Sarah Slean is such a byproduct of Canada's arts clique, it would be easy to dislike her, or at least intensely envy her early success.

The theory only holds, though, until you consider the talent; and with six albums - including four major label releases - to her credit, the young Torontonian doesn't need pretentious hype to make herself known.

Then there's the successful acting career. And she paints. And did we mention her last release was accompanied by a collection of her poetry?

Gimmicks are no more necessary when it comes to marketing Slean.

And yet, at its heart, her new project - which she brings to Edmonton June 1 - is just that.

Dubbed the Recession-ista Tour, it sees the socially concious young songwriter wearing constumes made entirely from recycled clothing. She has also left her band behind in favour of a solo trip, to lower her environmental footprint.

"The only thing that can get us out of this environmental mess is also the very thing responsible for getting us into it in the first place: creativity, human ingenuity and ideas," Slean recently told media.

"This gives me tremendous hope. By using these occasionally overactive, troublesome brains of ours, we can rethink, reinvent and recast our old ideas into the sustainable lifestyles of the future. Here is my small nod to just that.

"I am only one person - an artist, hardly an activist - but I commit to cleaning up my tiny corner of the universe."

There's no real compromise involved, she told The Canadian Press.

"It's the cheapest dose of fashion you can find anywhere.

"You can get yourself a bag's worth of second-hand clothes and it's up to you what you can dream up out of it. And you don't need to go out and spend $200 on a stage dress."

Slean is a trained classical pianist first, pop star second. So she has a history of taking a personal interest in every level of the creative process, up to and including writing the orchestral string scores that flow behind her melodies.

Last year, she released her fourth studio album The Baroness, along with a collection of her poems and her paintings.

In case that hasn't kept her busy enough, Slean is also a music and philosophy student at the University of Toronto.

Slean's June show is at the Myer Horowitz Theatre, with tickets available from Ticketmaster.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.