5 Indigenous Makers On What Sustainability Means To Them

Tania Larsson, jewellery designer

Yellowknife; Gwich’in

“My mom and grandma always used the best materials available when sewing parkas and moccasins. It wasn’t because they were wealthy—actually the opposite—but that’s how we do it up North. The parka hoods have fur, the moccasins are made out of moose and caribou hides—they’re durable. That’s what inspired me when I started making my own jewellery.

I work on jewellery for my eponymous brand, Tania Larsson, by tanning a hide first. For me, caribou and moose hide is the canvas of our culture. Without it, I can’t make art. What I produce is really based on how much material I have from my network of hunters or what was gathered from the land that year. I don’t have people hunting for me; rather, hunters bring me what they have. It’s important to build relationships with Elders, who can teach you about the land and how to use what you have.

The pillar of my practice is that I don’t see myself as above the land or above the animals: I know that our well-being depends on each other. It’s a beautiful thing to know that if you’re respectful, you can count on the land and on the animals. I see the animals whose hides I work on as spiritual beings, instead of empty things.”

Andréanne Mulaire Dandeneau, fashion designer and founder of Anne Mulaire

Winnipeg; Métis (Anishinaabe/French)

“When I started my slow fashion business, Anne Mulaire, in 2005, I knew I would be creating waste. I try to take accountability for what we make at every step of the process. Just last spring, we began partnering with the University of Manitoba to test our materials—organic cotton, bamboo, Tencel—for biodegradability and compostability. With that information, we will be able to pick fabrics that are better for the planet moving forward.

In 2021, we launched Return to Nature, our sustainability initiative, where we turned six things we’d been doing for a long time into fully fledged programs. For example, I’ve always fixed small holes in my pieces for my customers; this is now known as the Refresh program. We encourage customers to close the fashion loop by swapping out their worn items in exchange for store credit, and we lead upcycling and textile recycling efforts in our community. We’ve recently started collaborating with other brands to help mitigate their textile waste. I also restructured our sizing chart to include sizes up to 6X, because I believe that sustainability should be as inclusive as possible.

I hope this shows designers and labels big and small that they too can create their own circular ecosystems. As a brand, we educate people on how to transition to slow fashion—I’ve witnessed thousands of friends and customers make that change. What continues to drive me is finding smarter material solutions and building innovative manufacturing systems that are both healthier for people and the planet.”

Patrice Mousseau, founder of Satya Organic

North Vancouver; Anishinaabe from Fort William First Nation

“I made the first-ever Satya Organic product in a Crock-Pot I bought off Facebook Marketplace for $15 to soothe my baby daughter’s eczema. I eventually came up with a balm that cleared her skin in just two days. I never intended to go into business. At first, it was all about helping my daughter with her skin issues; now, it’s about being a role model for her. I was inspired along the way by other women-owned businesses that were doing it differently, successfully and with intention.

I always want to make the best decisions for my brand, regardless of what’s cheaper or easier—that includes sustainable practices, which I’ve implemented from the start, such as refillable products.

We work with Great Bear Rainforest, an Indigenous organization based on the West Coast, to offset our carbon emissions. We also work with The Plastic Bank, an ethical organization that works to reduce both ocean plastic and poverty, to offset our plastic use.

Our team’s structure is not hierarchical: We’re all equals, and everyone’s ideas are valued. My business philosophy draws from the Indigenous perspectives of community care, as well as respect for people and the environment.”

Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty

St. Catharines, Ont.; Anishinaabe from Northwest Angle #33 First Nation

“It was important for me to create a sustainable beauty brand. Let’s face it: There’s a lot of junk in the world, and we don’t need more. Greenwashing is a big problem in the beauty industry, and the word “sustainability” gets tossed around a lot.

Everything we get to do at Cheekbone Beauty feels good. In the early days, it was about representing Indigenous people in our community. After our first year in business, we started to see the negative impacts of excess packaging and mass production and began to focus on sustainable practices. That led us to package our lipsticks in paper tubes, for example. In line with my Anishinaabe roots, we blend Western science with Indigenous wisdoms to create our products. Ultimately, it’s about doing our part to preserve resources and care for the environment.

We recently became B Corp-certified, and it’s something I’m so proud of. It means our operations and entire supply chain have been vetted to the highest standard for their social and environmental performance. It was a massive challenge—it took our team more than 1,000 hours to make it happen.

Our goal is to keep growing and have even less of an impact on the planet as we do so. It’s not just about the operations, but also about business practices and how our employees are treated.

I believe in transparency. We’ve created a sustainability report, which will be made public in April 2023. I can’t wait for our community to see the changes we’ve made over the past two years and to share what’s next for us.”

Heather Bouchier, fashion and jewellery designer

Edmonton; Beardy's and Okemasis' Cree Nation

“When I danced Powwow as a kid, we couldn’t afford nice regalia—my mom and my aunt made it for me out of thrifted materials, even though they didn’t really know how to sew. It was about finding a way to create something nice out of what we had on hand. Having regalia that wasn’t as fancy as other kids’ made me want to learn how to sew.

I went to design school, and my mom encouraged me to start my own eponymous fashion business, Heather Bouchier Design, after I graduated, but it wasn’t until her death in 2011 that I decided to give it a shot to honour her. Sustainability wasn’t really taught in school, so I had to learn how to incorporate that into my work. I started shopping for my materials at thrift stores, so I could make one-of-a-kind, unique pieces. It’s how I ended up working in a more environmentally conscious way. My goal is to use only upcycled materials. It hasn’t always worked out, but I would love for all of my pieces eventually to be made from sustainable materials.

I incorporate my culture into my work. I learned to bead about seven years ago and I’ve since started using more traditional materials. I use horsehair a lot; it’s a material that is abundant and regrows. I’ve been gifted it by friends who own horses and I’ve learned how to dye it and treat it. It transcends tribal affiliations, and that’s why I lean toward it in my work.”