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Going green can be fashionable
Sabine Goulet is a Chilliwack entrepreneur trying to make a creative living with natural, sustainable, environmentally-friendly fibres.
Stylish and colourful women's shirts, yoga and exercise wear, comfortable men's collar shirts, summer shorts, and even women's clothing suitable for the office--all Goulet's products at Ecofusion Apparel are made from natural, sustainable fibres.
Some you've heard of and some might surprise you. Organic cotton, silk, linen, hemp--sure, no big deal--but Goulet has stylish clothing made of soy and bamboo too.
"These are all sustainable fibres," Goulet says. "It comes from the Earth and goes back to the Earth."
The biggest stumbling block for someone selling clothing like this, according to the UFV fashion grad, is the image many people have of natural fibre clothing dating back to the 1970s. Goulet really wants people to know that this type of clothing has come a long way from the image of a flower child in a shirt that's about as comfortable as a burlap sack.
"People still think of hemp and hippies," Goulet said.
It is estimated that between 15 and 30 per cent of world pesticide use is on cotton production. Pesticides can cause great damage to waterways and human health so when she decided to open up a shop, she wanted to be as environmentally friendly as she can be.
For now, much of the clothing at Ecofusion comes from other recognized sustainable fibre clothing companies, and there are a handful of items designed by Goulet and her own Ecofusion label, but there is much more to come.
Ecofusion Apparel has been open since May, 2008. It is located at 4-45789 Spadina Ave, Chilliwack.
