Ahh…springtime in Vancouver. A season that blooms hope in a city that relishes its cherry blossoms is now further distinguished by the perennial success of its Sustainable Living Expo.
This past weekend vendors, consumers, and celebrities alike from all regions of North America were drawn to Vancouver's second annual Ethical Progressive Intelligent Consumer (EPIC) event.
Raffi, the popular children's singer and author, was centre stage to launch the three-day expo. His inaugural comments summed up what EPIC is all about.
"We are living in an exciting time at the birth of this eco-revolution. We are involved in a global shift of consciousness from short-term to long-term thinking. In that spirit, I welcome you here."
If Globe Foundation, the producers of EPIC, were to gauge the success of this year's event by the numbers of vendors it attracted, it grew twofold.
Two hundred exhibits were organized into accessible aisles that gave visitors space to meander among vendors from seven sectors: food/beverage, leisure, home, transport, business/community, health/beauty and technology.
Organizing the event by sector made it easy to locate a specific trade, however it did little to reveal the degree to which goods were produced by sustainable means. Visitors found that the principles and practices that vendors rely on to create sustainable products differ in scope.
A number of vendors produce goods according to the standards outlined in the United Nations World Summit Document. The document refers to the pillars of sustainable development as social and economic development and environmental protection.
Easywash, a local company based in North Vancouver, follows this three-pillar approach in delivering the cleanest, most efficient eco-friendly carwash in Canada. Founders Geoff Baker and Sara-Lee Normandeau are on a mission to create a car wash chain in Canada.
Easywash general manager Kelsey Torok explains how it works.
"We use ground water, harvest green water from the roofs of our building, and we recycle the water. All the chemicals that we use are biodegradable and we have a hydrogen fuel cell on our site that supplies the building with up to 80 per cent of its grid power, and it also heats the water we regenerate."
Ontario-based NedLaw patented Living Walls to remove indoor air pollutants and reduce energy costs.
"We create an active living wall," said Christian Mahlstedt, a sales and installation manager with NedLaw.
"There was a lot of research for purifying air on the international space station in the early 90's. It was commercialized in early 2001. It basically acts as a giant plant-based biofilter that actively breaks down volatile organic compounds in the air. It gives you a fresh air stream out of the system that you can put back into the space increasing the air quality or replacing outside air that would be drawn into a space."
Laurel Bailey, proprietor of Naked Soap works, follows strict environmental guidelines to create her natural beauty products.
"Most of the products that market themselves as natural are not 100 per cent natural. If I cannot make a product using 100 per cent natural ingredients, I won't make it, like hair conditioner. I spend a lot of time educating my customers about what natural is and what it isn't. Mangoes and strawberries may be natural but there are no mango or strawberry essential oils so I can't make a soap or body product that smells like them." Conscious Clothing, designers of a line of hemp silk wedding dresses, also makes every effort to produce wholly sustainable goods.
"I do all of the designing and first patterning myself. Any of the custom designs I do start to finish," says Crystal Miller.
"I reuse almost all the boxes. I have a beautiful printing label that I print up on recycled and hemp-content paper to put over the reused boxes. I do use tissue paper, but I do have a source that recycles. I'm looking into doing some carbon offsetting but to me it's important to make sure the money goes to the right place."
Miller adds that she's considering using a Native American wind energy farm in Arizona that she's visited "as an offsetting option." She opened her bridal line three months ago to wholesalers.
"The first stores to pick them up were regular bridal shops. It needs to get out of this free, granola fringe and out into the mainstream where people will see it and buy it because they love it, and then discover it's sustainable.
Aaron Hanford, founder of Solar Energy Host, created 100 per cent carbon-free web hosting.
"We are the greenest web server in North America," says Hanford. "Our server centre uses 120 solar panels and feeds more energy to the grid than it takes up. During the day, it's all solar power and it reduces the need for about 20,000 pounds of Co2 every year. The internet uses about 860 billion kilowatts hours of energy every year, which is about the equivalent of fourteen medium size power plants."
Stephanie Tait and Matt Hill, co-founders of Run For One Planet, have their own guiding principles to promote a sustainable-friendly lifestyle. On May 4, 2008, the two Canadian lead-runners will take action by running 12 miles a day each, one marathon combined, for one year around North America.
"We hope to raise $1 million for our foundation to inspire environmental action by running and living green," says Tait.
At first glance, some visitors may have been disappointed by the obvious corporate patina of the EPIC event, but had they taken a closer look they would have discovered local commitment and innovation in abundance.
In the future, Vancouverites may come to embrace their city's largest green consumer show and eco-marketplace as another rite of spring passage.
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