Canada's Environmental Voice
If you are the type of person who wants to be an ethical, sustainable dresser, you probably make efforts to buy clothes that are made in fair labour conditions from fibres that are farmed and manufactured sustainably. You are probably also conscious about how many clothes you purchase. While these […]
Think back to the old folk tale “The Little Red Hen.” In the tale, the red hen’s friends sit idly while she grows the wheat to get the grain to make the flour that eventually makes the bread – that, of course, all the animals want to eat. The moral […]
When I start a new semester of teaching, I don a t-shirt that has one word on the front: “unlearn.” The word is printed from right to left, so that it only becomes clear when you look in the mirror. On the back of the shirt it says (also in […]
We can’t get enough fast fashion. Globally, we consume more than 80 billion pieces of clothing each year, many of them hyper-trendy, low-cost items that move from runway to sale rack at breakneck speed. Fashion is a trillion-dollar-a-year industry that increasingly relies on rock-bottom retail prices. The amount of made-in-Canada […]
Look down at the clothes you have on right now. I’ll give you 10 points if you can tell me where each item was manufactured – and don’t forget your socks and undergarments. Ten more points if you know the type of material each piece of clothing is made from […]
I’m travelling the world looking for answers. And on a beach in Thailand, I may have figured out why environmentalists’ messages fall on deaf ears. I was reminded of a video on YouTube of a couple on a beach in Thailand. It is December 26, 2004, 9:15 am. They […]
TECHNICALLY, only plants can be weeds. But plenty of other organisms are similarly vigorous, adaptive to circumstances and resilient in the face of discouragement. They, or rather we, are metaphorical weeds. Weeds in the plant world thrive in adversity. Unwanted, maligned and attacked with murderous intent, they nonetheless survive and […]
It’s December 6, and we are on the island of Kos in Greece. The stores are closed for the celebration of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, but the sun is out and the cafes are doing a brisk trade. A band approaches and then a procession bearing the […]
As the holiday season approaches and gift shopping begins, not only do stores fill with customers but the environment strains with the inevitable waste of this otherwise joyous time of year. North Americans are slowly changing our ways, however, and one way to give back to the world this year […]
Rather than a list of specific products or DIY ideas (there are enough of those already), our gift guide focuses on basic principles you can apply to avoid filling the world with more plastic, toxic, resource-sucking or unwanted crap this holiday season. (But we also have some specific gift ideas, […]
