Brave Beltworks - Made in Canada

In a highly-stimulated buyers market of frivolous fashion goods, Asian manufacturing and supplies are the norm, cheap labour converts to cheap products and our North American mentality of fast fashion (easy come, easy go) reigns. Lately, many of us want to calm our environment by adapting to ethical options but we certainly do not want to stop shopping!

Fashionably, one of the best ways to help the planet is to buy local, higher quality items with longer lives while considering the manufacturing process.

Scott Irvine, founder of Brave Leather Inc. in his Toronto warehouse

As part of its Spring media showcase, we were invited to the Brave Beltworks production studio for a tour from owner and founder Scott Irvine. With a little business training, a tad of family knowledge, a stint in modelling and a whole heap of passion and pride, Scott's humble beginnings took him from a street vendor to a 100% Canadian manufacturer with his products sold in almost 1400 stores around the world!

Brave Beltworks makes leather belts and cuffs - metallics with studs, patent waist-cinchers, supple sashes, buckled, stitchless and textured - using only the "very best" high-quality leathers and salmon skins (looks like snakeskin), both remains of the food industry. The skins are vegetable-tanned, which although is a slower, more expensive procedure, is a more eco-friendly alternative to dyeing the leather and get better with age. From there, the leather can go through 37 processes to become a belt - all of which is done in the Toronto factory. About 20 employees or 'creative craftspeople' cut, bevel and finish each belt mostly by hand. No detail is left undone - while we were there a woman was hand painting the insides of each hole on the belts! Irvine still makes every sample himself but relies on the expertise of his staff to help nurture the design process.

As a 100% Canadian manufacturing company (For 'Made in Canada' status, 51% of production must be from Cdn sources), Brave rivals the quality and price of any leather accessories company around the world. Irvine says by doing everything in-house, they are able to design and make hundreds of belts a day, while keeping production costs reasonable. Several sales agencies throughout North America fuel sales and a PR company assists with media and events. So although Irvine considers his Brave Belts a niche product, they are being sold in 27 countries around the world with majority sales from larger stores such as Nordstrom's in the U.S. and include celebrity clients such as Jennifer Lopez and Sarah McLaughlin.

"I think 'Made in Canada' really means something to Canadians," Irvine says, "We're really proud of our company and strive to make the very best product there is, in Canada!"

In Toronto, Brave Belts are sold at Over the Rainbow, Holt Renfrew and Mendocino. From $49 to $165.