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How does your clothing mould you?
"There is much to support the view that it is clothes that wear us and not we them; we may make them take the mould of arm or breast, but they would mould our hearts, our brains, our tongues to their liking." ~Virginia Woolf
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Meet Our Member - Part 1
By Amanda Yeo, Fashion Takes Action Intern
 Hey brides-to-be! Looking for a free online marketplace that is budget friendly, eco-friendly and hassle free? Well, look no further than FTA Member, SmartBride Boutique!
Leah Andrew and her business partner Andrea Lown started up the business in 2008 after Andrea had only four months to plan her wedding. Upon searching for her perfect dress, Andrea became unsatisfied with the “department store” atmosphere of other online classified sites, and SmartBrideBoutique was born. Brides can connect with one another to buy, sell and save on everything wedding, from wedding dresses to bridesmaid dresses, to décor and accessories.
Leah received Honours in Bachelor of Commerce from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she became more interested in the concept of sustainability. She went onto complete here MBA at Schulich School of Business where she graduated with a specialization in Business and Sustainability.
An astounding statistic she shared with us is that the average wedding in Canada costs about $23,000, produces 400 pounds of garbage and 63 tons of CO2! With 156,000 weddings a year in Canada, every couple has the ability to make at least one green choice that will reduce their over all carbon footprint. SmartBride Boutique wants to help make the “going green” choice a bit easier by offering more eco-friendly alternatives by re-using and recycling when it comes to their wedding dress, décor and accessories. Best of all, most gently used items are 50%-80% less than retail! After the wedding, brides can choose to sell their items with SmartBrideBoutique.com to re-coup up to 50% of their costs and extend the life of dresses and other wedding paraphernalia that are typically only used once.
For tips on being more “green” on your wedding day, please visit smartbrideboutique.com.
Meet Our Member - Part 2
By Amanda Yeo, Fashion Takes Action Intern
Meet Christine, designer and founder of Christine Mighion jewelry. Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Christine grew up with a fondness for fashion and art. At a young age, Christine found herself leafing through fashion magazines and beading necklaces and bracelets for herself and friends. Although her interests were in art, her mother discouraged it and pushed her to pursue a “more practical” career. Her love for art and design did not reemerge until she was a year away from receiving her degree in dental hygiene. She moved to Hawaii and fell in love with the dramatic and beautiful landscape of Hawaii and the genuine kindness of its people. It was in Hawaii that she began to explore art again, creating pieces with objects found from the ocean.
Several years later, she moved back to Indiana and began taking silversmith classes at the local museum, and everything after that fell into place. She continues to take inspiration from living in Hawaii through the shades of blue and green as well as soft floral colours frequently found in her jewelry.
 Christine understands that mining for metal is extremely destructive to the landscape and the water supply of surrounding communities. “I think it is important to point out that very few gems in the world are truly mined in an eco-friendly way,” she says. “There is a broad misconception and a lot of false information out there. Currently, there is one diamond company that I am aware of that truly sells fair trade diamonds and does pan mining versus using traditional mining techniques. I do purchase all of my stones from reputable suppliers within the US and all of my diamonds are conflict free following the Kimberley Certification process.”
Christine believes that everyone has a role to play in helping to keep the environment clean. “We are huge recyclers in our household and we truly try to be kind to the environment.” In her spare time, she enjoys scuba diving with her husband, and that connection to the ocean is another reason why she acts with love towards the environment.
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Eco Fun in the Sun
By Amanda Yeo, Fashion Takes Action Intern
Now that summer is just around the corner, it is officially time to stock up on all the season's must-haves, including a perfect eco-friendly bathing suit and a pair of eco-sunglasses to match. The fashion market is saturated with cheap and simple solutions to our summer must-haves using mass produced synthetic fabrics such as nylon and polyester. Toxic chemicals, oil, and energy are used to produce these fabrics and end up as waste in landfill sites. The use of nylon in swimwear also creates a concern for the environment, as nitrous oxide is emitted into the air . The manufacturing of polyester uses large amounts of water for cooling, along with lubricants that can become a source of contamination if not handled properly.
Thankfully, designers such as Jess Salter for Emobi and Aaron Chang are committed to creating eco-friendly and stylish pieces that are good for the environment and for our wallets as well. All prints designed for Emobi are original and designed in-house, using a range of environmentally friendly water based dyes that have low impact on the beaches & waterways as the ink contains no heavy metals. Digital printing practices use a computerized process which is less demanding on resources and is less wasteful than conventional printing. The secret to Aaron Chang’s success in creating sustainable swimwear is the fabric used to make these swimsuits. Instead of using petroleum to create polyester, recycled plastic bottles are used.
 
Frill One Piece Swimsuit by Emobi Napoli bikini by Aaron Chang
Sunglasses to protect our eyes from UV rays are another must have this summer. Instead of buying plastic sunglasses that have high environmental impact, why not try the many alternatives? With the Environmentally Conscious Optics sunglasses made by Dragon, this initiative inspired by Rob Machado uses 100% renewable material to create environmentally friendly sunglasses. Another brand of sunglasses, iWood brings a collection of frames crafted from reclaimed woods used to decorate the interior of private jets. So next time you are in the market for a pair of sunglasses, don’t forget to check out these eco-friendly brands!
 
Brigade Sunglasses iWood Eco Design sunglasses
by Dragon
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Taking Vintage to the Next Level
By Anne Pringle from Local Buttons & Fashion Takes Action Member
 For every one pound of clothing that is made, worn and discarded, throughout its lifetime 6 lbs of CO2 is emitted, and 10,000 lbs of water is used. Given that the average North American consumes roughly 70 lbs of textiles and clothing a year, this means that we use 700,000 lbs of water each year, or about 4 average swimming pools full! When you multiply that by our population, the numbers are astonishing, especially when you consider that 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries. Purchasing used clothing not only acts as landfill diversion, but it saves a great deal of water!
The same can be said, of course, for upcycled clothing (new garments that are created by using second-hand materials) which inspired the sustainable enterprise, Local Buttons. My business partner, Consuelo McAlister and I, spent 2010 pouring our passion, values and time into a pilot project and business strategy, and now, as a result of that hard work, we are excited to be launching our refined & upcycled clothing line. We source our “raw” second-hand materials from Haitian street markets, then repurpose the fabric back into fresh and trendy items for Toronto’s fashion lovers.
 We are often asked about why we source our second hand clothing from Haiti. The first is serendipity, and the second, need. While hosting a local fashion show fundraiser for Brandaid, Consuelo and I were introduced to INDEPCO, a not-for-profit organization of highly skilled tailors in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. While INDEPCO is not a certified Fair Trade business, they do observe fair labour and wage practices. Given the globalized nature of fashion production, a skilled workforce and the growing demand for sweat-shop-free labour, one might think that opportunity for work would be steady, but this was sadly not the case when we had the opportunity to travel to Haiti and meet the employees of INDEPCO. Why?
Did you know that clothing donated in North America and Europe that doesn’t sell at the local Goodwill is shipped off to developing countries throughout the world? Haiti, and many other third-world countries like it, has not regulated the shipments of cast-off clothing “dumped” into their markets over many years. As a result, their tailoring and fashion sector has dwindled. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010 has only served to further cripple their garment industry.
So, this is how our local partnership with tailors in Port-au-Prince came to be. It means a lot to us to be able to sell the full story of fashion by communicating the complexity of the industry. For example, we can educate a shopper about the big-picture value of an ethical garment when we tell them that INDEPCO pays workers $40 US a day for an 8 hour workday. This is a far cry from the $3.08 -$5.00 US a day the large conventional factories pay.
 Fast fashion is a cheap wardrobe staple for the majority of consumers and we are motivated to contribute to stylish ethical fashion. The process is not without its challenges, but it is far from boring. Extensive market research, inspiring interns from Ryerson’s Master of Fashion program and our degrees in International Development Studies from York University help inform our problem solving and strategies to source second hand clothing.
With a commitment to triple-bottom-line projects, Local Buttons avoids a number of the faults committed in fast-fashion production models. We avoid the manufacturing of virgin fibers, demonstrate the viability of ethically produced fashion, and re-invest socially and economically in the local economies of Port-au-Prince and Toronto.
Follow us on Twitter @localbuttons or read about our journey and the other sustainable enterprises we promote at www.swayanne.wordpress.com.
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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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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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