Green Cotton

What do Lauren Hutton, Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin, and Gossip Girl actress Tamara Feldman have in common? They all turned out to support eco-friendly fashion on the eve of New York’s Fashion Week. Fashion professionals, celebrities, and environmentalists alike united Thursday night to take a stand on the fashion front at the Be EcoChic campaign’s Global Launch Event.

Be EcoChic is an “earth friendly, fashion forward” initiative in partnership with the Sierra Club and created by innovative fashion luminaries and environmental leaders. What better way to showcase going green than with a New York fashion show? The event, held at the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life in the American Museum of Natural History, was hosted by Angela Lindvall, model, activist and co-star of Planet Green’s “AlterEco.”

Popular designers turned out fashion forward wares, all of which featured sustainable, low-impact or recycled materials. Leading names in mainstream fashion participated alongside leaders in eco-fashion, from Donna Karan (DKNY) to Rogan Gregory (Loomstate). There were plenty of celebrity walkers to please the crowd, including Lauren Hutton, Tamara Feldman, Dominique Swain and supermodel Alex Wek. Environmentalists got to be models, too, from Jayni Chase to Mary Richardson Kennedy.

“This campaign brings eco-lifestyle mainstream by raising awareness of how making small, meaningful changes can have a positive impact on the environment,” said host Lindvall. “To ‘be eco chic’ not only applies to your wardrobe but also to your state of mind.”

And for this campaign, being eco-chic means walking the talk: the campaign ensured the entire event was eco-friendly, offsetting its carbon emissions through donations to CarbonFund.org. No need to leave a big carbon footprint on the catwalk.

Lauren Hutton featured above photosource: Ecorazzi

Visit Be EcoChic, to learn more about the Global Launch Event. Learn about America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, at the Sierra Club .

For more pictures of the Be EcoChic fashion show, head to Organic Beauty View. To read more on the campaign, also visit The Fashion Spot.

Photosources: Top, ‘Be Eco Chic’ runway show, NY Fashion Week 2008 found at organicbeautyview.com Lauren Hutton, ecorazzi.com

Post By Erin Dale

Second World,  a non-profit fair trade organization in Lowell Mass is running a Fair Trade Festival, called the New England Culture Fest next Saturday September 6 from 2pm – 10pm. Come check it out!

As part of that festival, Second World is running a Fashionably Fair Runway Show. Featured designers include:

Nomad’s Hemp Wear is an eco-sustainable clothing company based out of British Columbia (BC) producing two eco-fashion collections a year, mostly for their own stores in BC.

Norden Art Company Ltd a company that grew out of a desire to provide an equitable wholesale relationship between independent artists in Nepal and international retailers. Designs are unique and colorful designs inspired by the latest trends, yet carefully crafted from hand woven fabric by artists in Nepal.

Princess Cornflower is an organic fibers clothing company specializing in classic, feminine appeal and vintage-inspired designs.

The Emancipation Network a clothing line that is made by fair trade with a purpose. The Emancipation Network empowers people whose lives have been shattered by slavery, or who are at extremely high risk of being trafficked. Their products are labeled Made By Survivors.

While I must say that none of these designers were featured at Eco-Collection in Las Vegas, they are definitely doing some interesting work. The common thread throughout all, is the fair trade component. As such, they are not necessarily using organic or sustainable fibers, but they do promote fair trade. Hemp Wear is eco-sustainable and so is Princess Cornflower however.

Second World aims to create long-term partnerships between consumers in the North American market and producers in developing regions.

WHAT: New England Culture Fest
WHERE: Lowell, MA (across From 172 Middle Street, Lowell, MA 01852)
WHEN: September 6 from 2pm to 10pm
FASHIONABLY FAIR RUNWAY SHOW: to start at 7:45pm sharp

A tremendous line up of very cool, artists and musicians will also be at the fest – from Samba Tremeterra to The Juanito Pascual Flamenco Quartet, La Tuza Mexican roots music, as well as interactive Salsa Lessons,the tribal rock and fire dancing of Incus, the ladies of Vadalna Tribal Dance Company and many other world class acts. All are ‘in honor of a more sustainable, vibrant, and unified world’ according to Second World.

Dear Readers,

I will be in Las Vegas for the next few days attending MAGIC’s Eco-Collection show as well as POOL. Stay tuned and I will bring you back some of the latest and greatest trends in eco-fashion!

Photosource above: Inhabitat.com

Kenneth Cole pumps at Dig N’ Swap
By Erin Dale

With fall fashion looks hitting stores now, it’s tempting to pop into the Gap, H&M or Anthropologie and supplement your current wardrobe, even create a whole new one. Sure, if you’re craving something new, you can go eco and buy something organic from a more sustainable store. But before you go hunting for brand new pieces, take a peek at Dig ‘N’ Swap.

Trading clothes with someone is an easy way to clean out your closet and give yourself a whole new look. But if you don’t have a trendy friend nearby who’d let you raid her wardrobe, Dig ‘N’ Swap makes life a little easier. First, you gotta dig: find things in your own closet that you’re ready to part with; then take digital photos of them and upload them to the Dig ‘N’ Swap website. Next, browse until you find something you love. The site is simple to navigate: you can search by keyword or click on the type of clothing or accessory you need. You can also click on the brands listed, from DKNY to Prada. Place a bid using one (or all) of the items you’d like to trade. Then, if your bid is accepted, voila! You’ve successfully swapped. Now you can feel great about scoring new fashions without negatively impacting the environment.

That’s the mission behind Dig ‘N’ Swap: to put less strain on natural resources “by allowing an item to go through several lives.” So what are you waiting for? Ready… set… swap!

A few highlights from my “digging”:

“Like new” Anne Taylor heels

Marc Jacobs pink winter coat

Vintage black Prada handbag

Kenneth Cole black leather rosebud heels featured top.

Growers of traditional, chemical dependent cotton would like us to believe that pesticide and fertilizer residue do not persist in the clothing we wear.  However, when gallons of chemicals are used on cotton plants – the oft-quoted ¾ pound of chemicals to grow enough cotton for one pair of jeans…not surprisingly some chemicals are absorbed by the cotton and then into our skin.

Is it possible to remove every trace of these toxic chemicals? And what effect do these chemicals have on our skin and bodies? While we know the answer the first question is yes, through the advent of certified organic cotton production and textile manufacturing, the latter remains to be answered. In the meantime, if you could eliminate harmful chemicals from any of the clothing you currently wear, which would you choose first?

Given the above information, I would have to choose intimates. Worn next to our most sensitive skin day and day out– bras, camisoles, underwear… well, they seem like a good place to start.

So here’s a round up of organic intimates: from the staples to the sublime

Faerie’s Dance carries plenty of well-priced basics. They have ethically sourced and manufactured hipsters, thongs, boyshorts and classic panties. Stock up on three-packs of bamboo/organic cotton panties here, plus a selection of bras and camisoles.

Rawganique’s is another good place to purchase basics. As well as panties, there are camisoles and a selection of bras like this lightweight gathered bra.  For guys, they carry hemp boxers, reportedly exceptionally soft and comfortable.

Ecoland’s soft bras and hipsters are undyed organic cotton, available in underwire and wireless styles. And for guys, Ecoland also offers men’s boxers and briefs.

Spirit of Nature, a UK based company, has a huge range, from basics, in bamboo and organic cotton, to silk, and even organic maternity and nursing bras.  They cater to men with boxer shorts too.

For something a little more special, Ciel make silk and cotton lingerie, like these lace-embellished boyshorts and matching cache coeur bra which are ethical with zero style sacrifice.

Ciel boyshorts featured above.

Enamore’s organic silk bras, panties, camisoles, and bridal lingerie are sure to cause a sensation!

The Oko Box has custom-made vintage style undies, made from deadstock vintage and new organic fabrics, like these darling paper bag waist bloomers.

And speaking of bags… Triumph created a bra for the Japanese market which converts into a shopping bag. The bra’s padding unfolds into the bag, which is hooked together by the underwire. The No! Shopping Bag Bra is actually quite pretty, but I’m not sure I grasp the concept… undressing in the grocery store? It’s really designed to highlight the 30 million plastic shopping bags thrown away in Japan annually.

I’m staying with my conventional reusable shopping bags, and hoping that someone special will treat me to something from Stella McCartney’s organic lingerie collection!

Photo top: Stella McCartney’s lingerie collection

Post by Brit