Au Natural(ista)
Date: December 23, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Men, Shoes, Women
Go au natural this winter with footwear built with care and respect all the way down to the sole. The Spanish company El Naturalista makes beautiful shoes with vegetable-tanned leather, using natural, found, and recycled materials. The company symbol, a frog, references a land made fertile by water. It embodies simple worldly pleasures, and, reflecting the company’s nonconformist character, represents their permanent fight against stagnation. (more…)
Wear your Mission
Date: November 11, 2008 | Category: Accessories, Bags, Children, Clothing, Fashion, Men, Shoes, Women, ecoMan
Mission Playground has a cool and comfortable clothing line for men, women and kids, as well as flip flops, belts and bags - made of sustainable materials.
The forest loving Air Freshener tee made of 100 percent organic cotton, available in white or brown, is an ecofab fave. It retails for $24. But if you are feeling extra generous, you might want to buy that special someone a Citizen’s Hoody for around sixty bucks.
Make it your mission to only invest in clothing that lasts long, looks good, and does good in the world!
Recruiting Buffalo Soldiers
Date: November 11, 2008 | Category: Accessories, Bags, Fashion, Intimates, Jewelry, Men, Shoes, Women
The most eco-friendly way to acquire new clothes is to buy them second-hand. But the words “thrift shop” don’t always conjure images of couture, and the idea of sifting though musty racks keeps many people away. But breathing new life into used items is a tenet of green living, which is why everyone seems to be excited that Buffalo Exchange, a hip clothing exchange shop with locations all over the country, is expanding into New York City.
Buffalo Exchange’s first store in Manhattan, at 332 E. 11th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue), will open in late November. A sustainable company that works to protect the environment by reusing and recycling clothing, it is a choosy shopper’s source for fashionable clothing and accessories. Items are bought, sold and traded directly with store customers, and used garments can be traded for any item in the store, including jewelry and brand-new clothing (beware of these un-eco items, though). The ever-changing inventory includes designer wear, vintage clothing, jeans, leather and one-of-a-kind items.
So march down to the East Village and trade in your old duds for some new (to you!) ones.
Cast a Vote for Mother Earth
Date: November 4, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Featured, Men, Women
It’s the 11th hour, but regardless of who you are actually casting a vote for (you have voted, though, right?), make your commitment to Mother Earth public by sporting this 100 percent organic cotton tee by Patagonia.
For only $30 and in styles for men and women (above), everyone dedicated to the environment can serve as a walking billboard, even if you aren’t old enough to actually walk into the polls.
Getting Sacked by Noon
Date: November 3, 2008 | Category: Bags, Fashion, Men, Women
Let your fashion statement shine a little (sun) light on the greater issue at hand – our society’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources.
Noon Solar provides portable power when you are on the go. On the outside of each bag is a paper thin solar panel that can supply power for your cell phone or iPod via a tiny battery pack inside the bag. In 6-8 hours the battery is fully charged and can store the energy for a few days.
With simply chic styles like the Cortland and Augusta, all of the bags are made from completely biodegradable materials – naturally tanned and vegetable dyed leathers are then lined with sustainably harvested and naturally dyed hemp and cotton. Actually, the fabrics are personally hand dyed by founders Jane Palmer and Marianne Fairbanks so no two bags are exactly the same.
At the end of the bag’s life, the solar panels and hardware can be removed for recycling or reuse and the rest of the materials can be safely returned to the earth.
If someone comments what a cool bag you have, you can respond that it is actually pretty hot.
Soleful Mission
Date: October 31, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Men, Shoes, Stores & Resources, Women
When in need of a quick pick-me-up, we often find ourselves indulging in retail therapy as a pastime. A genuinely rough day may call for a beeline straight to the shoe department. But all too often the pendulum immediately swings back and we are stung with shopper’s guilt (how can I possibly justify these? Even if they are eco-friendly?). Now you can offset your inner Carrie Bradshaw splurge by donating a pair of outdated shoes for every new pair you buy. (more…)
Patagonia Takes the Road Less Traveled
Date: October 28, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Men, Women
Patagonia has launched a line of jackets made entirely of recycled materials, which makes them green as the founder of the famously environmentally-forward outdoorsy line of clothing and accessories.
Made of 100 percent recycled polyester, these hip-length shells in styles for men and women (the women’s style is shown above) are waterproof enough to fend off rain and have a mesh liner that wicks moisture away from the body and protects against the wind. Both styles have removable hoods and lots of pockets for stashing all the stuff you’ll need on the trail or for a day out running errands in less than balmy weather.
The jackets are recyclable through the Common Threads Recycling Program and the company has created a link on its site that allows you to research the complete footprint of the item before you buy it, including the number of miles the item has traveled; its CO2 emissions; the amount of waste created in making it and energy used in its creation.
Let’s just hope more companies decide to take Patagonia’s pre-blazed path.
The City of Angels Earns Its Wings
Date: October 27, 2008 | Category: Accessories, Bags, Fashion, Intimates, Jewelry, Men, Shoes, Women
The red carpet got striped in green last weekend with the launch of Designers & Agents’ First Annual Green Market Event. Held from October 17th to 19th, D&A played host to more than a thousand leaders in sustainable fashion, design, lifestyle and community, including some of our fav designers, Form & Fauna, Edun, Stewart + Brown and Loomstate, and our friends over at Inhabitat who chatted up visitors in the “Green Room.” Co-hosted by contemporary furnishings guru, FordBrady, the trade show also marked the debut of Coco Eco Magazine by Anna Griffin.
Designers who wished to participate in the event had to demonstrate that at least 60 percent of their product line was made through sustainable practices. To offset the carbon footprint of those traveling from afar, a tree was planted in honor of each registered guest. Green Market Co-founders, Barbara Kramer and Ed Mandelbaum, hope the synergy created from bringing so much talent together under one living roof will inspire more fashion-forward businesses to grow from the root up.
Green Your Fashion Cents
Date: October 27, 2008 | Category: Accessories, Bags, Fashion, Featured, Men, Women
If you have a passion for eco-fashion, but you’re shorter on cash than a hemline, we’re here to tell you about some fantastic deals that will put the fashizzle back in your sizzle!
Just in time for winter, you can enjoy the inimitable designs of Stewart+Brown for up to 25 percent off their entire collection, including animal-friendly Mongolian cashmere. For organic basics, take a trip to Edun, where you can pick through virtual racks of cute jackets, tops and dresses, like the flirty black and white Requiem Dress (shown) plus men’s apparel, all reduced 25 to 30 percent. (more…)
Target Targets Green Teens
Date: October 21, 2008 | Category: Clothing, Fashion, Featured, Kids, Men, Women
Do your teens wear their hearts on their sleeves? Well, now they can wear their environmental convictions on their T-shirts. For less than $10, your kids can assert their beliefs in these 100% organic cotton vintage tees from Target.
So, what makes organic cotton better? Glad you asked. It takes approximately one-third of a pound of chemicals to yield enough cotton for one T-shirt! Given that this near-ubiquitous fiber clothes more than half the world, by eliminating dangerous pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers from the production process, going organic is not just healthier for your child, but better for the planet. Now that’s a fantastic fashion statement!
