Eco Fashion World

The apparel industry has for years gotten a pretty bad wrap when it comes to manufacturing and labour standards, and of course the recent events in Bangladesh demonstrate why there should be concern. But the damage from the production of textiles themselves, before they even get to the garment factories, is often over looked.  The recent work by Greenpeace, with their Detox Campaign and the Fashion Duel, has started to bring to light the damages caused by toxins in the production of textiles. But there also the issues of energy and water needed to produce fibres and textiles, and the incredible amount of textile waste entering landfills each year. 

The Essentials

The team at Re-grow Roots believes that change is a powerful and necessary element of life and each of us has the ability to create a positive environment. What we buy and how we live our life affects the world around us. That is why Re-grow Roots is dedicated to creating handmade, eco friendly clothing, accessories, and art to uplift your mind, body, and soul.

The Essentials

SAGE LAROCK offers a modern image of luxury - clothing that is naturally beautiful both inside and out. They create their clothing entirely from sustainable, recycled or organic materials and produce ethically and locally with non-toxic dyes. SAGE LAROCK was founded by Los Angeles based model, environmentalist and designer Taryn Sage Larock with the intention of creating fashion that is both stylish and sustainable. SAGE LAROCK is inspired by the beauty of nature, the earth, travel and the sea, and is made with love in L.A.

Teequality is not your average t-shirt company.  Working hand in hand with Clothes4Souls, a charity organization that facilitates donations to poor areas in need in 125 countries, Teequality is on a mission to share high quality tees with people in impoverished areas across the globe.

To talk about Talking Dress, the first Dutch book that “tells you everything about ethical fashion and lifestyle”, is to talk about the passions and motivations of its author - the co-founder of the first ethical fashion trade show in Benelux MINT - Marieke Eyskoot, an incredible professional owning over a decade of experience within ethical fashion and labor rights.  Being one of the greatest names in sustainability inside The Netherlands, she has been intensively acting against exploitation of garment workers, and against environmental damages caused by fashion companies. Initially through her work as national and international campaign manager in the Clean Clothes Campaign and afterward through her consultancy office and expert guidance.  

The Essentials

Silver Charm is an independent women's apparel brand that can be found in hundreds of boutique shops all over the United States and Caribbean.  They have been around for over a decade, providing their customers with a unique avenue for self-expression through their colorful, trendy, and chic fashion styles. 

The Collective, an online community of conscious consumers, is partnering with Shannon South for an exciting nationwide style challenge that tests the storytelling power of clothing.  

The Essentials

Tabii Just is a Zero Waste sustainable line of women's clothing that is Made in NYC. The design aesthetic is a seamless marriage of Brooklyn edge and an easy-going Trinidadian vibe. They are proof that you can be sustainable without being, well, vanilla. They make easy-to-wear, effortlessly chic clothing with a distinct personality. Tabii Just clothes are for the fun bunch, the women who draw attention to their style simply by being.

The Essentials

ULTRA TEE is a new clothing brand, 100% organic. All materials for the manufacture of ULTRA TEE products are certified by Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and tested on harmful substances by Confidence In Textile. ULTRA TEE uses tencel - vegetable eucalyptus fiber, organic cotton and digital eco-friendly high definition printing.

Ethical fashion will be in the spotlight at Las Vegas Fashion Week at an exclusive, luxury runway event at Aureole in Mandalay Bay Hotel, a five star, internationally known restaurant by Chef Charlie Palmer.   The Bel Esprit Showroom is bringing some of its members to Las Vegas Fashion Week for a week of high-profile events to present their collections.  Designers Lucy Tammam and Foldi Kinga will feature luxury couture gowns,  and Kasia Van Markoviec, designer of Van Markoviec, avant-garde eco-luxury sportswear, will present select items of her collection on May 23, 2013.  Fashion will grace the restaurant's glass staircase, before an audience of VIP guests and professionals.

The Essentials

The seeds of Synergy were planted in 1993, by Kate Fisher, when she set off for Nepal and India with adventure in her eyes. In the midst of her extensive travels in Asia she started buying textiles and clothing that she sold upon her return home. A business was born. Synergy was created in the spirit of adventure and with the vision of being a synergy of both Eastern and Western design influences.  Synergy makes clothing that combines sustainability, with modern yet timeless design. They strive to make clothing that looks good, and is also gentle on the Earth. They predominantly work with organic cotton from India, that is dyed with low impact dyes. The clothing is hand made in Nepal, according to fair trade practices, verified by their long-term relationships with their manufacturers and their frequent trips to Nepal.

From London and New York, international stylists Jocelyn Whipple, leading light of Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge ™, and Jill Heller, owner of the legendary Pure Thread, lead an exclusive opportunity to recalibrate your wardrobe (and your thinking). 

While it may now seem like a blur of camera flashes, strutting models and schmoozing VIPs, the impact of Eco Fashion Week runs much deeper. It’s not easy creating an event that is taken seriously by both the fashion and sustainability industries, but Eco Fashion Week is just about there. Many people don’t even understand the point of eco fashion or what it means, but events such as Eco Fashion Week and the tragic factory collapse that also occurred in Bangladesh last week, are creating awareness around the realities of the industry. 

The last day of Eco Fashion Week, 6th Edition, was another busy one with three sets of runway presentations from a very diverse mix of designers, vintage curators, and artists. The first two runway shows were from vintage and second-hand collections in Vancouver; Hey Jude Shop and My Sister’s Closet.  Hey Jude Shop is a vintage collection curatored by two women and sold online and at pop-up shops around Vancouver. The collection they showed at Eco Fashion Week this season had a hard edge, deep colours, leather and sheer fabrics. It was a well put together collection, great second hand finds.

Day three at Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver was a busy one, packed with 9 runway shows. The evening was dominated by knitwear, with both classic and innovative pieces, and strong tailoring for Fall/Winter.

The second day of Eco Fashion Week this season was actually the first day of runway shows, and following the format of past events, was the Value Village sponsored Thrift Challenge day. The first runway show was the Thrift Chic Challenge where three stylists are given a $500 gift card for Value Village, only two weeks before the show is scheduled, and challenged to create an innovative collection.  The stylists did very few alterations to the clothing they selected, instead showcasing pieces through their creative ability in putting together the looks. 

For the first time, Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver kicked-off the event with the Seminars; a speaker series focused on building discussions around sustainability issues, challenges, opportunities and innovations in the fashion industry. The Seminars were moved to the beginning of Eco Fashion Week partly so there would be an educational and awareness context built as guests then go on to watch the runway fashion shows; helping to continue to build the story behind the clothes. Also for the first time, the seminars were live-streamed, and recorded for posting online.