Canadian fashion designers were trying to make over their own image when they premiered their spring/summer 2008 collections with an energy-conscious and environmentally friendly theme.

"We tried several new initiatives this year because we felt it was the right thing to do," said Brooklyn Brownstone of the Fashion Design Council of Canada. "Nobody here in the office knows if other cities are doing it.

"We just thought it was the right thing to do for Toronto during Fashion Week."

Events started with a fashion show in late September featuring 10 Canadian designers - Thien Lee, Pat McDonagh, Juma, Damzels in this Dress, Annie Thompson, Farley Chatto, Rosa Costanzo, Thieves, Ula Sukowska and Sarah Nicol - who worked with sustainable fabrics.

Brennan O'Connor, Business Edge
A model wearing spring clothing designed by Calgary's Paul Hardy walks the catwalk at the L'Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto.

The environmentally friendly theme continued with models walking down a 20x30-ft. sod runway. The models' hair was done without any electricity and guests were served a choice between eco-friendly wines or organic beers, according to a press release.

In October, events during L'Oreal Fashion Week were held inside a 30,000-sq.-ft. tent set up in the public square outside Toronto City Hall.

Fashion buyers and trade media entering the tent to watch runway shows passed two signs for Toronto-based CleanAirPass.

The company uses a complex system to measure carbon-dioxide emissions, then sells credits to fund offsetting the environmental damage.

Those calculations take into account factors including the number of attendees, guests and carbon dioxide used by people to travel an average distance to the event, says CleanAirPass CEO Bryce Conacher.

"They approached us looking for a way to be more environmentally friendly. This (concept) is fairly new, so it was a good way to promote awareness for us and contribute back to the environment for them," said Conacher.

CleanAirPass sponsored offsetting the 276 tonnes of CO2 emissions for Fashion Week, which amounted to a cost of just under $35,000, he added.

Inside the Fashion Week tent, designers seemed impressed by the initiative. "I always recycle at home," Calgary designer Paul Hardy said. "I know that energy and the environment seem to be a big trend everywhere I go."

Spokespeople for Fashion Week events in other Canadian cities including Vancouver and Montreal did not return calls asking if they would be following Toronto's energy-conscious and environmental initiatives.

But Clair Demerse, a climate-change policy analyst with the Calgary-based Pembina Institute, warns that consumers need to study any carbon emissions offset offer carefully. "As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. People should ask what kind of carbon offset they are investing in," she said.

Demerse says carbon offsetting is a new and unregulated industry. Several industry benchmarks, including Gold Standard and ISO 14064, have emerged to measure the effectiveness of credits, but details can still vary widely.

"One of the biggest questions we ask is if the offset activity would have been performed anyway. If a company plants trees on a regular basis, then tries to claim they are doing this as part of an offset process, then it isn't new."

Demerse was about to give an example of a coming business trip she was taking from Ottawa to Calgary. The Pembina Institute would pay for the offset credits used during the flight, she explained. But when Demerse called back later, she declined to give details.

"That's something we're not prepared to talk about. There's going to be a big announcement in 2008 that will go much further than that. It's going to go into more detail than just business travel, like the buildings we use for our offices," she said. "The guys here said I can't talk about it right now though."

As Toronto Fashion Week was wrapping up, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was on his way to Europe to discuss carbon offsetting.

He was the only Canadian representative at the Lisbon summit to sign an agreement called the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP).

"A larger, global trading market will benefit British Columbia and Canada, particularly with our province playing a pivotal role in the process to develop a system," Campbell said in a statement.

"Tackling climate change requires international co-operation and collaboration unlike anything we have seen before. It is vitally important that as we design our own market systems we co-ordinate with other provinces, states, nations and continents," said Campbell.

"The partnership we have signed today opens the door, for the first time ever, to jurisdictions around the globe to share ideas and new technologies, and ultimately will lay the foundation for compatible market-based systems to trade carbon offsets and credits worldwide."

(David Hatton can be reached at hatton@businessedge.ca)