Green Fashion

From the Friday, January 11, 2008, Toronto Star, Living Section, page L5, an article about a store that provides environmentally friendly clothing:

Eco Logic

ALL SHADES OF GREEN

Store caters to fashion-conscious shoppers seeking environmentally friendly options

Karin Kobayashi

Special to the Star

Kerry MacMullin, a former model and a vegan since she was 17, never believed in shopping therapy. In fact, MacMullin felt as if she needed therapy after she went shopping.

"Unfortunately, my relationship with fashion became negative. I expected consumers to boycott unethical clothing," admits the environmentalist, who only felt comfortable wearing second-hand clothing." I decided instead of complaining, I would create a solution to the problem."

MacMullin's solution came in the form of her new store, Green is Black, specializing in eco fashion for men and women and featuring only sweatshop-free brands that use hemp, soy, organic cotton and reclaimed materials.

"The idea was to design tthe store I wanted to shop in," says MacMullin who spent hundreds of hours researching ethical and environmentally friendly fashion labels from local designers Passenger Pigeon and Me to We to internationally established brands like Loomstate and Edun.

She paid particular attention to how far the garments would have to travel to get to her store. "A lot of people don't take into account the fossil fuel used for shipping," she says, which is why she carries a lot of brands from Ontario and Quebec.

"I wanted to have as much Eastern Canadian product as possible. You can say something is 'made in Canada' but if you are getting all of your materials from China and outsourcing your sewing, the garment is not ideal," MacMullin says.

She's particularly proud of the reclaimed jewellery and eco labels from Quebec she discovered, including Oom Ethikwear and Okzoo.

"Quebec eco labels are similar to how Quebec films are received," she says." Around the world they are renowned and award-winning but in English Canada they are largely ignored."

The store may seem a little stark but MacMullin's selective and stylish offerings with a price point of $90 make up for the fluorescent lighting in the back. I was ecstatic to discover Green is Black is the only Toronto retailer that carries the Spring 2008 collection of Del Forte Jeans, a U.S. organic denim brand. Even better, MacMullin ordered the must-have style of the season wide-leg, high-waisted jeans that fit like a glove.

The store also carries a selection of shoes including styles from Yellow Port made out of tires and reclaimed leather seating from 18-wheeler trucks. "I didn't want to have a store full of pleather," says MacMulin. "But I do have stock for folks who refuse to wear leather and I look for shoes that are as fabric-based as posssible as opposed to 100 per cent PC-based shoe."

The studded shoes by Mink available at Green is Black are not only a far cry from Birkenstocks but are so chic they were featured in Elle magazine.

Green is Black is open Tuesday to Saturday, 624 Yonge St., greenisblack.ca.

Erin Kobayashi is a Toronto-based writer, ecologicerin@gmail.com.