Hot New Trends From Retro Fabrics A Big Theme For Eco-Fashion Week 2013

Vancouver’s Spring/Summer 2013 Eco Fashion Week – to run from Oct. 16th to 19th – has gained so much momentum and popularity since its inception four seasons ago (running twice a year) founded by stylist/buyer Myriam Laroche, that this season (its fifth), there’s scheduled to be nearly a dozen designers, lots more creativity in presenting the runway shows, inspirational speakers talking about caring for the environment and fair trade practices, and lots of industry workshops focused on ecologically conscious and sustainable business practices.

The week will kick off with music, inspirational speakers, and a runway show by local-famed designer Nicole Bridger at the Vogue Theater, on October 16, with doors opening at about 6:00 p.m.

The opening evening will begin with a performance from emerging jazz vocalist Jaclyn Guillou. Born and raised in Vancouver, Guillou is a recipient of the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award from the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and has recently toured internationally.

Among the opening speakers will be Madeleine Shaw who is co-founder of Lunapads, an East Vancouver-based company that specializes in creating washable cloth alternatives to disposable feminine hygiene products.

Lunapads is also really great in that it operates a unique in-house/international humanitarian aid project called Pads4Girls, which runs a number of programs including – One4Her: Pads for Girls, Jobs for Women.

One4Her is a Lunapads/AFRIpads buy one, give one program supplying girls in need with pads and supporting local employment for women in Uganda.

For every eligible Lunapads One4Her purchase, Lunapads provides a girl in need with a Uganda-made AFRIpad to help her continue going to school during her menses.

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Vintage Fashions Theme For Opening Runway Show At Vancouver Eco-Fashion Week

Opening this season’s Vancouver Eco Fashion Week  (April 10 – 12) will be a vintage runway show presented by the mega-thrift store Value Village. The store also carries modern designer name brands including Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Reitmans, and Eddie Bauer.

Value Village’s show was considered the ideal opening event because the store epitomizes many of the core values of the week, which include bringing new life to what already exists, keeping clothing out of landfills as long as possible, as well as supporting local community and global business initiatives.

The thrift store chain purchases its merchandise though “working relationships with 140 nonprofit partners across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Over the past 10 years, we’ve paid more than $1 billion.” said Value Village.

The chain explains how they acquire their merchandise, saying, “Our nonprofit partners contact people in the community to ask for donations of reusable clothing and household items.

“We then pay our nonprofit partners based on the number of boxes and bags of merchandise they deliver to us. Additionally, we also pay them for donations delivered directly to our stores via our community donation centers. Our staff sorts through the donations to select the highest quality reusable items, then prices, and displays them.”

Besides clothes, Value Village sells merchandise includes: shoes, toys, books, kitchenware, sporting goods, infant products, suitcases, electronics, wicker items, furniture, and collectables.

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