Angle Media Group, a video, animation and motion graphics promo company, launched Expert’s Angle – a series of short video blogs where they interview experts in different fields to get a better picture of their work.

Video: Modrobes founder and owner, Steven Sal Debus and his new line of organic, recycled and sustainable fabrics.

Y’all remember Modrobes in Toronto? I loved the fleece track suits (maybe 2000/2001) and actually sported my most comfortable cotton lined, baby blue polar fleece pants and hoodie for years

Initially, Modrobes were made for and marketed to students – but there was a time I recall every nurse, skater and raver in the city in Modrobes. And then, it was gone.

Until recently. After an education in sustainable garment making and then a stint on Dragons Den, founder Steven Sal Debus relaunched the brand and re-opened a shop on Queen Street West in Toronto (620 Queen St. W) with a new vision of ‘clothing the modern world’ and offering eco-sportswear mainly marketed to urban cyclists. Apparently, the new riding coats are selling like hotcakes…

New Modrobes Sustainable Garment Shop, 620 Queen St. West, Toronto

What exactly is eco-friendly design and clothing?

We hear about it – and most of us think of rough hemp and bamboo in shades of beige and green.

When I read about the sustainability practices of Nicole Bridger, winner of Canada’s first eco-friendly design award, Design Forward, I was reminded of what is means and takes to create true eco-friendly clothing. Comfortable, ethical and beautifully constructed and trendy. Soft and wearable.

As winner of Design Forward she receives:

• A three-month national PR campaign, provided by Third Eye Media
• Feature in EcoSalon – the number one green fashion blog!
• Participation at Nolcha Fashion Week’s Ethical Fashion Preview in NYC in September 2010
• $1000 in eco-friendly fabric, supplied by Telio (to make a sample collection to show in NYC)
• $1,000 towards Fair trade and Organic certification, provided by Ecocert.
• and more!

Nicole Bridger, Vancouver-based designer

Fabrics/Blends:

Nicole Bridger uses mostly organic cotton, and natural fibres such as hemp, linen, bamboo and soy jersey. Wool is certified organic as well.

She has made a conscious effort to tack the orgins  of all fabrics used in her collections, including hemp jesery and modal jersey orginating from LA, organic cotton woven in Portugal, and linen grown in Belgium.

Production

All garments are made/sewn in Vancouver, Canada – supporting good working conditions and fair wages.

Design

Garments are named through design affirmations, like “heart”, “truth”, “protection”, “listening”, “courage” etc. Neutral colour palate, allows for multi-seasonal wear. Designs are cutting-edge, feminine and practical.

In the context of her maternity collection, the design integrity is not sacrificed, and it has the added bonus of being worn before, during and after pregnancy.

Special Features

Tagua nut buttons (like coconut, made in China).
Labels are cotton instead of polyester (made in India).
Hangtags, business cards etc. are made from 100% post-consumer paper in Vancouver.

Nicole was up against finalists: Laura Chenoweth and we3(twigg & hottie).

Some of the other competing designers nominated for this award include Thieves, Deux FM, and Paper People Clothing.

When it comes to purging bags of clothes, shoes and accessories (which I regularly do), I used to almost always head to the nearest Goodwill to unload. After visiting more than one ‘unruly’ store though, it sort of became harder to imagine my once loved, still wearable clothes getting lost in those dump piles.

So, Salvation Army became my next recipient of donated goods – especially because it maintains its “thrift” store mentality and keep its prices low for low-income shoppers (which is why I never donate to Value Village…).

There are however many smaller community centres, churches and shelters that provide clothing, home goods and toiletries for needy families, young moms, homeless folk – a more grassroots approach to recycling clothing and home goods:

** please keep in mind when donating to community centres or shelters that the clothing and/or linens should be clean and wearable. Also, these places are often in need of seasonal items like winter coats, etc… **

Where to Donate Clothes, Shoes, Homewares & Unused Toiletries in Toronto

Red Door Shelters emergency shelters across Toronto - in need of household items and linens, seasonal clothing. 21 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto

The Scott Mission clothing bank-502 Spadina Avenue, Toronto 416-923-3916

Dress Your Best changes the lives of Canadians by outfitting women, men and youth with clothing for employment. DYB gives each client an average of 5 outfits – 20 to 30 articles of clothing – including shoes and various accessories. Open for clothing donation drops offs on Wednesdays between 10am-8pm c/o The Walmer Centre 188 Lowther Avenue, 3rd floor, Toronto

Good Shepherd Centre homeless shelters accepts clothing, toiletries and recreational items. 412 Queen Street East (near Queen East & Parliament Streets)

YWCA Womens shelter – Call donations coordinator 416.693.6978, ext. 231

Convenant House teen shelter – needs clothing, books, etc…20 Gerrard Street East, Toronto,  (416) 598-4898

Pick Up:

Oasis Clothing Bank (the ones with the green bins around city): Check the website to see the items they will pick up > http://www.clothingbank.ca/faqs.asp

Donate Art Supplies et al.

Sketch provides opportunities for street and homeless people between the ages of 15-29, to engage in the arts in a cross-discipline studio environment or in the community. In need of everything from art supplies to kitchen appliances to toilet paper. 580 King St. W., 2nd Floor, Toronto (416) 516-5428

Donate Toys/Magazines to your local hospital for use in the waiting rooms.

I could go on and on – so for more places to donate your stuff including ink cartridges, computers, shoes, toys…  http://www.toronto.ca/reuseit/orgs.htm

For a list of shelters and social service agencies in Toronto, check outhttp://www.211toronto.ca

New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week begins tomorrow, Feb. 11-18, 2010.

Also taking place in New York is the GreenShows Eco Fashion Week, February 14-17, 2010.

Featured ‘Green’ Designers

www.garyharveycreative.com

www.vautecouture.com

www.thieves.ca

www.joanneberman.com

www.willianonline.com

www.popomomo.com

www.samanthapleet.com

www.deuxfm.com

www.houseoforganic.com

www.cmarchuska.com

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

Jennifer Fukushima from Paper People Clothing, and Amanda from Freedom Clothing Collective

Go to the Fashion Takes Action website and get your membership now!

Toronto’s favorite Sustainable, Fashion Designing Midnight Bike Gang, The Deadly Nightshades are hosting one last Drunk in the Trunk Show before pre-ordering closes for Fall ‘09! Hosted by 69 Vintage Buy the Pound at 1234 Bloor St. W on May 14th from 6-9pm it’s the only way to get 20% off retail price and to ensure you get the size and colour that you want before DNS gear even hits stores!!!

Toronto Fashion Hero’s Take Over [FAT] with Female Bike-Friendly Streetwear.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to preview The Deadly Nightshades(DNS) awesome new sustainable womens line – made entirely from hand-dyed and screened eco-friendly fabrics. DNS is best known as a a group of gals who advocate both biking and eco-fashion – last year at [FAT] we premiered the Deadly Nightshades documentary which promotes responsibility in fashion.

“Welcome to Danger Palace”
This new Fall 2009 sustainable collection, debuting on Earth Day (April 22, 2009), celebrates women and biking while attempting to make a serious style statement with a combination of sustainability and sass. 
The line creates a unified feeling of femininity, fashionable sportswear and old-fashion tailoring combining the aesthetic differences and backgrounds of the designers. Fabrics include soft organic Sherpa fleece, organic cotton rip-stop, bamboo jersey and hemp silk. All fabrics are hand dyed and silk-screened.

Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week
The Distillery District – Fermenting Cellar, 55 Mill Street East, Building 6

www.deadlynightshades.ca
www.nightshadesbikecrew.blogspot.com

Fashion Takes Action (FTA) is holding an online Eco Auction with nine of the sustainable garments featured on the runway at last fall’s Fashion Takes Action Green Gala.

Designs by Project Runway Canada winner Evan Biddell, Thien Le, Zoran Dobric, Nada Yousif, Thieves, Eugenia Leavitt, Carrie Hayes, AIME Luxury and current Project Runway Canada contestant Jason Meyers are up for grabs!

The FTA Eco Auction will be hosted on eBay for five days, beginning at 10 p.m. on Sunday March 15th and closing at 10 p.m. on Friday March 20th. Each garment is featured on the FTA website with a photo from the Green Gala runway, along with new photos that highlight the garments’ features. Each winner will also receive a Rowenta IS9100 Professional Garment Steamer valued at $200, to help with the care for their new eco garments.

Fashion Takes Action is known for producing Canada’s greenest fashion events – The Green Gala and the Sustainable Style Show. On April 22nd, 2009 (Earth Day), FTA will be launching as a member-based organization whose mission is to have a socially and environmentally positive impact on the fashion industry. Fifty percent of the profits raised from the Eco Auction will be given to each of the designers, and the other half will be injected into FTA’s Education and Awareness programs.