“We felt it was time to recognize the leaders in the sustainable fashion movement”, states FTA Founder Kelly Drennan. “These are the designers who should be applauded for their pioneering work, and for showing the rest of the fashion industry how easy, and stylish, it is to go green”.
But this is not just about promoting the best of the best. FTA is a business-to-business organization that provides resources and tools to help the fashion industry become more sustainable. So to stand apart from other contests, FTA has chosen to pull back the curtain and show the public what really goes on behind the scenes. They believe that all too often this is where eco fashion lives (and even hides); and that it is the story behind the garment where one truly discovers that it is sustainable. Drennan believes that transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of any sustainable business, and that the same standard should apply to the fashion industry as well.
With close to forty designers in the initial round, FTA developed a set of criteria to help narrow the list, and weed out those whose eco efforts either fell a bit short of the rest of the pack, or who were mistakenly positioning their brand as one that is sustainable.
The criterion cover four categories:
- Materials Used (organic cotton, hemp, recycled polyester, etc);
- Production (local, fair trade, closed-loop environment etc);
- Design (quality, style, wear-ability)
- Special Features (educate customers on eco friendly laundering techniques, alignment with an environmental charity, hangtags printed on FSC certified high post consumer recycled paper, etc)
Fourteen designers came through the filtering process, and now FTA is inviting the public to vote online for their favourite eco fashion designer. Voters are encouraged to read each designer profile to see how they hold up to the criteria, and compare to one another. “Understanding what eco fashion means can sometimes be quite confusing”, states Drennan. “And we hope that the criteria will be helpful for consumers when placing their vote”. FTA has included their own comments with each profile, pointing out what they like, and where they think there is room for improvement (since perfection doesn’t really exist yet).
This exercise in transparency is an important one that FTA sees happening on a larger scale. As major apparel corporations feel the pressure to become more transparent in their supply chain (with respect to both social and environmental impacts), it is important for this same level of transparency to translate across fashion businesses of all sizes. It benefits the business, as they begin to understand where they can be doing more, and it provides the consumer with a clear and honest look at what these businesses are really doing to make positive changes.
The fourteen nominees are:
- Thieves
- Elladora
- Elroy
- Paper People Clothing
- Laura Chenoweth
- Revolve Clothing Co.
- Nicole Bridger
- Salts Organic
- Preloved
- Lav & Kush
- deux fm
- Nixxi
- flora&fauna
- We3 (twigg&hottie)
The public voting process will end Friday April 16, 2010. The top three designers will then face a judging panel that consists of: eco model, activist, author and designer Summer Rayne Oakes; sustainability consultant Lorraine Smith who has expertise in textiles and life-cycle assessment; and EcoSalon Fashion Editor and green fashion expert Amy DuFault. The judges will ask each finalist a series of questions that dig a bit deeper into the four criteria.
The winner will be announced later in the month, and will be awarded a prize that has a value of over $50,000:
- A free membership in Fashion Takes Action
- A three-month PR campaign, provided by Third Eye Media
- Eco friendly fabric to produce a sample collection of 30 pieces courtesy of Telio
- Participation at Nolcha Fashion Week’s Ethical Fashion Preview in NYC in September 2010
- Travel and accommodation for two to NYC, provided by Air Miles Reward Program
- Look book photo shoot with full creative team including photographer, models, hair & makeup and stylist
- Look book graphic design, and $1,000 towards Fair trade and Organic certification, provided by Ecocert
For more information on Fashion Takes Action, or to speak directly with Kelly Drennan please call 416-778-5934 or email kelly@fashiontakesaction.com. Please also visit http://www.fashiontakesaction.com/content/fta-design-forward for full nominee profiles and photographs.
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