FASHION REVOLUTION
Canada

Working in the apparel industry for a decade in India, Namrita gained in-depth knowledge in product development, sourcing, and manufacturing. However, after having worked so closely in the fashion supply chain, she grew uncomfortable with the harsh impact this industry is leaving on the planet. As an environment enthusiast, Namrita initiated waste management projects and operational changes in her company. She also launched a line of upcycled fabric products that helped consume waste fabric being generated during various manufacturing processes in Indian factories. Eventually, Namrita decided to leave her job and pivot entirely into the sustainable side of fashion. She has been doing research and volunteer work for a few sustainable fashion start-ups, while also doing her full-time MBA at the University of British Columbia. Namrita is passionate about discovering things, be it new music, places, and cuisines. Her latest discovery was Soccer! She now loves playing and watching the game.

Alexia is a lifelong fashion lover, an enthusiastic thrifter, and a sometimes sewer.

Pursuing a passion for social justice, she first learned about the impact of the fashion industry while completing her bachelor’s degree in International Development & Globalization at the University of Ottawa.

She combined her love for clothing and activism by researching and writing all about conscious consumption, ethical manufacturing and circular fashion.

She then went on to complete her post-graduate certificate in Sustainable Fashion Production from George Brown College.

She loves reading, vintage shopping, photography and strolling around her downtown Toronto neighbourhood with a coffee in hand.

Isabelle Sain is an artist whose work is an ongoing sensory experience that explores the relationships between body and space. Her work is grounded in establishing connections and events that define shared experiences to understand human interaction within the physical, political, social, and spiritual environment. Isabelle obtained her BFA in textiles and fashion at NSCAD University. Isabelle’s work has been exhibited in Toronto, Halifax and Copenhagen. She has conducted a number of research projects investigating the future of fashion with KEA University, and has collaborated with several brands including Samsøe & Samsøe, Threading Change and the Green Cannabis Co. In her art practice and experiences she has created textile based design processes and solutions that establish connections to reinterpret textile production into a more environmentally and socially conscious industry. She is grounded by the preserving and passing of tradition while focusing her research on designs and systems, intersectional environmentalism, and climate justice.

Kate is a lawyer with a passion for environmental justice and sustainable fashion. Kate pursued a legal education with a specialization in environmental law in the hope of addressing some of the environmental harm done by industry within Canada and by Canadian companies abroad. Kate is thrilled to be doing this work with Fashion Revolution in her role as policy lead. Since learning of the environmental destruction and human rights abuses done by the fashion industry, Kate has learned to sew and knit and has begun making her own clothes. She aims to make and thrift the vast majority of her wardrobe and mostly succeeds.

Verena (Erin) Polowy learned about the dark side of clothing manufacturing while pursuing a degree in fashion design. She decided then to change not only her personal shopping habits but also do what she could to have a positive impact on the industry.

For over 10 years Erin has been exploring and learning about sustainable and ethical fashion. She created My Green Closet, a youtube channel and blog to share her slow fashion journey, help others build a more conscious wardrobe, and advocate for better industry practices.

Erin is from Edmonton, Alberta. When she's not running after her toddler, she can be found sewing, working in the garden, trying new recipes, and listening to audiobooks

Dorothée Tessier-Thomas est une jeune designer travaillant, depuis maintenant quelques années, dans le milieu de la mode montréalaise. Elle a pu autant travailler dans des grandes et petites entreprises et peut ainsi avoir une vue d’ensemble sur l’industrie. Actuellement, elle travaille comme assistante-designer et patronniste, pour une marque de vêtements pour femme aillant atelier sur rue à Montréal et dont les produits sont faits localement. De plus, dans ses temps libres, elle se prépare à démarrer une marque de vêtement entièrement pensée et imaginée écoresponsable, éthique et inclusive, avec l’une de ses meilleures amies. Faire partie de l’équipe Fashion Revolution Canada est un rêve devenu réalité. Elle est enthousiaste à l’idée de pouvoir partager sa passion pour la mode éthique et durable à la nouvelle génération de travailleurs de la mode canadienne, dans son rôle de responsable de l’éducation chez Fashion revolution Canada. L’éducation et le savoir sont la clé qui nous permettra de faire bouger les choses dans l’industrie de la mode.

Katherine came to the slow fashion movement in 2015 with the birth of her fourth child. She decided to go on a ready-to-wear fashion fast and make or thrift all of her family's clothes. As someone who had an overflowing closet, it was a wake up call to action for her. Katherine began to inform herself about the global fast fashion crisis and found Fashion Revolution. She founded a small sewing studio, Winnipeg Sews, in 2018 focused on teaching home sewers slow fashion to fit their style. As part of a small team, Katherine has been involved in the Winnipeg Fashion Revolution scene from the beginning in 2018. She believes strongly in education surrounding fast fashion and the climate emergency so that we can reach people where they are and continue advocating for safer fashion.

Erin is a volunteer social activist leading Fair Trade Calgary under the umbrella of Engineers Without Borders Calgary Section.  She also sits on the Executive Board of the Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) as an Alberta representative and the President since 2019.  To find out more about the Calgary Fair Trade Town campaign and activities, visit www.fairtradecalgary.com and about the CFTN at www.cftn.ca. Erin was drawn to the ethical fashion arena due to the depressing lack of ethical choices currently in Canadian retailers. Erin wants to help bring awareness of human rights and environmental issues in the fashion industry to Calgarians during Fashion Revolution Week.

Hi I’m Kristi Woo. I am the designer and founder for Riyoko, comfortable chic and conscious travel clothing for women made with their movement in mind. I am also the lead co-founder of Assemble Work/Shop, a local designer workspace and studio that brings community together through patternmaking and mending workshops. With a background in art, textiles and design - I’ve been an independent designer for over a decade, and have experienced how the skill of making clothing and the process can be misunderstood, and undervalued in light of globalization and fast fashion practices. Along this journey, I also came to realize the importance of being a third generation sewer & maker (from a family originally from China). I choose to honour my skill, and the skill of my aunt and my grandmother by leading a conscious design practice. I exercise this in different forms from supporting fair wage, to buying more locally sourced fabrics, providing quality made pieces that lower the consumption footprint, to hosting workshops on how to make and mend your own clothing. Working with Fashion Revolution has opened up another way for me to use my knowledge base and skill set to contribute to the growing movement of conscious fashion - and continue to learn. Going forward, I’m committed to working with Fashion Revolution toward greater positive change in the Fashion industry because: “Individually we are a drop. Together we are an ocean” - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

I am an advocate for getting outside. An ambassador for puddle jumping, if you will. But those aren’t the only hats I wear. I am also a designer and most importantly, a mother. As a parent myself, I know that we all want the best for our children. This includes a world with bounties of food, natural resources and access to clean water.

With all this in mind I created Faire Child. I know there is urgent change needed in the fashion industry and I wanted to help other parents and kids be able to play, explore and fall in love with their natural world. I have designed waterproof garments that allow children to be outdoors - everyday, all day, whatever the weather – and I have done it in the most transparent way possible. All this so you can be confident that your Faire Child rain wear is kind to kids, parents and the planet.

FABCYCLE, Founder Frameworq, Director Vancouver Sustainable Fashion DEsigners (VSFD) group, Founder Irina is a social entrepreneur and an avid advocate of the Circular Economy and Sustainability in the Fashion Industry. Taking special interest in Textile Waste, Irina founded FABCYCLE, a B2B collection service of textile waste to enable designers disrupt the cycle of garment production and transform waste into resources by finding innovative outlets to Reuse, Recycle and Recover Fabric Waste. Prior to FABCYCLE, Irina has founded Frameworq, an event based initiative that brings together designers and consumers to explore the relationship we have with our clothes using a hands on experiential approach. Frameworq has partnered with various organizations to fuse collaboration and curiosity into sustainability in apparel, hosting events such as design challenges, recurring fix it events, clothing swaps, exhibitions and fashion shows. One of the most popular events are the Clothing Fix-it Events that run on a monthly basis in various locations in Vancouver and engage hundreds of fixers in repair activities. Irina is also the founder of the Vancouver Sustainable Fashion Designers (VSFD) group that its mandate is to connect fashion designers that practice sustainability and are looking to collaborate, share resources, spark creativity, empower and support one another. *** To me, Fashion Revolution has always been a prime example to look up to for an effective and successful campaign to raise awareness for a greater transparency in the supply chain. When the opportunity to join the Fashion Revolution came, it was a no brainer and it felt as a natural extension to the work I have been doing in Vancouver to raise the awareness and better the sustainability practices of designers, consumers and retailers. I’m honoured and delighted to be the BC Mainland Regional Coordinator.

Megan Bourassa is graduating from the Fashion Marketing Diploma program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in April 2018. Throughout her education she has become very passionate about sustainable and ethical fashion. She is thrilled to be a part of the Fashion Revolution Canada team, and is eager to help spread its amazing message through digital marketing. She is located in Vancouver BC, where she does social media marketing for several local companies. In her spare time, Megan enjoys curling, swimming, reading and watercolour painting. She also runs an Instagram account called Eco in Progress, where she shares illustrated tips on how to live a more eco-friendly life. Once she graduates, she hopes to get even more involved in the sustainable fashion movement, and build a career that will have a positive impact on the industry.

www.instagram.com/leighmegb

www.instagram.com/ecoinprogress

www.youtube.com/Megilee

Hi I’m Kristi Woo. I am the designer and founder for Riyoko, comfortable chic and conscious travel clothing for women made with their movement in mind. I am also the lead co-founder of Assemble Work/Shop, a local designer workspace and studio that brings community together through patternmaking and mending workshops. With a background in art, textiles and design - I’ve been an independent designer for over a decade, and have experienced how the skill of making clothing and the process can be misunderstood, and undervalued in light of globalization and fast fashion practices. Along this journey, I also came to realize the importance of being a third generation sewer & maker (from a family originally from China). I choose to honour my skill, and the skill of my aunt and my grandmother by leading a conscious design practice. I exercise this in different forms from supporting fair wage, to buying more locally sourced fabrics, providing quality made pieces that lower the consumption footprint, to hosting workshops on how to make and mend your own clothing. Working with Fashion Revolution has opened up another way for me to use my knowledge base and skill set to contribute to the growing movement of conscious fashion - and continue to learn. Going forward, I’m committed to working with Fashion Revolution toward greater positive change in the Fashion industry because: “Individually we are a drop. Together we are an ocean” - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Erin is a volunteer social activist leading Fair Trade Calgary under the umbrella of Engineers Without Borders Calgary Section.  She also sits on the Executive Board of the Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) as an Alberta representative and the President since 2019.  To find out more about the Calgary Fair Trade Town campaign and activities, visit www.fairtradecalgary.com and about the CFTN at www.cftn.ca. Erin was drawn to the ethical fashion arena due to the depressing lack of ethical choices currently in Canadian retailers. Erin wants to help bring awareness of human rights and environmental issues in the fashion industry to Calgarians during Fashion Revolution Week.

Mary has volunteered with YYC Fashion Revolution Week since 2018. She has a strong interest in social justice issues, and as a concerned consumer discovered Fashion Revolution when she was on the hunt for more ethical clothing options. She is excited to continue to help plan events to continue the discussion and encourage action towards positive change.

I am a fashion designer with vast experience in pattern making and sewing. Growing up my family owned a fabric store, I was surrounded by fabrics and sewing classes. I sewed my first pants when I was 9 years old. I moved to Canada in 2001 and joined Fashion Revolution in 2018 after I learned about the negative impact fast fashion is having on people's health and the planet. I wanted to learn more about the problem and be part of the solution. Sharing my knowledge and my love for sewing I decided to be a conscious consumer, to teach sewing skills and offer alterations through my business.