion, hence the name) are on a crusade against the sloppy casualness that has invaded West Coast dressing. Understanding the need for comfort and lush materials, they have been designing a line of contemporary urban clothes made from bamboo and organic cotton that does not compromise on design.

If there ever was an ethical style issue that has penetrated mainstream consciousness in the past 20 years, it must be the use of fur for fashion. From PETA’s sexy “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaigns featuring nude models and actresses (who have since often been spotted with the dreaded pelts on their backs), to the sabotage of Donna Karan’s catwalk show a few weeks ago in NY, this issue never fails to fuel hot controversy.

Not on the wall but on your back comes this new eco bag by Stella McCartney. Bags made of recycled materials are not a new concept, but have you ever seen a design like this? With X-mas approaching Stella might have envisaged streets full of reindeer, but American animal organizations don’t think that’s a very romantic picture. Even though it’s made out of recycled polyester and other ‘green’ materials.

We gotta give it to Project Runway for forcing their contestants to be creative with unlikely materials, last season saw them making dresses out of supplies found in the Hershey store, not so sustainable in itself, but it goes to show that you really can create stylish garments with just about anything.

This 5th season of the successful show, premiering tonight on Bravo , looks like it’s going to have some real green cred. First of all, one of the contestants, Oregonian Leanne Marshall, already designs her own eco-conscious line Leanimal . Although not 100% sustainable yet, the designs incorporate such textiles as hemp, bamboo and organic cottons. Marshall’s style is inspired by her favorite designers, Rodarte and Martin Margiela, with sophisticated embellishments and layered asymmetrical construction, but also an awareness of the body and movement inherited from her ballet background.