A Story From My Closet #13 - Sarah Murray, The T-Shirt at the Heart of My Fashion Mission

Guest Article by Sarah Murray

This t-shirt might not be the most fashionable piece in my closet, but it speaks to the way I have engaged in fashion since I first started in the industry about 20 years ago.
In high school I started the Green Warriors Environmental Group and in 1990 we tie-died t-shirts as a fundraiser to adopt trees in the Amazon Rainforest. This eco-focus has informed my mission to promote, sell and teach local designers and has driven my fashion career from my time as a publicist, sales rep, and now program coordinator for Vancouver Community College's fashion program.

The desire for sustainability finds it's way into my non-working life too. I am writing a textbook, Love Marketing- how to market fashion for a life sustaining society, and fostering Flash&Soul, a fashion community dedicated to working towards a life-sustaining society; one that is respectful of nature, inclusive of all, and deeply connected to self.

I wore this t-shirt again in 2019 when I walked in solidarity across the Cambie bridge for the School Strike for Climate. In fact, I pull it out every Earth Day. It might show my age, but it also shows my ongoing dedication to our earth, my commitment to my fellow earthlings, and, when I add some big earrings, my love of fashion and all the ways I am working to make fashion an equitable, sustainable and regenerative industry.

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Sarah Murray is a publicist/sales rep, and now program coordinator for Vancouver Community College's fashion program. When she isn’t on campus, she is building community through various fashion projects.

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