Eco Fashion World

Forsya

Take a walk down Main Street in Vancouver and you will be seduced by at least one of the many independent boutiques in this eclectic shopping district. Recently, I had a chance to speak with Julie Hebb, owner of Forsya Boutique, who also launched a small line of women’s attire in Spring 2010.

Located on Manchester’s King Street in Britain’s northern quarter, Kuyichi, the Dutch fashion denim brand famed for its sustainable sartorial streetwear hopes to widen its appeal and convert shoppers to its environmental ethos.

While on holiday in Southern India in 2007, Lianne Ludlow, a full time journalist at the time who had worked for publications like Glamour and Cosmopolitan, read articles on climate change and environmental concerns. Ludlow felt a rise in demand for more ethical clothing and came up with the idea to create an online boutique sourcing the best in eco fashion from all over the world. She would name it Fashion-Conscience.com.

Located on 5th Avenue of the 1930s Brixton Village arcade in South London, is a new brand of concept store. Think Urban Outfitters but everything you buy makes you feel good. Circus, owned by Tabitha Rout and Binki Taylor, is filled with ethical fashion, original art, upcycled accessories and thrift shop goodies, all displayed on a honeycomb cardboard interior. The cardboard shelving and boxes are all fully adaptable, compostable and recyclable. And you can have your own cardboard dining table, lamp or mirror should your heart desire.

If you’re in Toronto and want to shop some eco-fabulous pieces, check out Queen street West! Here you will find some of the best eco fashion stores in town in addition to vintage boutiques leading you right into hip Kensington Market.

It was six years ago I first met Michael. Online so to say because I was in Amsterdam and he was in Vancouver. At the time, Vancouver was on the other side of the planet for me and Michael and his Twice-Shy collection seemed to be very exotic. They were one of the first pioneers in eco fashion in those days and we were excited to purchase their T-shirts and dresses for our concept store. Hence, Michael is the first I contact when I arrive in Vancouver.

The reinvention of the charity shop is long overdue and still a considerable way from anything you could call complete. Thanks to the efforts of fashion guru and creative director Jane Shepherdson, Oxfam would appear to be one of the few charities pulling its stores through a major image reworking and providing us with anything approaching a viable option to mainstream buying.

You'd better be quick, because some of these concept stores will close soon!

London

Enamore again opens a temporary store where you can shop till you drop until X-mas eve. Jennifer and her team have added many fabulous new designs to the shop including bamboo lingerie and Pants to Poverty men's boxers. Featured products include accessories from Quazi Design, organic cosmetics from Hubble Bubble Organics and aprons, tea cozy´s and napkins from Stitch Design Works.

Fast-fashion culture adopted by high street stores has been subject of a lot of criticism, but we're happy to report about TRAIDremade Boutique. This concept, a unique collaboration between Fashion-conscience .com and the charity TRAID, replicates fast-fashion but in a 100% sustainable way. TRAIDremade Boutique will feature bespoke, limited edition pieces inspired by the latest high-fashion trends fresh off the catwalk. Brand new lines will be introduced every few weeks, only available to Fashion-conscience.com customers.

With another round of fashion weeks on the autumn calendar, there is no doubt that global style makers and fashionistas everywhere will soon be on the hunt for the latest trends and fresh young faces of the season’s runway. Fashion-forward finds are also to be found in the smartly-curated shops and online boutiques of today’s eco entrepreneurs and retailers. Enter Kerry Macmullin of Green is Black, a Toronto-based online boutique featuring luxurious and trend-defying collections. Green is Black is redefining the landscape of Canada’s fashion scene and beyond with original, eco-ethical-fair trade clothing and accessories that set the standard for how to dress sustainably while also treading lightly and creatively.

It's a hot afternoon and I'm strolling through Chicago's 'meatpacking district'. It's here that Jessa Brinkmeyer opened the city's very first eco fashion boutique two years ago. On 1101 West Fulton market the first thing that strikes me is the window display with an installation of white branches and reclaimed wood. 'Made by local artists, I love to work with other creative spirits', Jessa greets me with a smile. 'Meeting interesting people to work with is one of the best things this venture has brought me. From collaborating with an artist who designed our interior out of rags, scrap metal and wood to working with a vintage artist to integrate the best vintage pieces in our concept of being an eco store'.

Being European myself, even I had difficulties guessing where Ljubljana lies. But this pretty capital is a little treasure in the relatively new state of Slovenia, five hours from Vienna, three hours from Italy and ten hours from Eastern Switzerland where I travelled from. A work meeting seems the perfect occassion to explore this Slavic part of Europe and check how many locals are eco fashion inspired.

Mitumba refers to the discarded textiles that leave the European mainland in big containers to be shipped to Africa where they are sold on local markets. Project mitumBACK, based in Vienna, changes the direction of this global process.

With a background in designing for high street labels such as Zara and El Corte Ingles, Nieves Ruiz has made success of her own on the high street with her brand Bibico. The garments, which are produced to fair trade standards in India, offer affordability without losing out on considered - and gorgeous - design. Bibico works with Mumbai based women who are on the fringes of society to help set themselves up as self-employed and develop new skills through a co-operative venture.

If you happen to find yourself in Oslo one of these days, don't miss the pop up store in Steen & Strøm featuring some of Norway's most exciting eco designs. Upon entering the store, Leila Hafzi's rainbow dresses jump into sight. They become even more beautiful when shop manager and designer Marcus Green explains how many hours of work the Nepalese silk painters have put into them. As much time and love goes into the knitwear of Arne & Carlos. The Swedish-Norwegian design duo offers traditional Nordic techniques in new shapes and styles and targets mainly men with their collections.

If you read our last article about seeing, swapping and shopping eco fashion this weekend with a heavy heart because none of it was in your city…maybe you’ll be in luck this time around.

We thought we were safe from late night infomercial addiction when we gave up television, but lo and behold, video shopping is back and this time it’s online!

New website Shopflick.com is “a video-powered marketplace for indie-inspired goods”, and although we’re not sure what “indie-inspired” means, it doesn’t really matter because we have to rush to the Private Sale area before they run out of Popomomo scarves and Battalion cocoon wraps (sale ends tomorrow, Wednesday March 11th)! But wait, there’s more…more independent green designers and amazing deals that is.