Eco-friendly and ethical fashion

The growing popularity of responsible consumption, as well as the range of attractive and accessible choices now on the market, allows us to buy hip while also buying green.

Eco-friendly and ethical fashion is not covered by any recognized certification label. So just how do we determine the social and environmental value of our choices?

For a start, several qualities can help us make more responsible choices. Items composed of reused materials, clothes that are made locally or made in fair trade conditions or those made of alternative eco-friendly fibres all fall into the category of responsible fashion.

Recycled fashion

Some designers give used textiles a second life, offering consumers a way to dress up without drawing more natural resources from the earth. Several young designer-entrepreneurs have started developing this new green trend to fashion entirely new lines of clothing.

Keeping it local

A select group of clothing manufacturers have resisted the global trend of moving production overseas and have kept their production facilities in Canada. When you choose their products, you encourage companies that still pay their workers a decent salary all while reducing the significant emissions linked to overseas transport of goods.

Alternative threads

Our choice of textile is another way to show our social and environmental commitment.

Fair trade cotton, for example, is grown and harvested under the supervision of organizations that promote the well-being of their workers. Organic cotton, for its part, helps preserve ecosystem balance and soil fertility by replacing pesticides with natural products.

100% natural wool fibre is also an eco-friendly choice because its growth has a relatively low effect on its environment. Also just as green are hemp-, bamboo- and soy-based fibres because they require relatively little land and fewer pesticides.

Find out more about responsible fashion choices.