Green Cotton just covered a 2 part series on Steve & Barry's in May ' "The Cheapest Dress in the World Part I and Part II - and I just wrote a piece on this latest news aptly entitled, 'Part III' on our new site. Come check our latest story on Steve & Barry out.

Photosource: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press as seen in The NY Times

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4990&edition=1&ttl=20080623124455

The general mood of the "debate" I feel is summarised perfectly in this post which garnered 42 recommendations:

What annoys me is that whatever the issue, the BBC/lefty/liberal spin on world problems is always that it's OUR (developed Western world) fault, that WE NEED TO FEEL GUILTY and fix something or other in every third-world hellhole. (Then of course when we try doing something, we are also guilty of intervening). How about the Indian government doing something to stop child labour in THEIR country? They are independent and have a responsibility for THEIR people. They don't care? Then neither do I.

Robert Soria

As with just about any topic that makes you question the comfort of our privileged lives it is a left-wing conspiracy and the BBC is being unfairly biased against the white middle-class majority. Most of the contributors backing this view are outraged that the BBC would even suggest that it was possible to change their behaviour if they wanted to, and don't usually bother giving arguments beyond 'if it's already happening it can't be that bad or someone would have intervened already.' No consideration that this may be the moment of intervention; these people seem to believe that the world is incredibly well-regulated despite hating the interventions of their own supposed nanny-state.

There is also a ridiculous number of contributors comparing working 14 hours a day and sleeping under the factory table to having a paper round. Now I know that my paper round did not take 14 hours, did not interfere with my education, did not require me to leave home at the age of nine and I most certainly had the choice to quit if I felt like it. How these people can even dream that this is comparable to working in a sweat shop I have no idea but I am deeply appalled by their attitudes. I will not deny people's right to buy products made by children if they genuinely believe that giving these children the ability to provide for their families is a good thing, but to be so willfully blind to the realities of sweat shop labour suggests to me that this does bother them and they are deliberately not acknowledging it. I believe that if you are going to pick a side in an argument like this you shouldn't ignore the facts by spewing your personal privileges all over them.

This is an issue I have considered on and off and usually the answer I come to is that actually I don't need any new clothes at the moment. Perhaps this would be the best answer for all concerned with the debate: if you don't buy anything you're not endorsing either position, giving yourself more time to consider what is important to you and some extra pounds in your pocket to help pay for things that really matter.

"Del Forte Denim is designed for the eco-chic woman who is transforming the face of fashion. Made in the USA with 100 percent organic cotton, Del Forte’s premium denim apparel is part of a growing trend which interprets luxury as a combination of distinctive design and ethical production.

The garments are sewn and finished in Los Angeles, a fashion-forward city that is a leader in anti-sweatshop legislation and enforcement, as well as being home to the most cutting-edge wash development facilities in the country." from Del Forte Denim

Fitness Travel Gear and their sister blog Fancy Green have excellent reviews of organic and sustainable fashions made of cotton, denim, silk, bamboo, soy ...

Here's an excerpt of a review of Del Forte's Calla Jeans from Fitness Travel Gear:

"A good pair of jeans speaks for itself. Unfortunately, too many jeans try too hard, relying on fluffy adornments or bizarre styling to catch your attention. But we know better; it's not about the bling, it's about the fit. And the fabric.

Del Forte's Calla jeans are confident, simple, and straight-forward. They actually remind me of my favorite pair of Levis, and preserve many of the "original" jean's design elements such as pocket rivets and a clean, straight-leg cut. The Calla has left a few subtle marks on this blueprint, contrast stitching on the pocket and two small embroidered logos (one on the waistband, top right, of course) and one on the inside panel of the zippered fly.

I knew the minute I pulled my Calla jeans out of the box that these were no ordinary jeans, despite their low-key appearance. The organic denim is soft like velvet. They actually feel creamy to the touch, especially after washing. I love the low-rise cut, but since not everybody does, Del Forte makes these jeans in a medium-rise, too, which is plenty modest for anyone. I also love the long, straight/skinny tapered leg, and the slightly stretchy fit. The longer I wear them, they give more and fit like a glove. I never thought I'd give up my baggy jeans--I'll still keep them for working around the house --but I'm a pretty serious convert at this point. I'm never going back to wearing men's jeans.."

For the entire review, please see http://www.fitnesstravelgear.com

]]> http://notjustpretty.wordpress.com/?p=94 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:50:13 +0000 notjustpretty http://notjustpretty.wordpress.com/?p=94 You can click on each piece to see the designer and more information:

Polyvore is great fun! Here is the first Not Just Pretty collage I made in case you missed it!

Some great "Green Blogs" I've found.... I'd love to read more!

Eco-chick : "Because Mother Earth is a Woman" ... Lots of GREAT articles and photos.

Happy Frog FrogBlog : Blog for BC's Green Directory and Sustainability Community - live green, have fun!

Fancy Green Blog An excellent site with reviews of sustainable fashion designer clothing. "Dress Better, Look Better, Feel Better : Nobody should have to sacrifice fashion to live a greener life--especially when there are so many fancy green clothes out there."

Green Thinking Blog : Smart and entertaining!

Ecostreet.com : (The Blog Formerly Known As TreeHuggerMum) has green directories, job postings, articles, a forum, books for sale and more...

Go Green Ego : forward ideas for green people

The Accidental Eco-maniac : A super-pretty site with lots of articles about all things eco!

Consciousconsuming : "Conscious Consuming seeks to increase awareness of the impact of buying decisions on our health, happiness, and environment."

Greengirlsglobal : "an international weblog about people from various different places with various different experiences, skills and interests talking about how they and people where they live are trying to live a life in a way that is positive for the environment, people and animals."

Hautenature : "Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle........an eco guide blending high style with sustainability"

Hippyshopper : Green news and more!

Sustainablog: "regularly features environmental leaders, experts in alternative energy and green technology, and real people trying to lighten their environmental footprints"

Thedailygreen : The consumer's guide to the green revolution."

Also not really a blog but TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. TreeHugger's blog is Hugg

Environmentalfriendlies - "kind-to-nature online alternatives" is a super-pretty site with excellent articles on sustainable issues.

La Marguerite - An "environment blog", with excellent articles and discussion, focused on behavioral solutions to global warming.

** Let me know of any I haven't found or forgot to list! **

The Keel Dress, shown on the left, has a soft gathered neckline, a flattering grey waistband and a pretty forest and bird motif on the skirt. It's made of a organic cotton/soy/spandex blend.

The Dinghy Dress on the right is made of a woven organic cotton with a sweet blue bicycle pattern.

The following is an excerpt of an interview with Heather Schibli by Tim from blogto.com about Passenger Pigeon, the state of eco-fashion in Toronto and her plans for the coming year....

What is the concept behind Passenger Pigeon?

We at Passenger Pigeon believe in supporting local business (we source our fabrics from Canadian suppliers and have everything made here in Toronto), the environment (we use environmentally responsible textiles), and playful designs (we do not follow the predicted colour trends and so forth. We work with colours and images that inspire us).

In what ways is your company/clothing environmentally friendly?

First and foremost, Passenger Pigeon is deemed an environmentally friendly company for its use of eco-conscious textiles. We source fabrics such as organic cotton, hemp, organic wool, lyocell, bamboo and soy. These fibres still leave a footprint on the planet, but a much much smaller one then their counterparts. We pay fair wages to our contractors, who sew our garments here in Toronto. All our patterned fabrics are printed with water-based inks, which are better for the environment than oil based inks. We use 100% recycled, non-bleached paper for our business cards, catalogues and signs (and in fact, most of our paper work is done on the computer. We print as little as possible) printed with vegetable ink. Neither Wendy or I own a vehicle- we bike or walk to our studio and cycle when doing errands. We donate to charities like Greenpeace and WSPA.

Any plans for 2008 you'd like to tell us about?

As mentioned before, we are very exited about or Spring/Summer line. We are focusing on unbleached creams, warm blues and greys for this season with prints of bicycles and foliage. We also will be attaching a mildly political treat to each and every garment displayed on the racks at every store we sell through (it's a surprise so you'll have to look out for it)!

Anything else you'd like to add?

We plead - if you can not afford to support your local designers, than support second-hand shops. It lessens the burden on the planet. Avoid disposable clothing (items that survive only one or two seasons). It's best to buy good quality classic looks that you can continue to wear for years to come. Pick up sewing! It's surprisingly easy to convert an old sweater or dress into something fresh and exciting!

For the whole interview go to blogto.com

To try and diffuse this ethical minefield, Epona's Juliet Bacon has broken down some of the more common terms into an easy to use A-Z guide and looked at why you might, or might not, choose to go for some of the eco options available

A

Azo free dyes. The manufacture and use of synthetic dyes are two of the world's most polluting industries and azo dyes make up around 70% of all dyes used to colour fabric. There are serious concerns about the safety of azos. Most azos are water-soluble and there is the risk that carcinogenic chemicals from these dyes can be absorbed by the body through skin contact. Dye house workers have been know to suffer from asthma, allergies, birth defects and reproductive damage. Alongside the human cost, considerable environmental damage is caused by chemicals from these dyes. GOTS prohibits the use of all amine releasing azo dyes and many companies are choosing to ban azos themselves.

B

Banned substances lists cut out or cut down on harmful chemicals used to manufacture clothes. According to Greenpeace, among the most hazardous substances commonly used in the textile sector are lead, nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines, phthalates and formaldehyde. Marks & Spencer is the first major retailer to set its own standards that ban or restrict chemicals on the products it sells and has an Environmental Code of Practice for dyeing and finishing. Manufactures in the promotional industry have the opportunity to lead the way by introducing their own banned substances list.

Bamboo is an innovative ‘eco-textile'. It grows naturally and is sustainable, thriving without pesticides or fertilizers, and reproduces rapidly across large areas where it is known to improve soil quality in degraded and eroded areas of land. It is not really seen as a replacement for cotton, more as an alternative fabric that is particularly suitable for high end garments, due to its silky feel, and sportswear because it has a natural antibacterial quality which means the fabric stays around two degrees cooler in hot weather. On top of this, the garment will biodegrade, so it won't clog up landfills once its product lifecycle is complete.

Biodegradable plastics degrade through naturally occurring micro organisms, such as bacteria, but there is no requirement for leaving "no toxic residue". If you want a more environmentally friendly product, it is better to opt for a compostable plastic. Compostable plastics biodegrade and then disintegrate within a set period of time, without producing any toxic material and the compost left can support plant life.

Bluesign standard is a business-controlled environmental scheme to remove any substances that are potentially hazardous to human health or the environment from the entire textile supply chain. The standard takes into account chemicals from the ‘restricted substance list', water and air emissions, resource consumption and workplace conditions.

C

Codes of Conduct. Most manufacturers now agree they have a responsibility to help improve the labour conditions of their suppliers. Many have developed codes of conduct or lists of labour standards they say they are meeting in their workplaces. The reality behind these codes however, is often still quite grim. Wages are too low to live on, 80-hour working weeks are common, and the health and safety of the workers, the majority of whom are women, is constantly being undermined. Workers have no security of employment, women are discriminated against and harassed, sometimes sexually. Workers are often not allowed to form trade unions. Sometimes this is because the right to organise is not recognised in the zone or country where they work. However, more often obstacles are put up specifically to prevent workers from exercising their right to collective bargaining. Some companies opt to sign up to one of the many multi-stakeholder ethical trading initiatives that oversee the implementation of specific codes of conduct based on the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) conventions. Some of the better known initiatives include:

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)

This is the largest UK-based initiative and is partially supported by the UK government. The main idea of the ETI is for companies to work in collaboration with NGOs and trade unions to learn the best way to implement codes. The ETI has its own code which is used as the basis for pilot projects. Corporate members must participate in ETI activities and provide the ETI secretariat with annual reports on their progress with respect to the code implementation.

Fair Labour Association (FLA)

The FLA grew out of the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP), an initiative of US President Bill Clinton, established to address labour standards of clothing sold to US-based colleges and universities. Approximately 1,100 suppliers are taking part in the FLA's licensee program. The FLA is governed by a board of companies, universities and NGO's, but trade union organisations pulled out after disputes over code content. The FLA accredits independent monitors that verify compliance through factory inspections and filing reports that are accessible to the public. Where non-compliance is identified, participating companies are required to implement a remediation plan.

Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) aims to promote humane labour conditions in the garment industry. It is an initiative of business associations in the garment sector, trade unions, and NGOs. FWF was founded in The Netherlands, but is currently working hard to join similar initiatives in Europe.

Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labour rights monitoring organisation, conducting investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe to combat sweatshops and protect the rights of workers who make apparel sold to the United States.

But does this really work? While it is positive that manufacturers are starting to sign up to these initiatives, it is hard to tell the extent companies are practicing the principles they've signed up to behind closed doors. Primark joined the ETI in May 2006. In December that year, War on Want published a report on workers at factories in Bangladesh that supply to ETI members Primark, Tesco and ASDA/George. These workers were typically paid 5p an hour and worked 80 hours a week. Sam Maher of Labour behind the Label says: "None of the companies can guarantee that all parts of their supply chain implement the ETI Base Code. The main issue is that there is no transparency - the reviews, criteria for inclusion and exclusion in the ETI are all confidential, so as a pressure group it is hard to know what to try to hold them to. However, when there is an urgent issue involving a specific violation, it's much easier to get the companies involved to sit around a table and discuss it."

Multi stakeholder initiatives are clearly a good start in encouraging companies to address problems with their supply chain, but the success of these initiatives is heavily dependent upon the genuine commitment of the company to implement and uphold significant changes.

Carbon Reduction refers to finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your company. If your organisation spends more that £50K per year on energy, the Carbon Trust will send out agents free of charge to suggest ways of reducing the amount of carbon you produce. The aim is to become as energy efficient as possible by using renewable energy, shipping rather than flying goods and cutting down on energy intensive processes.

Carbon Neutral: Once you have done this and worked out how much carbon you are still producing, you can become carbon ‘neutral' by offsetting this amount. One way of doing this is to work with an organisation that funds projects to prevent other companies from producing carbon. To give an example, you might help a school in Africa to put in a wind powered generator rather than a diesel one. By preventing carbon from being produced, you are balancing out the carbon your company produces.

D

E

Eco-label is a European voAndyary certification scheme, represented by a flower logo, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of products, taking a ‘from the cradle to the grave' approach. Products and processes are independently tested according to ecological criteria that includes: reducing the amount of toxic residues found in fibres, water pollution in fibre processing and the use of heavy metals and formaldehyde.

Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is a campaigning group that makes a direct link between the need for environmental security and the defence of basic human rights. They are responsible for the ‘Pick your cotton carefully' campaign that encourages manufacturers to state where they buy their cotton from; White Gold, which highlights the plight of cotton farmers in Uzbekistan; and reporting on child labour throughout the world.

Environmentally Friendly? It takes around 8,000 chemicals to turn raw materials into clothing. Many of these cause irreversible damage to people and the environment. The bleaching, dyeing, sizing and finishing of textiles all result in large quantities of effluent, often containing highly toxic heavy metals that pollute the soil and water and damage aquatic life. Each year, the global textile industry discharges 40-50,000 tons of dye into rivers and streams. Add to that the carbon emissions and impact of growing non-organic cotton, which uses petrochemical fertilisers and leads to reduced soil fertility, soil erosion, water pollution and reduced biodiversity. Then there's the high-energy manufacturing process and the clothes miles in transporting the fibre/textiles/garments around the world. Once bought, how an item is cared for and disposed of also has an impact on the environment. Manufacturers of promotional clothing have started to take these environmental factors into consideration by producing clothing that is both kind to the environment and to the garment workers.

Continues next month

For more information contact: Juliet@eponaclothing.com or go to the Epona website: http://www.eponaclothing.com/

Published: 01 May, 2008 Printwear and Promotion magazine

It's actually quite difficult to know where to begin with this - with people who don't know they're born, who don't know about human suffering and who don't understand anything other than their own desultory, vapid existence - and even struggle with that.

This mini-series was made as part of BBC3's Thread project - a worthwhile but not-very-well-publicised campaign for eco-clothing and fair trade. It's not something I'm particularly interested in, as it happens. I describe my own style, my own personal sartorial vibe as 'tramp de la jour' or 'affluent curmudgeon'. Basically, I tend to find clothes in dustbins and discarded in puddles so that I end up looking like a tramp who's one rung up from rock bottom. Despite this detachment, it's hard not to applaud any movement that attempts to grab those twats who spend two hundred quid in Primark every weekend by the shoulders and shake so much sense into them that their brains haemmorhage.

I remember the glory days when fashion would only take up a couple of pages in a newspaper at a maximum, once a week. Now it's dripping off every current affairs periodical, with comment, discussion, adulation and piss-taking in every margin of every wretched page. I couldn't tell you why. Fashion is the the most pointless of all industries. It's people dressing idiotically in the vain hope they might catch another idiot's eye for five minutes. And after that five minutes is up, the look becomes 'so five minutes ago', making the whole exercise more transient than a transit van going at full pelt along an empty runway.

So - and I think we all agree on this - even a tiny smudge of a passing interest in anything to do with fashion is the mark of an idiot. With this in mind, let us look at the central premise of Blood, Sweat and T Shirts.

Six Westerners, all of them fashion victims, are sent over to India to see how their garments are made. The four parts take us in sequence from the higher class of factory in episode one (still paying workers a pittance, but at least hygenic and safe) to, as I write, part three which took our travellers to a cotton plantation where they picked the cotton buds from the source, before working to gather it and bundle it. Living conditions are very, very basic and work is hard, strenuous work. Part four will hopefully see them losing a hand in some rusty machinery because, to a man, these are the worst group of snivelling idiots you could ever hope to see. And three of them are particularly odious examples of the offspring our nation is plopping out.

Okay, so Georgina is just a little bit thick. Fair enough, Stacey is your unremarkable airhead, and at least she puts in a bit of work. I'll admit that Tara actually appears to be learning something from the experience - so fair play for that. It doesn't make them any more likeable, but I admire the fact they got involved.

Despite these three showing, at last, some vestige of being adjusted and functioning, the remaining three are grade 'A' arseholes. Irredeemable twats. Especially Richard. By Christ, especially Richard.

First off, Amrita is a spoiled little rich girl who I believe is of second generation Indian ethnicity. Ok, so that might be too distant for her to feel genuine empathy for people from her own background, but still it was surprising to see her slagging off the natives of the country where her ancestors were born for being 'dirty' and 'rude'. In fact, I'll go further. It was fucking disgusting and she should be beaten with a fucking stick for her callous twattishness. She's a posh little devil who honestly thinks she deserves the priviledge she was born into. Last night, after working in the cotton field for five minutes, she was delighted her eczema flared up, meaning she couldn't continue and had to go back to the flat they were renting to do fuck all.

Slightly less irritating, but only because he's so thick he's unaware of what his huge, farting gob is going on about, is Mark. Mark lives with his Mum and is clearly unable to do anything for himself. At times Mark has put some effort in but he tends to throw tantrums the minute anyone touches him. He also dresses like any clone who walks out of Next or Top Man and he talks in mono-syllables. Luckily, he's quite easy to ignore. Unlike Richard.

Richard wants to look like Alex Zane (fuck knows why), and he pulls this off - he too looks like a berk. But where Alex Zane is presumably capable of logical thought, Richard is a toothy, weepy, fuckhead with nothing going for him whatsoever. Apparently he runs his own ad agency and is on fifty grand a year (must be a small ad agency then)  - but I refuse to believe this on the basis that he is utterly, utterly stupid. The world has never known stupidity like this. Seriously.

The object of this show is to replicate the experience of your average sweatshop worker - and even then I'm sure they've sanitised it somewhat. When Richard felt a little bit tired, in the middle of a crowded cafe, he began a tirade against the dirty, disgusting, rude, peasants he worked amongst (his words, not mine). He was so loud, he disturbed those around him, one man in particular took offence (and rightly so) and attempted to assuage the anger, only to receive more hot air from the stupid cunt.

Richard's threatened to leave a few hundred times and I'm sure I'm not alone when I wish he'd just piss off and leave the others to it. He's incapable of learning anything about Indian culture and he refuses to engage with the workers. His reasons for feeling no sympathy for the workers early on was that they, he reasoned, could surely find a way out of the slums. Citing his own climb to 'the top', he said that any man could make their own way in the world, forgetting that he comes from one of the wealthiest countries in the world and was surely given more than a leg up from his old man. Even the slightest bit of research would tell you that these people have no choice. You don't even need evidence, Richard! Look around you!

To add to this, he also didn't realise cotton comes from plants. Richard is the personification of our idiot youth - that percentage of our kids who are over-exposed, over-priviledged and who deserve to be flogged.

The final episode is next week. For editorial purposes, there'll be the inevitable end of 'the journey' tears and a montage of edits wherein all the participants are shown to have learned something. Don't believe it. Amrita and Richard in particular are learning fuck all. They haven't got the capacity to see beyond their own material, pointless lives. They're dumbed down dickheads and they should be left to survive in the slums. They haven't an ounce of the dignity of the people they work around in this series, and if left to their own devices in that environment, minus camera crews and production staff, they'd be trying to eat their own shit and living in trees, so devoid are they of common sense.

You might be able to tell, this show upsets me a little bit. The final edit is trying to tell its own story - of six youngsters realising where their easily gained possessions come from. But the programme does more than that, as despite attempts to cover over the cracks, what we actually see is a handful of pig-headed twats realising nothing and revealing everything that's bad about our throwaway culture. At least, for an hour per week, we get to see them suffer.

Natalie Stephenson, owner of Kingston Market's (Toronto) Heart On Your Sleeve offers a delectable selection of ethical clothing brands like Grace&Cello, Bring Your Own Bag, Devil May Wear and Thieves.The store is sells only Made in Canada products, many of them locally manufactured.

Do you have an eco-sin or guilty pleasure or enjoyable indulgence that isn't green?

I'd say that my eco-unfriendly guilty pleasure is going to theme parks. I had a seasons pass last year and used it a few times to blow off the steam and stress of small business. It truly another world. You can really forget yourself for a little while, recharge the spirit and get motivated to do what you need to do.

What is the most memorable eco-challenge your company has faced, and how was it resolved?

I don't think that it's resolved but I constantly find advertising in an eco-friendly manner very difficult. Posters are a proven boon to business here in Kensington Market but I have trouble justifying the paper usage to do it. I also refuse to print brochures and things of that nature, I just find them so wasteful.

Are there ways of being green that aren't getting enough attention?

Vegetarianism! The UN rang in on this one with the report "Livestock's Long Shadow," but the majority of media and individuals just didn't get the message. Animal rearing causes 18% more greenhouse gas emissions than ALL transportation worldwide! People are highly adaptable, and they can learn to subsist on vegetable foods. This would also ensure that there was enough food on the planet for everyone.

What are some tips that you recommend to people who would like to do their part but don\'t know where to begin?

Buy less stuff, and ask informed questions about what you are buying. Watch The Story of Stuff at thestoryofstuff.com

Do you have a favorite eco-designer/supplier?

Passenger Pigeon is my favorite eco-designer, especially because they are local, I love the whimsical prints that they create, and I absolutely love picking up new stock on my bike!

What environmentalists have influenced and why?

My grade 8 teacher was the first one to explain recycling to me and make it important. I'm influenced by Dr. Suzuki, of course, because his body of work is so broad, and really inspires a philosophical understanding of the issues. & James Lovelock for the Gaia theory, very spiritually satisfying.

What does green mean to you?

Green is a lifestyle for me that involves a lot more than just environmental impact. I guess I would equate the word with "Fair" and that is fair to the environment, people, animals, community, and self (healthy mind and body).

Did you experience an eco-awakening-- a moment when you realized you wanted to be more involved in raising awareness about environmental issues?

I can't recall an eco-awakening of that nature, I think that compassion has always been one of my strengths. I got an "A" in "Environmental Studies" on my grade 2 report card, which I think was actually more like Social Studies & Animals at the time. I went on to get a degree in the subject, it's really a lifelong situation for me, I've always been quite active.

Is there an environmentally friendly thing you do in your life that sometimes feel absurd?

I think it's only absurd if you are concerned with what others think. I certainly do things that others might think are too far, like bringing containers/plates to put take out food in, or bringing home litter, used batteries, or recyclables because I can't find proper disposal for them. It's probably a fairly large list, actually.

CONTACT

Natalie Stephenson, Heart On Your Sleeve
416.999.2197
natalie@heartonyoursleeve.ca
61a Bellevue Ave
Toronto, ON M5T 2N5

They list all their manufacturers and provide links to those companies' web sites. So, if you're looking for some duds you can feel good about, this could be a nice starting point.

There were scrumptious canapes by De'lish, champagne cocktails by Silk Road, and hair by Shampoo Hair Bar and a percentage of the evening's sales went to The Land Conservancy!

Here are some shots of the Fashion Show - be sure to check out the video, below!

You've gotta check out this funky fashion show video! It ROCKS!