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Eco-conscious fashion locally designed in Canada

by Elke Erschfeld

 

On a recent trip to Vancouver I discovered the local fashion label Nicole Bridger. Her flagship store is based in Kitsilano and has an extensive selection of sustainable tops, dresses, cardigans, and pants. The color palette of her summer collection is inspired by the hues of sunrise and sunset brightening up the entire store. Born and raised in Vancouver the designer co-founded an eco-conscious line within Lululemon before starting her own sustainable fashion company in 2008. A lot of her current clothes have a sleek yet yoga wear inspired look with spiritual sounding names like Kind Dress, Grateful Top or Content Cardi. All qualities I aspire to but it’s even more fun if they come in the shape of stylish and sustainable clothes. Some of my favorite designs were her Breathe Top made of Linen Jersey in Sunshine or her Spirit Cardigan made of Tencel Jersey in Sundown.

Nicole Bridger’s fashion collection uses sustainable fabrics such as wool created in a GOTS certified factory from India, organic cotton woven in Portugal and linen grown in Belgium. A lot of her design details pay attention to the inclusion of sustainable materials like buttons made of Tagua Nuts from palm trees or hangtags made of 100% post-consumer paper. What I really like about her sustainable fashion line is that ninety percent of the manufacturing process happens locally in Vancouver. The remaining amount is produced in factories overseas under Fair Trade conditions. No surprise that the store also featured other local designs like cool bags from Bronsino made with recycled and reclaimed leather.

If you should happen to be in Vancouver try to visit her store since it reflects her eco-conscious philosophy beautifully. It looks contemporary with display shelves made of reclaimed beams from a local demolished church. Other eco-friendly designs include walls with all natural paint and lime plaster finish to enhance the indoor air quality. It makes for a peaceful shopping experience even if you’re just browsing. That’s still the most eco-friendly alternative out there but might be hard to do.

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