I can’t believe it’s been three years since I first heard about b green organic clothing.  I visited their green festival booth back in March of oh-nine and made a purchase right then and there: b green organic classic bikini-cut panties.  To this day, they’re still my favorite pair!

I recently wore my b greens during a workout (I’m using Running Mate – similar to Couch to 5K – to get myself back in shape) and was surprised at how well they held up: no bunching, wedgies, or weirdness.  If that doesn’t constitute a panty party…well, I’m having one anyway, so too bad.

While I love my lacy, mesh, frilly stuff, there’s something to be said about a pair of classic cotton panties.  b green carries lots of different styles, but they’re all cut to the same four forms: bikini, thong, brief and short:

• Organic Classic Bikini
• Organic String Bikini
• Organic Bikini with Lace
• Organic Boy Short
• Organic Hot Short (yowza!)
• Organic Hot Short with Lace
• Organic Hi-Cut Brief
• Organic Thong
• Organic Thong with Lace

Oh, and that’s the other theme: every pair of b green panties is made using 95% organic cotton.  Their absolute commitment to eco-friendly materials is as important to them now as it was when they began.  Consistency!  I love it.

Along with panties, b green also makes classic tees, menswear (including organic cotton boxers and briefs) and my current obsession, activewear.  I recently resolved that I would only buy green workout gear from now on (including the recycled Under Armour top we found at Nordstrom Rack last week) and am really excited that I have b green as an option for yoga pants and a hoodie – which I am sorely in need of.

Organic Athletica Hoodie

Organic Sports Cami and Organic Yoga Crop Pant

Speaking of active, have you recently started a new fitness routine?  I’d love an accountability buddy!

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Earlier this week I proclaimed my desire to go to Scotland to see Highland Cattle in their indigenous habitat.  Today I found Re-Dress, an Irish organization that utilizes education, cooperative practices and public events to encourage ethical fashion practices.  If I stumble across an ethical English designer tomorrow, that’s it, I give in, I’m flying to the British Isles.

(Dear Universe: I’d like to fly to the British Isles, please, so feel free to send an awesome designer my way.  Also, a free plane ticket.)

Re-dress was founded in 2008 by Rosie O’ Reilly, Kellie Dalton and Kate Nolan, three ladies that have a passion for their home country of Ireland and wanted to promote ethical, local fashion practices.  They created Re-dress to do just that.  Here’s their mission:

“Better Fashion is – aesthetically and creatively inspiring, environmental respectful acknowledging the limitations of our world’s resources & respectful of  the rights of the people manufacturing and creating garments globally.
Better Fashion is measured by its merits, not its profit margins and it starts with you.”

Since 2008, Re-dress has focused on consumer education and awareness through their public events, art installations, and their Better Fashion work: Better Fashion Week, Better Fashion Resources and Better Fashion Industry.  They even have a full list of fabric definitions!  My favorite of their consumer awareness projects, however, is their made in Ireland swing tag.

It’s simple, really: every single product with the made in Ireland swing tag is guaranteed to be made in Ireland. If you live in Ireland, choosing products with this swing tag means you’re buying locally, and guarantees that your purchase helps the Irish economy.  It also guarantees a type of quality and ethics not always found in fashion cooperatives:

“Successful applicants of the made in Ireland project are expected to commit to:

• Achieve best practice standards in their own fields.
• Aspire to provide the highest quality of design, finish, service & presentation in their products.
• Ensure the highest standard of accountability within their production facilities including the recognition and application of employment rights and labour standards.
• Apsire to increase their manufacturing and production capacity here in Ireland.”

The made in Ireland website lists its members – all Irish fashion and jewelry designers, of course – on its website.  Because I love eye candy (and I know you do too), here are some of my favorites:

eilis boyle

eilisboyle.com

Emma Manley

emmamanley.com

Heather Finn

heatherfinn.com

Lisa Shawgi

lisashawgi.com

Sinead Doyle

sineaddoyle.com

You can find the rest of the made in Ireland members here.

For those who don’t know, Livia Firth is an eco-fashion warrior champion badass who happens to be married to Mr. Darcy Colin Firth.

She first caught our eye when she announced her Green Carpet Challenge where she proclaimed that all her red carpet dresses for the year would be sustainable – and she did it! (Beautifully, no less.) When I heard that she was planning on debuting a line of sustainable dresses, I was more than impressed. I’m definitely please to see that her Green Carpet Challenge was a success! (I definitely get excited when I see a sustainable designer’s dress on the red carpet.)

She’s working with one of our favorite websites, Yooxygen, and Reclaim To Wear - an system that aids designers in using reclaimed fabrics, saved from the trash! Recently, she debuted a dress from her line, inspired by a vintage dress from her grandmother.

Gorgeous silver! Not into it? Well, it comes in five colors. Five. 

In case you’re still not impressed, her line is also charitable.

I love this dress in the dark brown!

Yep! – it benefits an organization in Livia’s native country, Italy, called Cooperativa Rinascere. All of this heartwarming stuff is making me start to wonder if Livia is trying to compensate for something. Maybe she’s an ex-assassin who is trying to seriously realign her karma. Maybe. She’s probably just a really nice person. And, yeah… probably not an assassin. (Damn.)

Here line definitely falls into the “eco-friendly luxury fashion” category, as the price is $832. Ouch. But, hey… It’s good fodder for my daily afternoon fantasy, aka the only place where I could actually afford this dress (and trust me – if I could, it would be on me right now).

What do you think of the dress? How would you style it?

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I am so ambivalent about ModCloth. I love that they introduce me to independent designers – they led me to today’s independent fashion designer, Kelly Lane – but hate that they change the name of every design they feature. Give me the designer’s vision for the piece, ModCloth. Words have power. Let the designers’ titles speak to me!

I did manage to find the real name of each of Kelly Lane’s designs, so I’m going to give you both until ModCloth gets it together.

Orbit Dress: $219.99

See what I mean? Kelly Lane calls this the Orbit Dress, and ModCloth calls it the Be Right Block Dress. That’s so “ho hum” to me, especially when I look at Kelly Lane’s background: she’s always had a “passion to create,” and the first sentence on her “about” page mentions both color and concept. Concept! That’s words, ModCloth!

(Do you think someone at ModCloth might see this and listen? I could be a dress-naming hero! Maybe there will be a parade.)

Still, the match between ModCloth’s vintage style and Kelly Lane’s patterns and themes is perfect. They’re meant to be together.

Aurora Dress (aka Living la Vida Local): $209.99 $146.99

“During childhood, my canvases were many: smooth, concrete basement floors in my parents’ new home, textured wall-paper in the hallways, etc.”

…can you imagine, as a child, painting on a cool basement floor? I don’t know whether that’s what she meant – she mentions wall paper, so likely not – but it makes me want to find every photo of a design-inspired concrete floor on Tumblr and save it in my “look at this in ten years when you’re thinking about kids” folder.

Meteor Skirt (aka What’s Your Tri-Angle): $94.99

Are you seeing Kelly Lane’s astronomical theme yet? Her 2011 Fall/Winter collection is inspired by the stars, “from the ruddy textures of a lunar landscape to the blinding center of a vibrant supernova.” It’s lovely to see a vintage style mixed with a starry palette…without it looking kitschy.

Shooting Star Dress (aka Daily Dose of Darling Dress): $189.99

…and, of course, everything is made ethically. All of the designs featured here are composed of hemp, organic cotton and/or tencel, and the tags are even made of recycled paper! All designs are crafted in New York, too, so there’s a really cool local element to her work, too.

Adromeda Dress (aka Composition Book): $189.99

This is, hands down, my favorite dress in the collection. The color-blocking and patterns are very post-holidays forgiving (ahem) but the cut skims the body in a sexy, bold way that I really adore. It would definitely be my “Stylish Party With Too Many Delicious Appetizers” dress.

Speaking of which, I have a hankering for a really good party with really good food. Maybe a clothing swap? (If you’re in Seattle, you’re invited!)

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Ugghhhh, I’m so tired.  Can you hear the whine in my voice?  That’s my tired whine.  It is distinct from my other whines.  (I bet your whines are distinct, too; you just haven’t noticed.)

I have this awesome 100% cotton, horizontally-striped maxi dress at home, but it’s too short and, after my holiday fun, probably a little too tight. But I really, really want to be wearing a 100% cotton, horizontally-striped maxi dress because horizontally-striped maxi dresses are surprisingly forgiving when it comes to sleepy, overfull or otherwise…messy…kinds of days.

This long sweater dress by Splendid is perfect.  It’s made using organic cotton and hemp, and it’s sweater-y, and it’s long long long…but it only comes in an extra small and a small.  Sigh.

I’m trying to think of something else that, in one fell swoop, could make me feel as comfortable as a horizontally-striped maxi dress.  Do you have an “I’m tired so shut up and let me pretend these are my pajamas” outfit?

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The end of the year is so dangerous for me. It’s especially dangerous this year: I’ve just resolved that I’d like to buy a house, which means “save save save”…which actually means “quit buying all the things on the internet.”

But mooooooom, LovingEco is having a saaaaaale.

LovingEco, an ethical sample sale website that we adore so much we partnered with them in September, is currently offering eight different brands at up to 90% off. Some of our favorites are likely to sell out fast.

 
I love sassy models.

I want to wear the Long Sleeve Lengthen Tee (priced at $32 – 57% off) to work on my off days. Haven’t slept? Wear an over-size (but slim-fit) tee and pretend you’re still in pajamas. Woke up with a headache? Curl up with your hands shoved into the sleeves and make your most pitiful face.

So basically I want to wear it every day.

I’d obviously pair my sleepytime shirt with these vegan ballerina flats by Kailia. Be still my heart! They were originally $119 – now only ten bucks!

The sale of this limited edition necklace by actress Maria Bello and her non-profit organization, We Advance, supports women in Haiti. Each piece is handcrafted from recycled materials, and gives you an “ethnic” look without forcing you to jump on the cultural appropriation train. At $32.95, this necklace is more than 50% off.

Vaute Couture (pronounced “vote” – think “haute” with a V) makes all of its products without the use of any animal products, byproducts or suffering. I love the shirt on the right – called “Friends, Not Entertainment” – and the script on the left is delicious. Both shirts are on sale for $28.80.

There’s a lot more LovingEco temptation to be had: PeaceBOMB bracelets, Blissoma skincare, Cityzen Green clothing, and Sword + Fern necklaces. It’s all just becoming too much for me. Time to remind myself of my goals by looking at pictures of my dream house…

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I ran across these adorable, organic silk shorts in a most unlikely place – an online sex shop (currently on sale for $24)! I couldn’t resist – they look so incredibly comfortable while remaining obviously luxurious. The brand, Violet Haze, is a sustainable brand that works with organic, sustainable and vintage fabrics. This just proves, once again, that you can’t judge a store by its specialty – there are gems everywhere!

eco

(Top Row, L-R) Henrietta Ludgate Striped Dress, $540; People Tree Plaid Dress, $156; From Somewhere Black Dress, $256; Goodone Sleeveless Dress, $290.
(Bottomw Row, L-R) People Tree Wrap Dress, $91; CANGIARI.me Grey Dress, $293; From Somewhere Blocked Dress, $315; From Somewhere Lace Sleeve Dress, $466.

What better way to start of an eco-friendly 2012 than in a sustainably produced, glamorous dress sipping organic wine on New Year’s Eve? Yep, every one of these dresses was sustainably produced from fibers like organic cotton, or from reclaimed and upcycled materials. Henrietta Ludgate sources and produces their garments locally (in the British Isles!), From Somewhere uses almost 100% recycled materials, and Cangiari.me used 100% organic cotton to create that super comfortable and adorable, grey dress you see above!

What will you be wearing this New Year’s Eve?

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Even more exciting than the price point is the variety and sheer number of color combos ZARA offers for these two tops. Here are some of our favorites:

Which do you like best?

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I was hunting for post-worthy recycled clothing options and found…this.

I mean, really. What the hell?

American Apparel, I don’t understand you. You’re into these weird softcore porn advertisements…and this.

How does this make me want to buy anything?

The only reason I ran across these shirts is because they’re made of vintage men’s button-ups. But really – really – are you going to buy that shirt? Really?

And if you are, why?!

I think this shirt (and the others) could be styled in a more sell-able way…but maybe that’s the point. American Apparel’s ads have never felt truly sell-able, to me at least. Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe this is some ironic trend thing that I just don’t understand.

eco