We support ethical farming and production practices – those that do not involve the exploitation of people, animals, or the planet.
Everything we carry is selected to meet the needs of the compassionate consumer: eco-friendly fashion alternatives to unify inner and outer beauty. We proudly carry new and recycled products that are sustainable. The raw materials utilised to make them may include those that are recycled, remade, reclaimed, organic, vegan, locally-sourced, fair trade, vintage, or off-cuts of another production process.
Heart on Your Sleeve‘s view of sustainability is a holistic one. We see an ecosystem as involving people and animals – as well as plants, air, and the elements. We know that the pesticides sprayed on conventionally grown cotton will have a detrimental effect on every part of the system, including ourselves and our children. As individuals, as well as entrepreneurs, we can’t support the production of conventional cotton, or synthetic (oil-based) products.
For more information about the environmental impact of the fashion industry (and real solutions!) please read the book “FutureFashion White Papers” published by Earth Pledge! Find it here
Vegan
Heart on Your Sleeve is vegan owned and operated! Buying cruelty-free eliminates the impact of animal rearing on our environment.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations rang in on the environmental problems associated with animal rearing in 2006 with the enlightening report “Livestock’s Long Shadow.” This report reveals that the livestock sector is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.
Although we are completely understanding of ALL lifestyle choices we do promote cruelty free living wherever possible. A vegetarian or vegan lifestyle is personal value system that we have chosen to extend to our business, taking it one step up the chain by defining the business as vegan. You won’t find any animal derived products here at Heart on Your Sleeve: we exclude wool, silk, leather, fur, and feather. You *will* find several luxurious plant based fibres, and other recycled textile alternatives.
Check out “Livestock’s Long Shadow”(.pdf) here
Canadian Made
Everything we carry is independently made in Canada. We love to promote local designers and help to foster a healthy economy.
A healthy environment is certainly contingent on a healthy, supportive community. At Heart on Your Sleeve, we constantly use the expression “Buy local and everyone wins” – because it’s true. We prefer to support other small businesses in our lives and in every business decision. Keeping the communities that support us thriving is key to their longevity and stability, and therefore our own.
We believe that the truly conscious consumer sees through the “greenwashing” all around us. Nothing produced in overseas factories being fuelled by coal energy is green. Shipping products around the world isn’t green, either, and we hope that sooner or later the costs of fuel and ethical labor will level out to reflect the true costs of mass consumption.
We are seeing more and more sustainable fabrics being produced in this country, and we love to support designers who are working with Canadian manufacturers. It is Heart on Your Sleeve’s dream that Canada will someday be able to (again) produce fabrics that are grown, processed, dyed, and sewn here.
Green Delivery
We offer pedal-powered shipping services to Toronto addresses for the same flat rate shipping cost. Do you live or work in our bicycle delivery zone? (Seasonal availability)
To ship elsewhere, we use Canada post and/or USPS. We look at the postal service as akin to carpooling and avoid specialty couriers unless it is a special circumstance because they are a bit like driving in comparison.
Merchandise from Heart on Your Sleeve comes in eco-friendly packaging, too!
61A Bellevue Ave
Toronto, ON, M5T 2N5
