Behind the seams

Ecologyst’s Victoria store pulls back the curtain on clothing manufacturing

As a clothing company, Ecologyst has forged its own path. “A lot of what we do is so different from the norm in the clothing industry,” Rene Gauthier, founder and chief executive, says. The sustainable fashion brand is known for outdoor-inspired apparel, including jackets, pants, tops and accessories, which are made with 100-per-cent natural and biodegradable materials such as organic cotton and merino wool.

With stores in Victoria and Whistler, B.C., Ecologyst opened a new headquarters, factory and shoppable showroom in Victoria last summer. Housed in a former power station that dates back to 1892, the space offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the apparel-production process in person. “It’s been really lovely to have people come through and watch their eyes go wide because most of them have never seen clothing being made before,” Gauthier says. “We use it every single day, yet we’re really disconnected from it.”

To further boost awareness about the company and its environmental conservation efforts, the brand produces films through a sister company, Ecologyst Films. The most recent one is Before They Fall, a story about the logging of old-growth forests in British Columbia. “The people that purchase from us are those that understand how to vote with their wallet and generally believe in doing whatever they can to protect the planet and conserve the environment,” Gauthier says.

Ecologyst Factory & Showroom, 2110 Store St., Victoria, 250-381-3178, ecologyst.com.