Valerie Parker in the Boston Globe! "A fashionable mix of green living and high style"

Fashion doesn't have to be all about looking good. It can be about feeling good.

Valerie K. Parker of Lowell, filmmaker, activist, and social entrepreneur, says she fervently believes that stylish clothes that are also manufactured under safe conditions by people who receive a living wage make for the most beautiful attire.

She aims to prove it with a "Fashionably Fair Runway Show" at the fifth annual New England Culture Fest, Sept. 6 in Lowell, a multifaceted event celebrating world culture and fair trade.

Sponsored by Second World - a Lowell-based, nonprofit arts and "edutainment" organization founded by Parker - the festival aims to bring global culture to the cobblestone streets of the former mill town of Lowell. It's an appropriate location: "This is the birthplace of a lot of the rights that you and I have," Parker said.

The fashion show will feature styles from companies that use fair-trade practices or make clothes from organic or renewable resources, like bamboo, Parker said. Models will also show off modified vintage clothing; "recycled clothing" can be another aspect of green fashion, according to Parker.

The show aims to prove that ethical clothing can be sassy and sexy - this is not your mother's old hippie garb. High style and political sensibility can go hand-in-hand, Parker said.

"People want stuff on their body that has got good history to it," she said. "Clothing is the next frontier for ethical business. It happened with coffee. It happens with certain commodities, like sugar. Now it's happening with fashion."

Models will show off labels like Amity Joy, Princess Cornflower, Nomads UK, and Made by Survivors from the Emancipation Network, with jewelry and accessories from Second World and other companies.

The fashion show comes near the end of a day of music, food, and crafts, designed to make global connections through art. D. Scott and the Family will perform female hip-hip and soul; System Noise brings alternative New York rock; and Incus will heat up the stage with tribal rock. There will be West African dance by the Black Bear Moon Ensemble, belly dancing by the Vadalna Tribal Dance Company, and flamenco by the Juanito Pascual Flamenco Quartet. The 15-piece Brazilian dance drum group, Samba Tremeterra, will provide the sound for the Fashionably Fair Runway Show starting at about 9 p.m.

Additionally about 70 exhibitors will showcase fair-trade or "green" products, such as handbags, clothes, and jewelry. Visitors will be able to buy ethnic food and sample fair-trade coffee and chocolate.

"Even our restrooms are green at this event," Parker said.

The fashions displayed on the runway will be auctioned during the event or later on Second World's website.

The 30-year-old Parker said she has been interested in creating connections among cultures since attending Emerson College and working as a disc jockey on the college radio station. Her interests in reggae and filmmaking led her to Jamaica and study at the School for International Training in Kingston. Her travels to Egypt, Peru, and Nepal made her want to share her experiences and insights in ways other than filmmaking.

"I guess I had a big vision," she said. "I just need to go and to do this. I feel so connected with people around the world."

About six years ago, Parker came to Lowell, where family members live, and founded Second World as a way to "tell the stories of the world" while working to help those who need help. Second World, run as a volunteer organization, has projects in various parts of the world and imports goods for sale here. The annual Culture Fest is a fund-raising and education vehicle.

Parker's vision isn't just about the fair price for a crafts piece by an indigenous craftsperson.

"You're getting that item, but you're also getting their personal story," she said. "That's what's special about our approach and how we look at fair trade. That's why we do all this media-music-and-art-for-a-better-world approach."

She also can be humorously blunt about her goals: "I am appealing to people's selfish need to feed their ego and look good and eat good food and also feel good in the end. Because when people help others, a lot of times it's for selfish need to feel better. I know that when people come to this event, they will feel better and they will be well fed, and you're not going to lose if you're going to see Brazilian carnival dancing all in one night."

Read the article on Boston.com