Eco Finds, Events, Fashion
04.04.2013
Green’s the new Tangerine Tango at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver!
by / kihada Share this post /
It’s no big secret that the fashion industry is one of the economy’s biggest sellers, bringing in over $300 billion in annual revenue. But how many of us stop mid-stride at the boutique or halfway through Vogue magazine to consider the cost? The truth is, it’s the world’s natural ecosystems and the stability of just societies that pay for this year’s pumps, not the corporate bank accounts. That’s why the fashion industry ranks third among the most environmentally damaging industries in the world. So what hope can we have for its long-term viability? Eco Fashion Week seeks to solve this riddle.
Launching her sixth season of the bi-annual exhibition, fashion designer, writer, and ecostylist Myriam Laroche was once as much a fashion waste culprit as the rest of us. But when she discovered how much clothing the average North American wastes – 68 pounds in a lifetime – and witnessed first hand the damage caused by the chemicals used in textile manufacturing, she decided to reverse the trend. Eco Fashion Week became her vehicle for uniting style and sustainability, bringing together the eco-friendly and the fashion-conscious – because chic and world betterment needn’t be mutually exclusive. As a proponent of responsible treatment of the people and the natural resources involved in the entire process, the event seeks to inform and inspire its participants in two primary ways:
- By presenting sustainable innovations, solutions, and alternatives in fashion, modeled on the runways of the event’s numerous award-winning fashion shows.
- By building the capacity within the audience to align consumer values, intentions, and actions, through engaging seminars on topics like, “Designer Challenges and Solutions” and “Rethinking Second-Hand”.
Put simply, the equation might look like this:
diverse team of artists, designers, producers, strategists, visionaries, etc
+
> 2000 global VIP guests, buyers, stylists, media, etc
x
multi-disciplinary approach to fashion and sustainability
=
collaborative shift towards responsible fashion, from process to product
(sourcing –> design –> production –> distribution –> purchase –> use – and re-use!)
So prepare to see some serious innovation – think avant-garde vintage more than hemp-clad hippies – at Robson Square, April 21-24th; the type of innovation that makes a brand outlast its competitors through commitment to lasting change. Because, as we believe here at Kihada, a brand – and a branding agency, for that matter – should have a distinctive signature, not a sizable footprint. Find out more about these progressive ideas at Eco Fashion Week – and ask us how to make your brand more sustainable!
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