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Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending University of Waterloo's STEP (Sustainability Technology Education Project)'s R4 Fashion Show.

As blogto fashion writer Briony put it, "A squadron of sustainable tech nerds from Waterloo showed a packed crowd at their R4 Fashion event that going green can be high-fashion as well."

The event was headlined by some of Canada's top fashion designers: AIME by Monica Mei, CARRIE by Carrie Hayes, Thieves by Sonja den Elzen, and Rachel Jasmine Chan, and also included an Emerging Designers Competition.

While I don't count myself much of a fashionista, and most of the outfits seemed a little too out there for me, I was just so impressed by the university students who put the entire event together and their commitment "to promote sustainable design & technology, lifestyle, and eco-friendly consumer decisions in the community."

What do you think of the clothes? Anything catch your eye and could see in your closet?



xo,
ej

ecoFashion Design Friday

Happy Friday! It's crisp outside here in Toronto, but it is beautiful out... The sun is shining and skies are blue.

I was up relatively early for my yearly full medical check-up. Is it just me? Or no matter how early you arrive to your appointment, even when you're appointment is first thing in the morning, one manages to spend over two hours at the clinic? Waiting most of the time. I suppose all the lab work takes time, but I just had to get my rant in. Thank goodness it's only once a year! Plus I have an awesome family doc :)

So any big plans for the weekend? I am off to Stratford, a gorgeous town about two hours from Toronto that is famous for its theatre productions. Especially its Shakespearean ones. It just so happens my lil sis Pat will be there with her host mom and sis seeing shows, and so my big brother G and I decided to take a trip to meet up with them and see Macbeth!

I remember reading Macbeth in tenth grade, it suddenly seems so long ago.. Should be fun, my friends Aaron and Ana are coming too... Good times!

If I didn't have plans already, I'd totally be checking out this party... How can one go wrong at a Clothing Swap Party? Especially as the weather gets colder and that old sweater that's still great but just doesn't fit you right any more could score you a new-to-you sweater?

Save money and get new wardrobe... Better than a sample sale... The only cost is the entrance fee. I just don't see why they're charging women more... Hardly seems fair... But supposedly there are snacks, so hopefully that's included in the price!

Plus there will be a seamstress there to help you with any alterations you need. The seamstress happens to be a friend, AnotherWordforPink fashion designer Breeyn McCarney.

Speaking of AnotherWordforPink... Want a chance to win one of their dresses? In fact the one above to be exact? Visit DesignforMankind.com here, Erin will be posting this Friday's Giveaway alert soon.

The awesome thing about AnotherWordforPink other than the talented designer being a friend of mine? Their effort to be green...

"We make everything locally and ethically, and as environmentally-minded as possible. We aren’t perfect - we do our best to keep our price points low enough that you can afford our fabulous services - but it gets easier all the time as more and more stores and companies get on the green band-wagon. You can rest assured that whenever the option to make an environmentally healthy choice is before us, we will take it. Our goal is to become 100% sustainable and zero impact. Our designer is obsessed with caring for the Earth."

So check out the Clothing Swap Party if you're in Toronto tomorrow. Visit DesignforMankind.com for a chance to win the gorgeous dress above. I certainly will be entering... Besides I need something gorgeous and green to wear to the upcoming 30th Anniversary Flare Gala! Oh and be sure to check out AnotherWordforPink.com --each week a limited edition dress is posted, and "all dresses are made to order, just for you, to your specific measurements."

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo,

ej

2 ECOfashionably awesome ideas: ThredUp and The Uniform Project.

Wow, my 176th post... And I have 50 Google followers... This is reason to celebrate! I am celebrating with a cup of hot tea. It's a bit on the cool side in my apartment. It's definitely autumn here in Toronto.

Thank you to all those who've opened their pocketbooks to donate to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Mother Nature continues to hit Southeast Asia hard, most recently with an earthquake in Indonesia. *Sigh* just yet another reminder why we need to take good care of our Mother Earth, she's clearly hurting and we need to take note.

So speaking of being ECOconscious I came across two very clever fashionably sustainable ideas...

One called ThredUp "Like Netflix for Clothes" according to the online newsletter UrbanDaddy. The concept is simple...

People change.

You grow. And before you know it, things just don't fit anymore.

Yes, we're talking about that relationship of utmost importance: the one you have with your clothes. And when that relationship goes sour (as it sometimes does), you'll need a mess-free way to breakup.

As usual, look to the Internet…

Introducing ThredUp.com, a first-of-its-kind service devoted to helping you get rid of the clothes you don't want anymore, and just maybe, getting some new threads to replace them, in beta now.

In a nutshell: Think webwide clothing swap. From what I gathered it's only available in the US. But being a big fan of clothing swaps, I think this is one ECOfabulous way of exchanging your threads for gently used ones with the very slim chance of running into the previous owner. What do you think?

The second fashionably clever idea that is not only sustainable but philanthropic! The Uniform Project. This one was passed on to me courtesy of my brother G. Thanks for forwarding this along G!

I love this idea. I grew up attending a few schools requiring uniforms, and I quite frankly preferred it. I love clothes, but I also love sleeping in, and deciding what to wear can be such a drag in the morning.

So here's the scoop, starting May 2009, Sheena the author of the year long blog will "wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion."

Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.

I think this is an awesome idea. Plus, I've already found myself scrolling back to May 2009 to see all the very clever ways Sheena has worm this adorable dress. I love how you can visit every day and rate what she's wearing. In fact, the Uniform Project is at their sixth-month mark... And they have raised over $27,000! I will definitely be contributing to this somehow... I wonder if she'll take paper donations?

Speaking of philanthropy... I am currently in the midst of working with Mark of Ecojot on an amazing cause starting 2010, that I cannot wait to tell you more about. All I can say is... It'll be one more awesome reason to feel good about owning an Ecojot!

Here's a peek of Day 1 to today, Day 154 of The Uniform Project...

Kudos, Sheena for this awesome project! I look forward to staying tuned on all the awesome ways you wear your year-long uniform. Is it just me, or do you want to own this dress too?

xo,

ej

My love for Preloved

It's the last day of the Preloved Annual Sample & Warehouse Sale. I got a reminder in my inbox last night: "Everything is already at least $10 less than before" And considering that "Everything $10, $20, $30, $40 or $50!!" that quite literally could mean it's a steal. Hehe ;D

So it's 11:33am, and I happen to be snow-trekking distance from the sale this very moment. Guess where I'm off to? Am on a super tight budget these days, so this type of sale is just what I need! I'll be sure to show off any purchases if I make any ;)

Oooh, speaking of waiting to the last minute... Only 3 days left till my January Giveaway ends. Get those entries in, if you haven't already ;D

And with all that said and done, I located a YouTube video of a Preloved Fall Fashion Show from 2006 I will leave you with. I should warn you, the video's zooming can make you dizzy as, in seriously nauseated. I couldn't watch the whole thing... But if you watch the first few seconds you get an idea of Preloved's fabulous ecoSUAVE designs!



xo,
ej

Ecosavvying instead of Greenwashing

Did you know ecojot is green but also BETTER?
Originally uploaded by ecojotter

Today's "Did you know Ecojot..." card is brought to you by the colour olive-green, and the letter K for Kermit the frog.

As today's card mentions "It's simply not good enough to be green anymore. Today, every company, whether truthfully or not, claims to be as a green as Kermit the frog. Ecojot walks the talk and more..."

Do you agree? Have you heard the term "greenwashing?" Apparently the term was coined by a suburban NY environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 in response to the hotel industry's practice of encouraging hotel guests to reuse their towels to "save the environment." We all know the cards. Westerveld wrote that, in most cases, little or no effort was being made to actually recycle, mainly because there were no cost-cutting benefits.

In my opinion, when it comes down to a few simple, but not always easy things.....

• Honest marketing campaigns from companies.
• Being well-informed consumers (or as I prefer eco-savviests); and
• Balance. We all consume products. We can't just stop. And I certainly doesn't always buy green, but we can make more conscious choices.

So on that note, and because they happen to be one of my favourite Canadian designers... Preloved is having their Annual Sample & Warehouse Sale from January 26 to 29 at 24 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto. Are you familiar with Preloved?


Click on the images above or below to be directed to their website. "Preloved creates one of a kind clothing from reclaimed vintage fabrics." My favourite piece is a black strapless dress made out of trench coats, of which I get frequent compliments! Perhaps I'll see you at the sale...


That's it for now. Tomorrow I'll be announcing my January Giveaway...

xo,
ej