Canadian shoppers are being courted by a new marketing campaign that lists the ways that fur is environmentally friendly.

Fur products labeled Beautifully Canadian are part of the Fur Is Green campaign, currently rolling out in Canada and Russia with China and Western Europe up soon.

Alan Herscovici, executive vice president of the Fur Council of Canada (which is co-sponsoring the campaign), emphasized the ethical benefits as well as the fashion credentials of fur:

“There are two main thrusts,” Herscovici said of the campaign. “To reassure consumers it’s perfectly OK to wear fur, and that fur is different and exciting now, not like grandma’s old fur coat.”

The million-dollar Fur is Green campaign touts fur as the ultimate eco-clothing because it’s renewable, durable, long-lasting, reusable, recyclable and biodegradable, as well as energy-and resource-efficient.

Mr. Herscovici also talked about the strict regulation of the fur industry, which promises that no endangered animals are used.

The campaign brings up an interesting point. It isn’t contradictory to consider yourself “green” and enjoy something as high-quality and long-lasting as a fur coat — a garment you know you will own for your entire life, and will possibly pass down to your daughters. Furthermore, as a poster on the TreeHugger forums pointed out, the fur trade has a vested interest in supporting wild populations of beavers, minks, and foxes. 

Just some Friday food for thought.

Today’s the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month so it’s not too late to check out ShopBop’s exclusive line of celebrity-designed pink tees.

Fifty percent of the proceeds from these tees are being donated to the Breast Cancer Network of Strength, a 501(c)(3) charity that provides emotional support for women with the disease.

A bunch of famous beauties signed on to design for the cause. We particularly like Cindy Crawford’s sheer-looking ballerina crewneck and Nicky Hilton’s tough-but-girly chain motif.

And if you’re in the mood to browse — it is, after all, a Friday afternoon — surf on over here for more pink picks to support the cause.

Nicky Hilton Breast Cancer Awareness Tee, $88 at ShopBop.com.

When it comes to turning old audio technology into something wearable, there really is no limit to your imagination. Earlier this month, we told you about an easy way to replicate Prada’s vinyl necklace using a record. But that was only the beginning!

At Etsy, Groovebag by Lady K has some great purses made from recycled vinyl (like the one above, made from an old Wham! record). Also noteworthy are Lady K’s one-of-a-kind wallets made from old cassette tapes.

Thinking about the fact that a recycled record handbag has been on my “eventually will buy” list for some time now, I was reminded of this fun blog. And at the top of the page was this great pair of earrings made from old CDs — by another Etsy seller!

We also stumbled upon RetroGrandma today, who specializes in totes and other accessories made from recycled vinyl records, laserdiscs, etc. If you into wearing wacky old ’70s/’80s album covers ironically (or if you’re in the market for a recycled laserdisc tote with the governor of California on it), this one’s a must-see.

Upcycled CD earrings, $10 each on Etsy.com.

Record purses (center), $178 (center) and $49.99 (bottom right) on Etsy.

Zippy cassette wallet, $26.50 on Etsy.

Album cover handbags, $39.99 each on Etsy.

Seun Lim, the designer of James Jeans, has been working with organic cotton for a while now. Jeans from the brand’s Green Edition use 100% certified organic cotton and vegetable-based dyes and softening treatments.

Now Ms. Lim has expressed an interest in greening the rest of the denim-making process, starting with the washes.

Traditionally the dyeing process is rough on the environment. To get different tones for denim, the fabric is exposed to harsh chemical bleaches, but Ms. Lim is experimenting with a type of oxygen bleach to achieve the same effect.

The new collection — which is set to debut in February with prices between $145 and $246 for each pair of pants — will also feature recycled metal rivets and buttons that have been distressed by hand with sandpaper and sun exposure.

For Ms. Lim, she hopes exploring ways to make the entire design process eco-friendly is something that will become a permanent facet of fashion:

“I don’t want people to be focusing on eco and green just for the time being,” she said. “This has to be an ongoing process.”

James Jeans Humphrey High Rise Flares, $185 at RevolveClothing.com.

TranquiliT sells oodles of bamboo apparel for lounging and yoga, but in the interest of sharing secrets, they’re now holding workshops for do-it-yourself fashion projects.

This weekend the shop is teaching crochet basics; later in November you can learn about jewelry making. If you have knitting questions burning in your heart, attend the Stitch ‘n Bitch workshop on November 15 to figure out why that sweater persists in looking like a scarf.

Class fees typically run from $40 to $50 and participants are encouraged to bring in items from their closets to remake. We think it’s a creative way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Get more information by emailing christy@tranquilit.com or you can sign up online here.

Sneaker giant Nike has unveiled a new line of footwear and apparel designed to reduce waste in the production process.

Nike Considered Design features products manufactured with fewer types of materials that are biodegradable or fine to put in the recycling bin at the end of their life-cycle.

According to a press release, the products are now available in all the company’s key sports lines — basketball, running, soccer, women’s training, men’s training, and sportswear — as well as for tennis and cross-training.

What’s even more forward-thinking is that Nike promises all of its footwear will meet its “baseline Considered standards” by 2011, meaning the production process must reduce waste by 17 percent and increase the use of sustainable materials by 20 percent. Apparel will follow suit by 2015 and equipment by 2020.

An interesting side effect of the world’s troubled economy is the impact on Chinese factories. We covered the questionable role that Chinese manufacturing plays in fashion in our second issue, but a new report from WWD suggests that these factories are shutting down hard and fast.

Of particular note is a new corporate social responsibility measure from Wal-Mart that would demand higher quality and environmental standards from the company’s Chinese suppliers. Of course, according to factory owners, Wal-Mart is asking too much:

Several factory bosses in southern China said the directives may add costs to their businesses and they will only be able to comply if Wal-Mart helps them foot the bill. Otherwise, they said, their companies will have to stop selling to Wal-Mart.

“It won’t be easy for Wal-Mart to carry this out,” said Tong Jingyi, head of marking for a toy factory in eastern Zhejiang Province. “We just did a 600,000 yuan [$88,000] order with Wal-Mart and we already lost money on that. They gave us a very low price and demanded very high standards.”

A shoe factory manager in Dongguan, the heart of China’s factory towns, said he hadn’t heard the news yet but believed it might mean the end of his company doing business with Wal-Mart.

“The cost of making shoes is already very high for us because of the increasing cost of materials,” said the manager, surnamed Ren. “If they want us to meet their higher standards, who will pay for the cost of the adjustments?”

It remains to be seen if Wal-Mart is ready to put its money where its mouth is. But if Wal-Mart is taking the lead on these CSR measures, can the rest of the mass retail industry be far behind?

Here at EthicalStyle.com, we want people to make informed choices about the issues that matter the most for them. We believe more information is better, which is why we write resource guides ranging from how to pick winners at the thrift store to how to green your laundry.

EcoStiletto has gotten in on the game as well with “The Big List of Things That Suck.” There are the items you’d expect (like plastic bags and formaldehyde in nail polish) and some entries that might surprise you (antibacterial soap? fragrance? sunscreen?).

There’s also bad news for vegans: both faux fur and pleather made the list because they’re manufactured from nonbiodegradable substances like acrylic, nylon, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Pollutants are released into the air and water through the production and disposal for these synthetics, which is something to consider before buying that Mike & Chris-inspired pleather hoodie at Forever 21.

For those of you who are still looking for Halloween costume ideas (you’re not alone!), Prangsta is a U.K. costumier specializing in vintage, recycled, and restored creations. It was also founded with ethical fashion goals in mind:

Melanie Wilson founded Prangsta Costumiers in 1998 initially to rally against the waste that she saw in the fashion industry, by collecting discarded vintage garments that were recycled into new creations.

The business grew through the provision of bespoke costumes tailored for the individual and the continual expansion of the Prangsta Costumiers costume collection; often made to request (however outlandish and extravagant) and all available for hire.

We can only imagine what kind of “outlandish and extravagant” requests Prangsta has filled over the last decade.

There’s a whole page of slideshows on Prangsta’s website, and the costumes look absolutely beautiful — a good source of inspiration for us procrastinators.

(via StyleWillSaveUs)

More recommended reading for your list: Women’s Wear Daily’s Green Issue, published today.

We’ve only skimmed the online version so far, but two articles stuck out right away. The first one points out a somewhat surprising drawback to the growing enthusaism for sustainable fabrics: There’s more demand than supply.

Explains the article:

[New York-based designer Behnaz] Sarafpour has found that sourcing, rather than cost, is a challenge in using eco-friendly materials. “There is a much more limited selection of fabrics at a quality level suitable for designer product,” she said. “The majority of the fabric mills that create our most cutting-edge and luxurious textiles are not getting into doing organics.”

Indeed, designers of several high-end sustainable clothing lines did not want to divulge their material sources — production and access is limited, these designers reason, and the more publicity their sources receive, the higher costs may rise.

Another article, “Standing Up to Scrutiny,” focuses on calls for more government regulation of eco-textile claims. In as little as nine months, consumer backlash to “greenwashing” may translate into a new role for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection department. Given the ongoing battle between conventional and organic agribusiness, this could put the FTC in a tricky position:

Textile manufacturers are finding more flexibility in discussing environmental issues by shifting the focus from discussions based solely on organics or eco-friendly products to the broader concept of sustainability. For several years now, the U.S. conventional cotton industry has adopted a stance that posits that organically grown cotton may not be the most efficient use of resources and won’t be able to satisfy the needs of a ballooning global population…
“We’ll need to increase food production by as much as 50 percent in order to feed that 9.25 billion people coming to dinner,” said [Cotton Inc. CEO Berrye] Matlock.

Finding the land to grow food or fiber will pose a challenge as well.

“We’ve cultivated about all of the arable land on the planet already,” said Matlock. “Everything that is left is marginal.”

Both articles shed some very interesting light on the “green” textiles market. It will be interesting to see whether WWD’s next Green Issue will address other ethical fashion issues — such as labor conditions or consumption habits — in the same amount of depth.

Pictured: Highlights from today’s eco-fashion slideshow on WWD include Fin’s organic hand-spun silk dress, yellow top by Prairie, and Loyale’s organic cotton minidress.