Sustainable Fashion 101
July 21st, 2009 | posted by Rachel S | Posted in Eco-Fashion , News
by Meaghan Orlinksi
On May 21, 2009, Toronto’s fashion scene got schooled- on the basics of what it means to be a “Green” fashion business. Fashion Takes Action (FTA) and Eco-Cert came together to present Sustainable Fashion 101. The event, held in The Richmond Building, brought together fashion, design and sustainable business leaders to mingle and learn about the basics of eco-consumerism, sustainable production, certification, and green washing.

Ellen Karp
There were 5 panel speakers including:
Ellen Karp, President of Anerca, and Advisor to the Organic Trade Association, spoke of consumer behavior and industry insights;
Lorraine Smith, an independent sustainability consultant who specializes in textile and retail industries, gave practical steps and thought processes to analyzing your production chain;
Andrea Stairs, head of Marketplace Development for eBay Canada, spoke of how her company has helped consumers re-use over $100 billion worth of products since 1998;
Elsa Poncet came all the way from France to talk of the technical aspects of ECOCERT, a fair-trade association which applies to food, textiles and cosmetics;
Finally, Kelly Drennan, the dynamic woman who heads FTA, gave an excellent presentation about FTA and where it will be going in the future.
This event is the first of many more to come for FTA that celebrated their re-launch and new look last Spring with a party at the very fashionable Burroughes Building. Sustainable Fashion 101 was not granola in the least: The Richmond is a stunning but simple venue, and for refreshments there was an amazing spread of vegetarian food and open bar of local wines. The event was even powered by clean energy provided by Bullfrog Power. Some of the best in the industry were present, like Carolyn Quinn from FDCC and Marlene Shiff of the much-missed Boutique Le Trou. Adhering to these fashion-event must-haves will prove to be successful for FTA.

Fashion Takes Action’s Kelly Drennan and Bernard Hellen from and traffic marketing + design and The World’s Greenest Business Card
Go to the Fashion Takes Action website and get your membership now!






