The Eco-Fashion Revolution

In a recent article by Brita Belli, E Magazine. Posted September 17, 2007, consumers are now considering who grew their cotton and who turned it into a wearable object. Less inclined with traditional activist ideals, designers are thinking more like architects creating products with design and textile. For example, Brooklyn designer Nina Valenti, who launched the sustainable line naturevsfuture in 2002, designs peieces that have a strong line, form and texture. Her clothing has severe pleats and soft gathers, military stiffness and feminine slits, the yin and yang of organic and technological forces. Her fabrics range from the expected organic cottons, wools, hemps and soys to fabrics made from recycled soda bottles. Another designer, fusing practicality with design is Carol young. Young's label, undesigned, is a study in wearable sustainable fashion that is decidedly modern in its ability to transcend season and move between office, bicycle, subway and sidewalk. There are skinny jeans layered with dotted, form-fitting dresses topped with demure shrugs. Bold pockets and soft hoodies and bubbled edges.

As Jill Danyelle,an eco-design blogger put its "Green fashion has definitely expanded outward from its 'hippie' connotations of the past," says Danyelle, who is also the fashion editor for inhabitat.com. "We have seen expansion all the way into high-end designer looks down to Wal-Mart. This is what I see as true growth. Yet the percentage of the marketplace is still so miniscule that I believe eco-friendly design in the fashion industry is far from established."

Read more onthis article here.

Littleearth fashionable purses

Littlearth products from the Littlearth family of brands are starting conversations all over the United States and all over the world. Based in Pittsburgh, Littleearth makes unique and trendsetting purses and belts by reusing and recycling materials that would otherwise be overlooked or thrown away.

Check out Littleearth purses and fashions at http://www.littleearh.com

Top Five list of Fall Fashion Trends

Eco-style diva Summer Rayne Oakes, one of the most widespoken glamorous most glamorous entomologist / environmental scientist on the planet gives us her list of top five fashion trends for this fall:

1. Organic cotton denim

Denims made from organic cotton are big this fall.


2. Sculptural feminine shapes
Slouchy pants and swinging cuts are in favor as are oversized sweaters but all sculptured to fit and flatter a women's body.

3. Vintage & local finds

Old belts and bags at your local vintage are back in vogue.

4. Affordability
More affordable fashions are to hit the market

5. Next wave: Fair trade & socially responsible fashions

Last but not the least, clothing manufactured in shops that observe fair trade & social responsibility abhoring child labor and other inhumane working conditions will be in vogue.

Read more on this article here.

Eco-news: Why green is the new black

Why green is the new black

Sep 13 2007

WE are all being urged to do our bit to save the world these days - whether it's turning off the TV standby or opting for Fairtrade produce.

There has never been more ways to ease your consumer conscience, and fashion is no exception.

The eco-clothing market is booming and suddenly not only is green fashion worthy it's also desirable. Karen Hambridge reports.

WHILE everyone loves a bargain and throwaway fashion is the bread and butter of the high street there's a growing group of shoppers who are aspiring to more ethical ideals.

As consumers seek to spend their "green pounds" the style savvy are increasingly turning to eco-fashion.


Buying organic, eco-friendly and Fairtrade clothing is no longer the preserve of the new-age brigade.

High street store New Look has enrolled TV presenter Fearne Cotton to front an organic campaign and this month Estethica - a space dedicated to eco-sustainable high fashion - celebrates its first anniversary at London Fashion Week.

"Because more and more of us are asking questions - and demanding answers - the ethical clothing movement is gaining momentum," explains Tamsin Blanchard, author of new book Green is the New Black.

"Companies like Marks & Spencer are going full speed ahead to change the way they work, with the target of being carbon neutral by 2012.

"The rest of the British high street is racing to catch up."

One of the biggest changes is the transformation of eco-clothing from kaftans and baggy pants to funky T-shirts and sexy lingerie.

It's fashion people want to wear, not only because it's worthy but equally importantly because it looks good.

There are now eco-friend-ly lines which would give designer togs a run for their money and they are easier to find.

Many companies run successful internet shopping sites and more stores are stocking ethically sourced, Fairtrade and organic fashion.

One such store is Exclusive Roots at Hatton Country World, Warwick.

A retail offshoot of the Tabeisa project the shop offers womenswear, childrenswear, home goods, jewellery, gifts and bags.

Tabeisa is a not-for-profit consortium of four South African and two British higher education institutions including, Coventry University.

It supports trading opportunities for people in disadvantaged communities overseas and helps them start their own businesses.

Last year a Tabeisa backed international competition, Design4Life resulted in two dress designs being made up by workers within the Women in Progress co-operative in Ghana.

The two dresses, under the brand name Global Mamas, then went on sale in Topshop and singer Natalie Imbrughlia was spotted wearing one.


Jane Conlon, chief executive of Tabeisa, seconded from Coventry University, said at last eco-fashion was appealing, not just on moral grounds but because it was attractive.

"I think for a long time Fairtrade had this dusty 'back-of-the-church' image but now goods are very well designed and people want them because they look good."

The shop, Tabeisa's pilot store in Europe, has been open for almost three months and has already attracted a following.

In the longer term she said they hoped to expand the business and develop more outlets.

Jane said: "Exclusive Roots is our trading arm so now we are not only supporting disadvantaged communities in Africa to set up businesses but also helping them to sell their products.

"So we have a lot of organic goods, recycled goods and the Design4Life dresses.

"We have bags which are made from recycled magazines and water packets and jewellery made by women in Kenya."

She added more and more consumers were keen to ensure their hard-earned money not only bought them something nice but offered a better quality of life to its producers.

"People are becoming a lot more aware and are asking where the goods they buy are made and under what conditions.

"I think that can only be a positive thing.

"It can be difficult to enjoy something if you know there has been suffering involved in making it."

Article published at Coventry Telegraph, U.K

Fashionable & Eco-Friendly Clothes

Eco-friendly clothing is now deemed not only fashionable but also a luxury according to Barbara Cavanaugh, Managing Director of Under The Canopy, a Boca Raton company that designs organic items for the home and for your closet. Their new fashion line includes certified organic t-shirts, linen jeans and silk dresses all made from organic cotton.

Under The Canopy, in business in Boca Raton for over a decade, is part of a growing trend towards organic fibers. As more and more shoppers embrace the "going green" trend, Nationwide sales of organic cotton have nearly tripled since 2003.

Large retailers such as Perry Ellis International have also recently launched an eco-friendly line of outdoor wear. Stores from Macys to Zara also sell organic clothes and items for the home too.

WHY YOU SHOULD GO ORGANIC

Not so long ago, eco-clothing was synonymous with hippies and hemp, but those who still believe that yarn are in for a stylish shock - because eco-clothing has never been more fashionable. Well-known designers are getting in on the eco act and some even managed to secure themselves a spot at the prestigious London Fashion Week this month.

Unconvinced about going green on the fashion front?

The Soil Association in the UK gives these reasons for cottoning on to organic clothing:

• Non-organic cotton farming uses one quarter of the world's pesticides - causing damage to the environment, sinking farmers into debt, causing illness and even death, they claim.

• Organic cotton farmers in developing countries report higher incomes plus using viable alternatives to chemicals protects their health.

• GM cotton is grown commercially in many countries so choosing organic cotton is the best way to avoid buying GM cotton.

• You'll avoid hazardous chemicals - over 8,000 chemicals can be used to turn cotton into a T-shirt or duvet cover.

• Stylish organic clothing and household textiles are now widely available so there's no longer a compromise between style and organic integrity.