If you're looking for an ethical alternative to big box fashions, these Canadian designers are making clothes that look good and are good for the environment and for your conscienceSure it's easy to buy clothing that's cheap and disposable from the ubiquitous big box retailers, but if you're after something a little more local, a litte more unique, plus eco-friendly and sweatshop-free, Canadian designers are delivering with clothing lines made locally from sustainable materials. These designers believe it’s time fashion took a step forward in reducing its carbon footprint and producing under fair and safe working conditions. Credit: Two Birds Apparel Two Birds ApparelTwo Birds Apparel debuted its mostly bamboo and organic cotton clothing in 2013, all produced in Canada. This simple line includes your basic tee and fitted dresses in a few hues, along with urban eyewear made from reclaimed wood. But it doesn't stop there. Two Birds uses bike couriers for its deliveries, hired from TurnAround Couriers who recruit at-risk youth, giving them a chance to gain skills and income.

It's also created a clothing recycling program. So when you’re tired of your garment, or it’s come to its end, Two Birds Apparel will pay to have it shipped back and will use the garment to make new clothes for donation to those in need. Dear PonyTracy Fillion creates her handmade pieces in her home studio in Nelson, BC. She uses primarily sustainable and organic materials in this feminine clothing line. Fillion's designs have a soft look to them, with muted colours and uncomplicated silhouettes. thg hoodieShe uses simple prints of birds, flowers and branches on many of her dresses, tops and totes.ghost 141 hoodie And not only does she produce accessories to go with your new top, but Dear Pony also has a small line of home accessories, like its Love Birds Ottoman.atrium hoodie

Adhesif ClothingAdhesif Clothing Company makes one-of-a-kind pieces from vintage and sustainable fabrics. Its vintage flare, created by designer Melissa Ferreira, ensures fabrics are given new life. All garments are locally produced in Vancouver under Ferreira’s “waste not, want not” approach. You can find clothing with a throw-back '40s feel, with lace tops, velvet dresses and burnt orange blazers. Many of Ferreira's designs have two to three fabrics that make up one piece.hoodie gojira These vintage pieces are all unique, giving you the chance to wear a fabric that would have otherwise been forgotten. Lilikoi ClothingLilikoi is the brainchild of Nelson-based designer Barbara Boswell, who believes in creating beautiful clothing for women. All her designs are cut, printed and sewn by Canadians. The Lilikoi brand uses bamboo and organically grown cotton and linen in its clothes wherever possible, and thoroughly researches the source of the fabrics, assuring they are produced in quality working conditions.

Each print is an original drawing by a local designer, transferred onto silk screen and used in limited production runs to ensure a uniqueness in each piece. Abstract flower motives adorn many of Boswell's creations, and most of the line's tops and dresses have a deep V-neckline or are cut straight accross the shoulder blades. MiikDesigned, milled and crafted in Toronto, Miik uses organically farmed bamboo to make the rayon for its clothes, and many of the chemicals used in the production process are recycled and re-used to reduce pollution. Miik's clothing line contains virtually no printed fabrics. Instead, the designs pop with rich colours like royal blue and purple, and flattering drapping. From wraps to fitted to boxy, there is a silhouette for evey occassion. When Miik’s garments are finished and ready for shipping, they’re packaged in paper, not plastic. The company is all for promoting sustainability, so if you’re a customer, look in your inbox for brand updates instead of in your mailbox.

Nicole BridgerUsing ethically sourced materials, Nicole Bridger’s creations are simple and feminine. Ninety per cent of her clothing line is made in Vancouver, while the remaining bits are produced in Fair Trade factories overseas. Bridger's designs are flowy and layered. The silky fabric doesn't sit tight on the body, but falls beautifully around it. Her dresses are long and boxy and her pants straight and loose. Even the tiny details are eco-friendly: Tagua Nuts from palm trees instead of plastic buttons, cotton labels, and hangtags made completely of post-consumed paper. Visit the flagship store in Vancouver and you’ll witness just how environmentally conscious this brand is, with its repurposed wood shelves and natural paint. La CanadienneIf you’re looking for a fantastic pair of leather shoes, Montreal-based La Canadienne is the go-to brand. Its products are made in its Montreal factory with environmentally friendly dyes and protective agents in addition to recycled materials for its shoeboxes.

The hides are by-products of the food industry, using materials that would otherwise be thrown in the dump. To ensure the highest quality, each shoe is inspected before being packaged. La Canadienne's footwear tends toward chunky designs, with thick heels in black, tan and caramel brown.Simon Pollon has received a BA in English and a BA (hons) in Philosophy from The University of Regina, and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Waterloo. His MA Thesis was concerned with mental representation and misrepresentation. He is presently ABD, and is working on his dissertation, which is concerned with finding the fundamental elements of Agency. His areas of interest are the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of biology. Supervisor: Dr. Kathleen Akins Email: scp4 at sfu.ca Zoe Ashton entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing a BA in humanities and a BS in mathematics at Florida Tech. Her primary interests are in philosophy of mathematics, experimental philosophy, and logic.

Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Nicolas Fillion Email:  zashton at sfu.ca Haley Brennan entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing her HBA in Humanities and Philosophy at Carleton University. Her philosophical interests lie primarily in the history of philosophy. She is interested in early modern and German Idealist metaphysics and epistemology, with a particular focus on female thinkers of those time periods. Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Dai Heide Email:  hbrennan at sfu.ca Cody Britson entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Idaho.  His primary interest is Philosophy of Action and its applications in other fields of philosophy. Supervisor (interim): Dr. Sam Black Email:  cbritson at sfu.ca Weixin Cai entered the MA program in fall 2016.  Before that, he obtained an undergraduate degree at Renmin University of China. His primary interest is Philosophy of Mind, Ethics, and their intersections with Metaphysics and Epistemology.

Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Evan Tiffany Email:  weixinc at sfu.ca Damien Chen entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing a Bachelor of Law degree at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law. He is currently interested in social and political philosophy and other fields with implications on it Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Endre Begby Email:  jiataic at sfu.ca Wil Contreras entered the MA program in fall 2011. Supervisor: Dr. Endre Begby Email: wcontrer at sfu.ca Dogan Erisen entered the MA program in fall 2016 after receiving his BA in Philosophy from Bilkent University.  His senior thesis was a critique of Antti Revonsuo's proposal of taking the phenomenon of dreaming as a model system in studying consciousness.  His research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy of mind and action, with a broad approach that tries to incorporate studies in cognitive and neural sciences.  In addition, he also follows issues in transhumanism, especially in mind alteration and cognitive liberty.

Supervisor:  Dr. Kathleen Akins Email:  derisen at sfu.ca Mahan Esmaeilzadeh  entered the MA program in fall 2014 after completing his HBA in philosophy at UofT. His main philosophical interests lie in the philosophy of language, mind and metaphysics. He is particularly interested in the ontological status of abstract objects, especially numbers. His other major interests are in the role of language in cognition, epistemology of disagreement, and the relationship between conceivability and possibility. Supervisor:  Dr. Endre Begby Email:  mesmaeil at sfu.ca Arianna Falbo  entered the MA program in fall 2014 after obtaining her HBA in Philosophy at the University of Toronto.  On the philosophical front she is mainly interested in social epistemology. Specifically, how we are able to gain knowledge from the words (and non-linguistic gestures) of our interlocutors.  She also has interest in the intersection of Philosophy of Language and Mind. Email:  afalbo at sfu.ca

Brittany French entered the MA program in fall 2014 after completing an undergraduate degree at St. John's College, Santa Fe. She is mainly interested in the history of philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of science. Supervisor (interim): Dr. Kathleen Akins Email:  bfrench at sfu.ca Sally Huang entered the MA program in fall 2015 after completing her BS in electrical engineering and MA in philosophy at National Taiwan University. Her primary interest is in philosophy of mind. Email:  shihhanh at sfu.ca Aaron Huebert entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing a BA Honours in philosophy at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver. His primary interests are applied ethics, normative ethics and moral responsibility. Supervisor (interim): Dr. Owen Ware Email:  ahuebert at sfu.ca Gabriel Lariviere entered the MA program in fall 2015 after having completed his Honours in philosophy at McGill university. His primary interest is in philosophy of mathematics and of language.

He is especially interested in the different ways mathematicians use formal and informal languages to solve mathematical problems, interpret results, explain proofs, justify inferences, teach, etc. He is also interested in medieval Islamic philosophy, from Al-Farabi to Avicenna, Averroes and Al-Ghazali. Supervisor:   Dr. Nicolas Fillion Email:  glarivie at sfu.ca Matt Maxwell entered the MA program in the fall of 2015 after taking his sweet time with a BA in philosophy from Iowa State University.  His primary interests are in Epistemology and the Philosophy of Science, with an especial interest in Inference to the Best Explanation and Pragmatism.  When not diligently working, you can find him running or cycling on the Burnaby Mountain trails. Supervisor:  Dr. Endre Begby Email:  mjm23 at sfu.ca Anthony Moradi entered the MA program in 2013. His primary interests are in normative ethics, metaethics, and moral psychology. Supervisor: Dr. Evan Tiffany

Email: amoradi at sfu.ca Anthony Nguyen entered the MA program in fall 2015 after completing his HBA in philosophy at UBC. His main philosophical interests lie in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, metaphysics, and classical Indian philosophy. Supervisor (interim): Dr. Nic Fillion Email:  thn11 at sfu.ca Ulyana Omelchenko entered the MA program in 2013, after completing a BA in philosophy at SFU. Her primary interests are in ethics and meta-ethics. Email: upa at sfu.ca Adam O'Neill entered the MA program in fall 2016.  He is interested in sympathetic readings of texts which are difficult to believe, counterintuitive marriages of different systems of thought, systematic and nonsystematic systems of thought which are counterintuitive, and lacks of systems discussed in a way that is somewhat systematic. Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Rosemary Twomey Email:  aoneill at sfu.ca Bahar Raiszadeh entered the MA program in fall 2016. Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Kathleen Akins

Email:  braiszad at sfu.ca Farshad Sadoughian-Zadeh entered the MA program in fall 2015.  He has received a Doctorate degree in Dentistry and an MA in philosophy, both from The University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran. His main area of interest is the History of Philosophy, particularly, Islamic Medieval philosophy and early modern philosophy. He is also interested in the philosophy of mind and social and political philosophy. Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Sam Black Email:  fsadough at sfu.ca Rebecca Stanczyk entered the MA program in fall 2016 after completing a BA in psychology at UBC. She is primarily interested in philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and metametaphysics. In particular, she is interested in embodied cognition, the philosophy of consciousness, and the application of science to metaphysics. Supervisor (interim):  Dr. Martin Hahn Email:  rstanczy at sfu.ca Navid Tarighati entered the MA program in fall 2014 after completing a BA in philosophy at the University of Tehran.

His main goal through the MA program is to branch out and experience different fields of philosophy, but his main areas of interest are Metaphysics and Philosophy of Language. Philosophical works of Quine are of high significance to him as well. Supervisor: Dr. Holly Andersen Email:  ntarigha at sfu.ca Imran Thobani entered the MA program in fall 2015 after completing his BS in math and MS in electrical engineering at Stanford. His primary interest is in philosophy of cognitive science and neuroscience, especially concepts and cognitive architecture and how those relate to neural implementation. He is also interested in learning more about the history of philosophy, especially Kant, Frege and Wittgenstein. Supervisor:  Dr. Holly Andersen Email: ithobani at sfu.ca Dzintra Ullis entered the MA program in fall 2016.  She received her BS in Philosophy at Portland State University.  Her primary interest in Philosophy lies at the cross-sections of Mind and Science.