Eco Fashionista: 'Good Will' Hunting

Fashion uses more water than any industry other than agriculture. At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. Dyes run off and contaminate water supplies. Who knew women would actually kill for an outfit??
So what are we supposed to do, just wear all white? Besides seemingly a bit cult-ish, I don’t necessarily have a problem with it. Actually, we as a human race would probably benefit from it. But until we decide to conform, we still dedicate most of our lives to being unique. AND now we can still do that through our wardrobes without feeling guilty.
Now there are limitless possibilities of eco fashion. The craftsmanship that goes into the work has resulted in a new form of high-end design.
EarthPledge has teamed up with Barneys New York to create one-of-a-kind designer pieces, and designers lined up to be a part of it. Calvin Kline, Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney, Yves St Laurent, Jil Sander, Marni, and Behnaz Sarafpour for a start.
Earth Pledge partners with business, communities and government to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices. And ladies, I couldn’t be happier! The fashion industry has been considered hypocritical by the green community for favoring artistry over sustainability and for the fact that they haven’t exactly raced to embrace green design. Even if its only limited edition, or seasonal pieces, at least it’s a start.
Barneys turned organic fashion from granola chic to haute couture through the venture with EarthPledge. So next time you go to Barneys, remember, if you’re going to spend a bundle on designer wear, go to the green section and now you can do it knowing that you’re still doing your part by stimulating the economy and saving the environment one outfit at a time!

Check it out now: www.Earthpledge.org or www.barneys.com for more information

(Image: http://www.inhabitat.com)

Earth Mama

Mother's Day is coming up this weekend and I am sure many of you are still figuring out what to get her! What a perfect time to send your mama a eco-friendly gift that she'll treasure. There's still time to shop online, so get clicking!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Organic Bouquet and purchase some VeriFlora verified flowers or plants (search in the search box and you'll see my original post about how important it is to purchase flowers that have been grown and produced in socially and environmentally healthy ways!) I love the " Sweet & Lovely" bouquet. http://www.organicbouquet.com/

Kaiahouse.com has tons of great picks, but check out the amazingly scented Red Flower candles or treat her to a sampling of 6 Red Flower candles for $60. http://www.kaiahouse.com/

Gaiam stocks a beautiful organic cotton jersey knit bathroom in vintage paisley that looks deliciously soft and cozy. http://www.gaiam.com/

I will continue to get ideas up all week long. I'd love to hear your suggestions!








(Images: organicbouquet.com, kaiahouse.com, gaiam.com)

I Heart Tom's Shoes

I've been wanting to write a post on Tom's Shoes for ages, finally he's done something not only socially responsible but eco friendly too! Ya Tom's Shoes!

Blake Mycoskie, Tom's Shoe founder has been making shoes since March 2006. He's philosophy is this: Sell shoes, give shoes. He sells his shoes for roughly $40 bucks then donates a pair to a child who needs it all around the world. He was inspired while travelling and picked up the idea in Argentina by copying the shoes he saw kids wearing. He added rubber soles and some spiffy colors and patterns and bam! Great shoes with a soul.

Blake has now taken it to the next level by creating a shoe made with hemp. And to quote my post on the benefits of hemp:

Hemp also has huge environmental benefits as well. Because the plant is resistant to insects they require no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers. This helps reduce the runoff of chemicals into our waterways and into the soil. And unlike conventionally grown (non-organic) cotton, hemp does not deplete the soil of rich nutrients. Just to make this point hit home, ½ of all agricultural chemicals sprayed in this country are on conventionally grown cotton. Enough said.

These shoe make great gifts and they also make adorable kids versions, hemp or not, I love Tom's Shoes! Check out this great picture of Blake with the kids who inspire him (I have to admit I might have a little crush on Blake)

Visit: http://www.tomsshoes.com/

(Image: tomsshoes.com)

Earth Day 22 #7: I see London, I see France...

I see London, I see France, I see your eco-underpants! That’s not the way it was shouted across the playground in grade school, but maybe the next generation will only be wearing eco-underwear. It can happen, can’t it?

Who wouldn’t want the cleanest, most natural and earth friendly fabrics touching their most intimate places. Avoid pesticide and chemical laden cottons, satins and silks by buying eco-friendly undies. They are popping up all over, but this website has some great choices for the fashion minded as well.

Here’s a great resource for all of your underwear needs: www.figleaves.com,
look for GREEN LEAVES in the left side 'Category' colum, click that!
The Green Leaves section houses their green underwear collection for both men and women. Brand offerings include Eberjey, Ballet, Amoralie, Greenknickers, Elita and Chantelle. I have been eyeing the Chantelle beige and white set that looks so soft and lovely. The collections range in fabrics from bamboo, organic cotton to hemp. Oh la la

(Image of Underwear: imagecache2.allposters.com)
(Image of Logo: www.contentedbaby.com)

Daily Eco

Shop Eco-Friendly! Go to www.cocosshoppe.com, they are an eco-chic boutique. They are having a sale right now.Perks include free shipping always and labels like Covet & Loomstate. Get it while it's HOT!

Eco-Fashionista Debut

I couldn't be more excited to introduce my 'eco-fashionista' writer, Brett. She’ll be updating us on eco-friendly fashion here on Urban Branches. This the first of many posts from her. Please let us know if there’s something you hope she covers in her posts! Enjoy...xxLindsay
Remember when we were kids? Well, for me I am a child of the 80’s, but beside the odd pair of spandex and side ponytail photos, I don’t remember much of it. I remember a severe revival of 70’s in the 90’s. (So it seems like every few years there’s another 70’s revival, but bear with me) Mainly I think it was because I remember more of those years, but mainly it was because I never took off my 70’s inspired painted on flower jeans. Far from fashionable, I longed to be like my friend’s older siblings, who, on civil day (a day once a month where we private school, uniform wearing kids could wear anything we wanted to) would be clad in long hippie skirts, flowers in their hair and Birkenstocks. (Remember those!) Okay, so it was an all girl school, and I’m pretty sure most of those girls came out sometime in college. Seriously. But when my friends and I went shopping to dress like them all we could find were these scratchy, somewhat expensive hemp products in stores filled with clothes and souvenirs from India and Nepal with an incense stench so strong I couldn’t be in the shops long enough to try something on.
Now at the time, I didn’t know what hemp was. I couldn’t equate it to being the organic byproduct of a plant that these clothes were made from that made these so called hippies vie for these eco friendly products. I certainly couldn’t grasp the fact that it was from a Marijuana plant. You can smoke it? Ah to be young and naïve.
But over the last decade there has been a major shift in eco friendly clothes, not only for those who make them, but for those who wear them. No longer are they, dare I say it, ugly. No longer are they uncomfortable. And no longer are they worn or made by those that still wish they were living back in the 70’s. The sentiment of eco-friendly clothing has changed in the mind as well as we all move forwards environmentally to help stall the ever changing climate due to global warming.
So what am I talking about, you say? There are a few lines that I absolutely adore that are eco-friendly. (And when I say this, I mean all components that are used to make the product are grown organically and are all natural, fair-trade products.) And each week I’ll showcase some outfit/product fit for the budding fashionistas!
Today:
I start with men! RawGanicque is an organic hemp company started by two guys in England. Their Mantra:
“We believe in quality, not fads. That is why the organic products we offer will never go out of style: we design our products to be practical, good-looking, and eco-friendly. Eco-friendly means certified organic, sweatshop-free, and without harsh chemicals and heavy metals. Whenever we design a new product, we go back to how it would have been made 100 or 200 years ago, when chemicals weren't the norms of production. With this in mind, we try to replicate heritage traditions as much as possible, resulting in a purer, more sustainable products that people can feel safe using in their homes.”
Their women’s wear, not so hot, but these suits for men make a girl’s heart go pitter patter! So check them out: Rawganique.com (you can copy the link into your browswer)
http://www.rawganique.com/Dept-Mens/organic-hemp-dress-jackets.htm

Bamboo-zeled

What’s sustainable, grows extremely fast and is green all over? If you guessed bamboo you’re right!
Bamboo is a sustainable eco-friendly fabric choice that is making its way into the mainstream. Bamboo is often thought of as a tree, it’s actually grass and grows up to 75 feet in under 60 days! This makes it an extremely sustainable and renewable fabric choice. Bamboo does not require pesticides or herbicides naturally either making it an obvious choice for the earthy friendly seeking shopper.
Bamboo fabric is made by taking the pulp of the bamboo and separating it into thin fibers and then spinning it into yards, which is then woven into cloth. Pretty simple huh!
Bamboo is a wonderful cotton alternative, in my organic cotton post earlier we saw how destructive growing conventional (non-organic) cotton can be both on the environment and those farmers harvesting it.
It has becoming increasingly easy to buy bamboo products. A great way to start is buy purchasing bamboo towels. We’ve got some ourselves and adore them. Bamboo has excellent wicking capabilities, meaning it draws moisture away from the body (making it great for workout clothing too!). Up next for fabrics? Hemp… stay tuned
(Image: www.bamboorevolution.com)

Closet Goldmine

One really wonderful way to keep the green (in your wallet too!) going is to repair, alter and reuse things you already have. For example, when you're cleaning out your closet. While it's great to donate, sometimes rethinking a piece you used to love is just the ticket to getting the most out of it while saving some money and helping keep the item around just a little longer. Shoes are a big one for me; I fall in love with shoes and wear them to the death. I do though strongly believe that a shoemaker can work magic repairing most damage. Dresses and skirts can be taken in and let out giving them a whole new look. Wide leg jeans can be tailored to be skinny. The list goes on. Invest in what you've already invested in, find a good tailor, stick with them, they will deliver you a new wardrobe! Enjoy! (and if all else fails, donate!)
(Image: www.ritadubasdesign.com)

Fabric Inquiry: Organic Cotton

Organic Cotton: Why go organic?

Conventional (non organic) cotton growing involves the use of the following; chemical pesticides, chemical herbicides, chemical insecticides and chemical fertilizers. That's a lot of chemicals! Growing conventional cotton is one of the most environmentally harmful activities. Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically dependent crops, in fact 10% of all agricultural chemicals are used on cotton alone! Let me put it to you this way: to produce just 1 cotton T-shirt 1/3 pound of chemicals is used!! That's insane, right!

If that wasn't reason enough to seek out organic cotton here's a few more. Organic cotton farming uses compost as fertilizer, thus enriching the soil and naturally replenishing the soil fertility which helps build a more biologically diverse soil. Sounds like a win win to me.

This post stemmed from my search for linens to add to my wedding registry. My fiancé and I are trying very hard to keep our wedding as well as our registry as earth friendly as possible, and our sheets are no exception. I realized there's much more to sheets than color and pattern. In the coming weeks I will be sharing other alternative fabrics that can be used instead of the destructive chemically dependent cotton that seems most prevalent. Here's a list of companies that sell organic cotton sheets:
Target
Pottery Barn
Viva Terra
The Company Store
Bed, Bath & Beyond
The Natural Sleep Store
Gaiam
Next time you are buying a set of sheets, consider organic. Sleep happier and healthier. Also, check out www.nakedcotton.com for some organic cotton tees, or head to American Apparel and check out their organic cotton line. Enjoy and stay tuned, Bamboo as a fabric is next! (Image: historyforkids.org)