The Most Environmentally Responsible Company Possible

Saving the Earth is a topic on so many lips right now, but far too many people take it no further than lip service. The reasons so many continue to ignore the need for action range from simple laziness and/or ignorance, to the fear that joining the fight may have negative impact on hedonistic lifestyles.
Sometimes invoking the law is a step that has to be taken in order to get people on board the ecology train. The province of Ontario is aware of that, as shown by their recent look at joining Australia in banning the incandescent light bulb in order to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Each compact fluorescent bulb used in place of an incandescent one prevents the emission of half a tonne of carbon dioxide. After the warning issued in February by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, you'd think everyone would have gone tearing off to their nearest hardware store in a run on fluorescent bulbs, but it hasn't happened. Unfortunately, it seems that short of getting the law involved, it isn't likely to happen, either

Only 55% of Ontario's households have replaced five or more incandescents with fluorescent bulbs, even though there are savings to be had. Why does it seem so impossible to motivate the general populace to action? If it weren't for the occasional bright light shining through the darkness, it would be all too easy to succumb to a fatalistic despair about efforts to save the planet.

There are some bright lights, however, to look to for example and hope, people who work toward saving the earth for the next seven generations not just because a law is passed, but because it is the right thing to do. I wrote earlier about Ray Anderson, the founder of InterFace, and his "Climbing Mount Sustainability". He found he could move his company toward saving the planet and still make a profit. He is proof that thinking globally does not have to mean the end of your personal comfort zone. Another bright light illuminating the way for those who want to see it is Toronto designer Linda Lundström.

The words of the title give you the goal expressed by Lundström. She's a pioneer of the green movement in the clothing industry, still taking to heart her mother's admonition "Waste not, want not" when she and her design team create their fashions. Linda, famous for her signature LaParka coat, had noticed waste happening when the coats were cut. A little creative reduce and re-use approach to the problem resulted in the LaBarka, the latest for the well-dressed canine. That one was a simple little touch, but Lundström takes it much farther than that.

Her company is always looking for textiles that are beautiful and "ecologically kind", textiles produced without chemicals. Her 2007 spring collection is 26% environmentally friendly, and the plan is for the figure to reach 50% by spring 2008. She has begun making use of bamboo grown without pesticides to make items like her soft, breathable La Hoodie.

Her company is doing even more with the production of the Paris Wrap. Made of Eco-Yukon Fleece, the wrap helps to lessen the load taken to the garbage dump because the fleece is 80% recycled plastic pop bottles.

Rather than resting on her environmental laurels, Lundström involves herself in the community as well, through the KIISHIK fund and her support of women's shelters. Kiishik means "light" in Ojibway, and the fund carries out initiatives to shed light on Native culture and heritage. Native design is used on the LaParka. Perhaps one of the most wonderful outreach efforts conducted by Linda Lundström Inc. is their giving of stock overages to women's shelters rather than selling them to discounters.

Being kind to the environment and to our fellow wayfarers does not have to equate with pain or loss. Just look at Anderson and Lundström it you need any proof of that.