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"Fashion is not something that exists only in dresses. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
- Coco Chanel
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The FTA Showroom is Open!
The beautiful Distillery District of old Toronto is a destination for tourists and locals alike. The cobbled streets, artisan shops, galleries and restaurants also make it the perfect location for FTA to showcase the amazing work of our Members to the public via casual drop-ins, Trunk Shows and invite-only industry events.
We are very happy to have FTA Members: Rescued Designs, Miik, YesWorld Boutique, soleRebels, Laura Chenoweth, Meemoza, Local Buttons and Dara Dot Designs with us in the beautiful space we share with Bazant Unique Adornments.
Drop in to visit or shop on Mondays and Wednesdays, or by appointment any other day of the week. We're at 55 Mill Street, Building 74, Studio 202!
Our first Open House will be on Thursday, February 16th from 4 to 8 in the evening. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to sarahk@fashiontakesaction.com
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 FTA Swaps at Toronto Fashion Week!
Building on the success of Shop Sustainable: Eco Friendly Market and Clothing Swap this past November, we will be kicking it up a notch this March 16th with a high-fashion clothing swap held in the tents at Toronto Fashion Week! Stay tuned for more details on this fun and inexpensive way to resize your fashion footprint!
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 DIY with IOU Design Challenge
Source4Style, an online B2B marketplace connecting designers directly to sustainable material suppliers around the globe and The IOU Project, an innovative fashion label connecting consumers directly to artisan-producers announce DIY with IOU - a sustainable design competition to find the next designer for The IOU Project “Made in NYC” Capsule Collection.
The winning design will also be featured on an exclusive sale on Fab.com and through a trunk show at ABC Carpet & Home in New York City.
Applications are open from February 1 to 15th, 2012. Five finalists will be chosen on February 17th by a panel of judges. Please visit Source4Style on how to apply.
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 A Lesson in Fast Fashion Sustainability from Zara
by Sarah Portway
Fast Fashion, sold by retailers such as H&M, Zara, and Joe Fresh, promises consumers rock-bottom prices on hot-off-the-runway-look-alike fashions. This industry is demonized as it pushes low quality disposable garments, questionable labour practices, and environmentally irresponsible fabrics. Despite these more seedy characteristics, fast fashion is here to stay as consumers demand lower prices and trendier items. In fact, during 2010 while small boutiques closed their doors and localized apparel industries suffered, Zara (a subsidiary of Spanish parent company Inditex) reported a 13% increase in sales and a 32% increase in net profits (Inditex Annual Report 2010, p. 12). If this is considered from a ‘triple-bottom-line’ perspective (people, planet, profit) in Zara’s model ‘profit’ seems to win. However, you might be surprised to know, that with their agile, responsive, and lean supply chain, Zara has a lesson to teach us about all three bottom lines.
 Agility is the key factor in Zara’s production model; garments are designed and prototyped quickly in a large open concept work space. Here, fairly paid workers (the ‘people’ part of the triple-bottom-line) work collaboratively and are paid fairly. Employees are not given hierarchical titles which may inhibit creativity and collaboration; each desk is the same size and everyone gets an equal voice when decisions are made (Sull & Turconi, Fast Fashion Lessons, p. 9). Items are then passed to local Spanish contractors - many of which have been happily (and ethically!) sewing for Zara for more than 18 years (McCarthy, Zara: the business model for fast fashion, p. 543).
This agility allows Zara to be exceptionally responsive to quickly changing consumer demands. By making most garments locally, designers can respond more readily to trend shifts. This is more costly, but it allows Zara an un-paralleled rapid response time which secures their competitive advantage in today’s fickle and frugal retail climate. This also means that the consumers (other people inhabiting the ‘people’ bottom line) are happier with their products because Zara has responded quicker than the rest to their needs and desires. A lovely side-effect of this localized production is that goods travel less (making for a happier planetary bottom line) while the consumer also gets a more emotionally satisfying product.
 Agile and responsive production is also very lean; most styles are produced in smaller quantities first and then tested in specific, close-to-home markets before being mass produced and shipped internationally based on their domestic sales results. Styles that don’t sell, don’t get made - and very few styles are ever replenished - even popular ones. Some goods are even sewn but kept colourless until as little as two days before distribution to stores. These items are dyed in the latest colour trend for the day, week, or month versus the traditional seasonal approach in which colours are predicted months in advance. For example, if Angelina Jolie turns up on a red carpet in an emerald green dress, you’ll find that exact shade (and possibly a look-alike style) in Zara stores within days of her hot-topic appearance. This lean production is why Zara garments usually sell through completely. They have less ‘dead’ (unsold) stock and therefore waste less raw materials, waste less energy, have less markdowns, and higher profits (hello 32% net increase!).
Zara, because of their rapid on-site prototyping, localized labour force, and lean production, can always be counted on to have the latest trends first. This also means they can charge a little more because their products are slightly more unique than their competition who still struggle to keep up. As their major competitors (Gap, Benneton, and H&M) produce items in China, they wait two weeks for a finished order to arrive by boat in North America (Zara ships by air). A quick look at Zara’s Annual Report for 2010 will also show that they have, over the last 5 years, been able to make more items of clothing, and expand into more international markets (they currently operate in 77 countries worldwide) while simultaneously lowering their total greenhouse gas emissions. Lesson learned.
For more information, and to see Inditex’s sustainability report please visit http://www.inditex.com
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 Meet Our Member: Chartruese Style
by Jackie Willson, Membership & Events Coordinator
Designer and owner of Chartreuse Style, Mary-Ann Kowala strives to be a fashion authority in the area of sustainable style, and we love to support her claim. Located at 1692 Queen St. West, Toronto, Chartreuse Style is sure to have something in store for any eco fashionista!
When asked what attracts Mary-Ann to Sustainable fashion, she replies: “After retiring from a long career in the fashion design and manufacturing industry, I realized I still wanted to do something, but more meaningful”. Mary-Ann decided to step away from the industry for three years before returning with a need to reduce her own carbon footprint, and “approach fashion, my first love, from a different point of view, a sustainable one”. With a newfound respect for sustainability, Chartreuse Style was born.
Being a fairly new company, there are a lot of exciting things coming up in 2012 for this retailer. Chartreuse Style recently hosted a successful pop-up Trunk Sale and plans to hold many more in the near Future. Carrying brands like Aventura, Blue Canoe, Echo Verde, El Naturalista, with plans to expand this list as the year progresses.
Mary-Ann has also recruited the Montreal line Fig, who will be delivering a selection of bamboo/organic cotton styles. Local designer Mandala Design will also be joining the Chartreuse family, producing exclusive organic cotton sundresses.
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 Meet Our Member: Whirl Girl
by Jackie Willson, Membership & Events Coordinator
Fashion Takes Action talks with newest member Whirl Girl by Stefany Davies Design, about what attracts her to sustainable fashion.
Located in Golden, British Columbia, Stefany feels inspired by her natural surroundings, stating: “taking time to be outside in nature are symbiotic aspects of my creative process”. The energy that comes from this began her concept of “feel good, look good”, which is displayed throughout her collection and weighs heavily on the design process.
Stefany also feels that “sustainability and profitability can be mutually inclusive concepts in business and the environment”. Hoping her choice of fabrics and design will inspire as well as bring her profit.
Stefany looks forward to the future and will be concentrating on her spring line, which will display the return of the Butterfly Skirt/Dress. Spring 2012 will bring a "new" style, as she plans to have her line ready by mid-March, just in time for the One of a Kind Show here in Toronto. Whirl Girl is also planning on making an appearance at The Spring Festival of CRAFTS Calgary, and Make It! Vancouver.
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Browse the links below for the latest perspectives on the value of a Triple Bottom Line approach!
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People
The U.S. Green Building Council builds an orphanage in Haiti
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Profit
Who are the 100 most sustainable firms in the world? Corporate Knights revealed the list at the World Economic Forum last week.
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Interested in pitching a story for the Triple Stitch? Or is there a topic you'd like us to write about? E-mail us at studio@fashiontakesaction.com
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What's a Triple Stitch?
Our newsletter name is a play on “the triple bottom line” - a phrase often used to describe what an approach to sustainable business is all about. Conventional businesses usually focus on one bottom line: profit. But at Fashion Takes Action, we’re aiming for a smarter bottom line: one that makes profit, engages and cares for people and uses the planet without depleting or damaging the resources that make it possible. Our vision is that every garment, shoe and accessory will have sustainability stitched in, from fibre to finish. To do that, we empower our members with the tools, ideas and community to create prosperity through positive social and environmental change.
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