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Sustainable Shopping: Getting in the Green Loop

On my epic quest for green change, and the search for eco-friendly AND fashion-friendly attire, I stumbled upon (in other words, I used google) the store called the Green Loop. and I was impressed. Unlike a lot of blah eco-stores that only sell t-shirts and plain boring stuff, this store has everything from organic skinny jeans to blazers and even eco-friendly shoes.
And of course guys’ gear too, along with accessories, bags, etc. basically, a massive variety of a lot of typical things you’d see at the mall, except it didn’t take 23849543 trees and 87549999 types of pollutants to make them.

They all seem to be ‘designer’ eco-brands as well, which is definitely reflected in the price. Most of the shoes are in the $200-250 range. Dresses are around 100-150, and tops go from 40-100. High end prices no doubt. But when you think about a lot of the stores in a mall like Yorkdale, they pretty much charge the same price. People are willing to pay those prices there because they believe in the quality of those brands. I don’t actually own anything from the Green Loop but from what I can tell I’m going to say that these are probably better quality than a lot of the stuff I’ve seen in mall stores, even if you only consider the fact that if its eco-friendly, a lot of thought was put into the making (not just the design) of the item.

I was impressed with the variety. If you can afford it, it’s not a bad place to buy some chic ethical clothing and help cause me (and your kids) less asthma attacks!

(one of my favourite dresses from their store)


The Big Green Purse! AKA The Sustainable Shopping Bible Pt. 3/4

Brief notes on how to go Green with your clothing choices, and some things you didn't know...

What most of us don't know:

  • Manufacturing nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas at least 300x more potent than carbon dioxide
  • Dry cleaning relies on a toxic solvent ("Perc") to get the job done - which is known to cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness. It is also linked to reproductive problems. More info in the Big Green Purse

Cotton

  • One of the most pesticide-intensive crops in the world
  • Cotton seeds contain residues of tons of toxic chemicals, is fed to cattle and pressed into oils = we EAT the toxic residue!

Some eco-friendly clothing fabrics as alternatives to conventional cotton:

Hemp

  • Naturally resists pests so you don't need any pesticides!
  • Needs little bleaching
  • Needs 1/20 as much water to grow and process as cotton

Bamboo

  • Naturally resists pests and many bacteria
  • Antimicrobial

Linen

  • Much stronger than cotton = lasts longer
  • Generally uses far less pesticides than growing conventional cotton

Some eco friendly online clothing retailers:


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