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President & Founder, The Shainhouse Group: The SustainabilityX® Magazine's Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024 Awardee
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“True innovation lies in creating sustainable solutions that not only drive profitability but also champion equity, diversity, and inclusion. By focusing on accessibility and sustainability in fashion, we can break barriers and make a lasting impact on both people and the planet.”- Pamela Shainhouse, President & Founder, The Shainhouse Group, Canada & The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards 2024 (#SustXGlobal50) Awardee
Pamela Shainhouse is a trailblazing entrepreneur, founder, and consultant with over 35 years of experience in the fields of fashion sustainability, accessibility, inclusion, diversity, and equity consulting. As the President of Allistyle Inc., a groundbreaking Canadian fashion brand, Pamela revolutionized the industry by designing sustainable, size-inclusive clothing that catered to women from sizes XS to 3X. Her brand made history in October 2012 when it became the first size-diverse fashion line to grace the runway at Toronto Fashion Week, marking a significant milestone for body positivity and inclusive fashion. Pamela’s influence has extended well beyond fashion design; her extensive consulting work has guided numerous companies in implementing accessibility and equity-focused policies, earning her multiple awards for her contributions.
Pamela’s boldness is also deeply personal. The loss of her daughter Alli to cancer was a pivotal moment in her life, but rather than succumbing to grief, she transformed it into action. She founded Alli's Journey, a charity in her daughter’s honour, dedicated to supporting young adults with cancer. Over the past 18 years, Alli's Journey has provided comfort and care to patients by offering thoughtfully prepared care packages for those beginning their treatment. “If I did not embrace boldness, I would have shrivelled up,” says Pamela, reflecting on her journey. She believes that courage is an essential component of boldness, helping individuals overcome even the most painful obstacles.
Pamela views bold leadership as essential for driving sustainability, particularly in the fashion industry, where innovative solutions are needed to address the environmental and social challenges. She has consistently championed the circular economy, ethical supply chains, and inclusive design, making her a visionary leader in the sector. Through her work, she demonstrates how bold, forward-thinking leadership can inspire industry-wide change and create a more sustainable, equitable future.
For Pamela, boldness is about taking risks and stepping out of one’s comfort zone. "The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering," she quotes Ben Okri, a reflection of her personal and professional philosophy. She emphasizes that sustainability requires courage, especially for women, who must often break through barriers in male-dominated industries. Pamela’s leadership in Allistyle and her work with companies around the world reflect this philosophy, as she pushes for sustainability and equity in every aspect of her career.
Looking ahead, Pamela envisions a future where women lead the movement toward sustainable fashion. She believes the path to gender equity and impactful leadership lies in fostering mentorship, promoting policies for equal representation, and investing in women-led sustainability initiatives. Pamela is a firm believer that addressing workplace inequalities and building supportive networks will empower the next generation of female leaders in sustainability.
Receiving the Global 50 Women in Sustainability Award™ holds deep personal and professional significance for Pamela. "Every award I receive is special to me, but there is a different feeling when I am recognized alongside fifty women from all over the world who excel in making sustainability a priority in their work," she says. This award, she believes, is not only an acknowledgment of her work but also an opportunity to amplify her mission of creating a sustainable future. It serves as an important addition to her business and advocacy, motivating her to continue her efforts to lead and inspire.
Pamela Shainhouse’s enduring commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and bold leadership is a testament to her resilience and determination. Through her work in fashion and her charity efforts, she continues to make a profound impact, advocating for a world where sustainability and equity are prioritized in every sector.
The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024
The SustainabilityX® Magazine proudly presents its third edition of the Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ for 2024. This annual recognition celebrates extraordinary female leaders who embrace boldness in their pursuit of groundbreaking sustainability initiatives, reshaping industries, and driving transformative change towards a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future.
This year also marks a broader strategic mission expansion for The SustainabilityX® Magazine, with a stronger focus on aligning with the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in addition to the original foundation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This evolutionary expansion reflects the magazine’s ongoing commitment to advancing women's leadership in sustainability while championing social equity, environmental stewardship, and inclusive growth.
“Empowering women to lead in sustainability is at the heart of our mission,” says Supriya Verma, founder of The SustainabilityX® Magazine and one of Corporate Knights' Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership and one of The Peak's Emerging Leaders. “These trailblazers are breaking barriers and redefining what sustainable leadership looks like—showing that it’s about more than policies and practices, but also about social justice, economic resilience, and a regenerative future.”
Rooted in the magazine's guiding pillars of environmental protection, economic prosperity, social inclusion, and ethical governance, The SustainabilityX® Magazine's Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ showcases women from all sectors, industries, and regions, igniting crucial conversations on the intersection of gender equality and sustainable development.
Amidst global challenges and uncertainties, this year’s awards highlight the critical role of women in steering the world towards a more resilient, equitable future. With a continued digital format, the awards amplify voices across borders, bridging the gap between global sustainability efforts and local impact.
As Verma states, “The future of sustainability hinges on bold, inclusive leadership, and these women exemplify the courage and vision needed to transform our world. The SustainabilityX® Magazine remains steadfast in our mission to celebrate and elevate those who are shaping a future where every voice counts and every effort contributes to a thriving, sustainable world.”
View the full list: The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards 2024
Read the full press release: The SustainabilityX® Magazine Announces 3rd Annual Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ Under the Theme "Embrace Boldness"
About The SustainabilityX® Magazine
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is an award-winning, digital, female-founded, and female-led non-profit initiative bringing the environment and economy together for a sustainable future through dialogue, and now transforming the environment and economy for a sustainable future through the power of women's leadership. Founded on May 8, 2016, and inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by Canada's Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership awardee, Supriya Verma, the digital media initiative focuses on approaching the world's most pressing challenges with a holistic, integrated, systems-based perspective as opposed to the traditional and ineffective siloed approach with a single lens on interdisciplinary topics like climate and energy. This initiative ultimately seeks to explore how to effectively bring the environment and economy together through intellectual, insightful dialogue and thought-provoking discussion amongst individuals across sectors taking an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to untangling the intricate web of sustainability while championing women's leadership in sustainability.
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is built upon the four foundational pillars of sustainability: Environmental Stewardship, which emphasizes the importance of improving environmental health; Economic Prosperity, which promotes sustainable economic growth that transcends traditional capitalist models; Social Inclusion, which focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for BIPOC, LGBTQ, and other marginalized or vulnerable communities; and Just Governance, which highlights responsible leadership, the equal application of the rule of law, and the creation of fair systems for all.
As we expand our mission to align with the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), we continue to explore the diverse and interconnected factors that influence sustainability. By recognizing how these elements interact across local, national, and international levels, we aim to accelerate progress toward sustainability goals. In essence, this aligns with The SustainabilityX® Magazine's vision of integrating environmental and economic progress for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future through thoughtful dialogue.
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