Toronto women leave corporate careers to drive sustainable fashion

Several Toronto women have moved from corporate roles into full-time work in sustainable fashion, including vintage retail, personal styling and content creation, and they emphasize curation, inclusion and longer-lasting clothing.

Several Toronto women have left corporate careers to work full-time in sustainable fashion, aiming to create more intentional, community-focused ways to shop and relate to clothing. The profiles cover owners, stylists and content creators who shifted careers over the past few years. Each describes a different approach: running a curated vintage shop, refreshing clients' existing wardrobes, or creating sustainability-focused fashion content. Their work highlights inclusion, repair and taking clothing out of landfill streams. Key points: - Rochelle Latinsky founded My Clementine Vintage in Little Portugal after years in publishing and digital strategy; she ran the business part-time for about a decade and moved to full-time after losing a teaching role in early 2025. The shop emphasizes size- and gender-inclusive vintage and treats curation, washing, mending and alterations as part of the customer experience. - Latinsky sources by upcycling from her own closet, accepting items from friends and family, and travelling to thrift stores; she notes this reduces landfill contributions even if it may not lower all transport-related emissions. Her brand appeared at the One of a Kind Show in December 2025. - Leah Gust left film and television work and shifted to personal styling full-time in 2024, focusing on making existing garments wearable and helping clients move beyond fashion ruts. She says thrifting has become more publicly accepted amid conversations about overproduction and industry pace. - Sara Camposarcone moved from marketing and merchandising into content creation after a popular TikTok in 2020 and describes herself as a "sustainable maximalist," combining vintage finds, upcycling, small ethical brands and wardrobe swaps in her approach. Summary: These career changes have contributed to a more curated and community-minded sustainable fashion scene in Toronto, with practitioners emphasizing repair, inclusion and meaningful garments. Several people profiled moved from side projects into full-time roles and public showcases, while broader future developments are undetermined at this time.