Feelgood Style

Who is king on stinging nettle fabric? Well, Brennels claims to be the only company in the Netherlands to grow stinging nettles on a large scale. Driving forces are sustainability, fabric and fashion.

What’s new is the digestion process to produce lighter and more delicate nettle fibers to spin into fine yarns. The company has around 70 hectares of agricultural farmland in the north of the country dedicated to production with three years of extensive research under their belt. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been following this series, not only have you learned about how to make Angelina’s top choice in fabric much greener, you also picked up on what to do to avoid looking gaudy or trashy in a sleek leather skirt or pair of leather pants.  But what if you just don’t think you can pull off that much leather the way Angelina can?

Good news!  Angelina has an answer to that one too.  In this photo, you’ll notice that Angelina is devoid of any leather, but she is utilizing one style trick that can easily be transferred to the leather look.  This is her at the Academy Awards, can you pinpoint her secret weapon?

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week I spoke with Jason and Jeff, co-founders of PACT, the most socially and environmentally responsible underwear company on earth, as far as I know. Not only do they use organic cotton, GOTS compliant dyes and otherwise uber-responsible manufacturing, they also donate 10% of sales to charities. This is utterly astounding in an industry where even a 10% profit margin is a miracle. But then, most apparel companies weren’t founded by Haas MBA’s.

Cradle To Cradle For Everything?

Jason and I got to talking about Cradle to Cradle, as it’s an interesting topic, and well, they’re already doing everything else, why not take it a step further? Do I hear a protest? You don’t want someone’s underwear recycled into your t-shirt? But it’s for the cause, man… OK, jokes aside, and even if it wasn’t underwear being discussed, but some other form-fitting cotton garment, Jason did the research. Because he cares that much. The thing is, 100% cotton gets baggy and saggy. So it’s more likely to be thrown out soon. If it happens to be owned by someone who’s passionate enough to find a place to deliver their used cotton underwear, it can be recycled. Jason explained that less than 1% of all cotton is currently recycled, and Jeff pointed out that even pure cotton sometimes contains dyes and chemicals that make it impossible to recycle.

Read the rest of this entry »

Designers may brace themselves with glee because recycled threads are coming to market!

German thread maker Amann, with the new Lifecycle Threads brand name, distributed press releases to the trade last August. Read the rest of this entry »

Linda shows off one of her gorgeous rings.

As Lucille told us in an earlier article, Clary Sage hosted a lovely trunk show with Linda Loudermilk’s collection taking up at least a quarter of the boutique. There were delicious hors d’ouvres, wine and plenty of competition to try on eco-couture. Linda has always been very experimental, and continues to push forward with the most cutting-edge eco textiles. Unusual raw materials like seaweed or milk are woven into clothing as gorgeous as any I’ve seen on the Paris runways.

Linda’s background as a sculptor ensures that the lines she creates within her garments are far more innovative than most. Clary Sage also has a great selection of Loudermilk jewelry, with variations on her famous faucet necklace, as well as some other great pieces. The faucet necklace is something she conceived to draw attention to the water crisis, and a portion of the proceeds go toward the UN’s “water is a human right” campaign. If you can’t make it to Clary Sage to pick one up, they’re also available online at inhabitat. Read the rest of this entry »

PHOTO BY PR PHOTOs (Angelina Jolie in sexy black leather mini dress at Inglorious Bastards premiere) If there is one fall/winter garment Angelina Jolie knows how to work, it’s leather. In fact, aside from her lips, it’s probably the most well-known feature on her body.  And there is no doubt that, for fall 2009, leather is in. Unfortunately, the material stirs up about as much controversy as some of the larger-than-life celebrities that wear it. If you’re vegan, an animal rights activist, or just plain socially-conscious, leather is a material you’ve learned to live without…until now. Eco-fashion has finally caught up to demand and there are now ethical options for leather and leather-like clothing and accessories. In this 3-part series, I’ll give you the scoop on:

1.where to find ethical leather options
2.how to avoid looking gaudy in leather (no chaps for this lady!)
3.the #1 hottest, must-have leather piece that will pull any look together

Let’s start with exploring more ethical sources for leather…

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always been thoroughly impressed with Bodkin. It’s one of those lines that I wish I could be the designer of (that would be a rather large boost to my ego) or at least own every single item they create. Even while perusing Bodkin’s website I get giddy with a slight bit of down right jealousy…wishing all the breathtaking garments were hanging in my wardrobe.

My eyes may have been too blinded by the incredibly unique clothing I was viewing on earlier visits to the site, or maybe my heart was pumping too much blood to my brain giving me a bit of a brain spasm, or, perhaps, I lost my breath and fainted-any of these are possible. But, on this visit, my eyes not only stared at the clothing, but what was written at the bottom of each picture. Words such as hand dyed with red onion and blessed by the Dalai Lama made me fall in love a bit more. Whether you care about eco-friendly clothing or not, wearing non-violent silk blessed by the Dalai Lama is gratifying and incredibly exciting. Read the rest of this entry »

Sandy Swan is the lead designer for Holy Cow. Her bio is an impressive design history that includes little boy’s apparel at OshKosh B’Gosh for six years. She recently created the kids collection in collaboration with Nordstrom stores. Read the rest of this entry »

The need to green up industry has never been more urgent. From rapid global warming to a disconcerting rise in a whole bevvy of nasty diseases, progress in technology and industry is trashing our little planet. In other words: it’s time to make some serious lifestyle changes, stat. In case you didn’t know (and I’ll admit – I had no idea until very recently), the textile industry is one of the most dangerous, most destructive, and most toxic industries in the world. The greater the demand for cheap, disposable fashion, the worse the situation becomes.

But don’t get glum, chum! Cleaning up your wardrobe doesn’t have to mean replacing your funky tops or flirty skirts with half a dozen beige t-shirts and drab, shapeless dresses. The proof – if you need it – can be found at Ecouterre, the new online magazine from Inhabitat founder Jill Farhrenbacher. Read the rest of this entry »

Super soft, cute and eco-friendly- I’d wear soyshorts. My daughter does and she loves them.

Uranus Apparel has created the newest thing in eco-undies…super cute and comfy panties, called soyshorts.

Why soyshorts? Because they are actually made from sustainable soy. Read the rest of this entry »