Job Referral Program
Support local women. Promote circular textiles.
Work with us to sew a better story.
EcoEquitable's award-winning Sewing For Jobs Program has been equipping women with professional sewing skills for over 20 years. Our new pilot program, the Job Referral Program, seeks to provide local sewing opportunities to women who have graduated from our Sewing for Jobs program. Read more below about why this is important in the Ottawa community and for more information on how to get the process started!
As the average global garment worker is paid only 55% of what the standard living wage should be, ensuring that our students are empowered to negotiate fair prices for their work, skills, and creations is one of our top priorities. This pilot program not only provides paid sewing opportunities for our graduates, thus creating a path towards employment and financial independence after graduation, but it also allows them to build a network and independently manage projects that bring fulfillment.
Some examples of the work students have completed are:
- Tote bags for Lainey's Luck
- 50+ cellphone Sleeping Bags for Wild Awakenings, an Ottawa-based women's retreat service.
- 126 bedsheets for the Andrew Fleck Children's Society
- 25 tote bags for ELTOC
- Various alterations for community members including pants hemming, dress resizing
- Sewing an upcycled, custom quilted blanket out of t-shirts
Request a Project Today!
If you have any questions, please email us at director@ecoequitable.ca
Project Gallery
Lainey's Luck Tote Bags, by Almaz
"We just love the tote bags Almaz sewed for us at Lainey’s Luck! We wanted to have reuseable bags available for our customers but didn’t want to create more waste by buying new ones. We knew of EcoEquitable and their programs and so we enquired about buying some of their fabric and hiring a graduate to sew us some totes. We were partnered with lovely Almaz who did a beautiful job, and so quickly! They are impeccably sewn. Thank you Almaz and EcoEquitable!" -Sam and Jamil at Lainey’s Luck
Cell Phone Sleeping Bags for Wild Awakenings, by Lorayne, Fatima, and Angelle
"I chose to work with EcoEquitable because it is an organization and aligns so closely with my values but the experience ended up being so much more than that. Camp WILD is a summer camp style women's retreat focused on community and fun and part of the experience is to disconnect and tuck your phone away in a cell phone sleeping bag. It was a lot of fun to work with a group of women who were creating their first business order post graduation. Together they worked through all the steps to turn this dream into a reality. They designed the bags themselves and were excited to tell me that they learned some new sewing skills in the process! My favourite part was that by using fabric scraps every sleeping bag was unique and made with love intention by the eco equitable team. It was an honour to share these with the women of Camp WILD. Thank you Eco Equitable!" -Jenn, Wild Awakenings
126 Bed Sheets for Andrew Fleck Children's Services, by the Winter 2023 Advanced Class Students
"I contacted EcoEquitable with a possible partnership to make cot sheets for my childcare program. After some good conversations, I agreed to bring in one sheet for them to look at. Once they were viewed and an estimate was made for how many I would require, the Eco team figured out how much each would cost. I also reached out to other Program Coordinators within AFCS Agency to inquire if they too were interested in this partnership. In the end, two other sites also requested bed sheets to be made for them and 126 were made in total. We strongly believe in supporting local organizations and also to help people explore new career opportunities. The sheets completed met all our requirements and have been well used since then. We look forward to possible other ventures in the future." -Lynne, Andrew Fleck Children's Services
Tote Bags for ELTOC, by Almaz
Upcycled T-Shirt Quilt for a private client, by Sara