Live. Love. Laugh. Dream. Create. Celebrate. It's Independence Day and the Front Porch is calling at Alabama Chanin. This handmade American flag was quilted by their talented local artisans living in and around Florence, Alabama and showcases the positive side of US craftsmanship: high quality, organic & recycled materials, and grown-to-sewn locally...from farmer to fiber to artisan to home.
- Lesley Scott
The best environmentally-aware, green, cruelty-free, and karma-correct fashion and beauty blog posts of the week - brought to you by Green Chic: an exclusive (invite-only) group of the hottest fashion and beauty blogs. Who knew it was so easy to be stylishly eco?
the ultimate in eco "fashion"...Agyness Deyn in her birthday suit [Refinery29 Pipeline]
Alex & Chloe campaign for human rights [Ethical Style]
trends in eco handbags [stylelist]Leanne Marshall for Bluefly [FabSugar]
do your hair & the earth a favor with dry shampoo [College Fashion]
eco designers embrace full figures [Eco Salon]
a Libertas earth-friendly trunk show [fashion fille]
eco-fabulous bags from Chile [Quinta Trends]
Bond No.9 gets the green bug [RedPoppy Fashion]
10 reasons to swap your clothes [Posh Swaps]
hot shoes that happen to be vegan [Fashiontribes]
win an eco-chic chair from IQMatics [Factio Magazine]
eco designers on the rise [Runway to Retail]
an eco-fab giveaway featuring BeadforLife [Looking Sharp!]
Phillip Lim goes green [Fashion Pulse Daily]
Read the whole thing "GREEN CHIC: the Week's Best Eco-Fabulous, Cruelty-Free Links" »
As a way to promote the recycling of second-hand clothing into something new and eco-chic, Oxfam recently launched Oxfam DIY - a new online fashion resource designed to encourage remaking what's old into something up-to-date and fabulous. To celebrate, star British stylist Mrs Jones (aka Fee Doran who has styled The Killers and put Kylie into that white-hooded catsuit for "Can't Get You Out of My Head") styled a photoshoot made up of looks created entirely using garments from Oxfam's recycling facility, Wastesaver.
And now they've teamed up again on a unique fashion design competition. Create a customized garment from old clothing or recycled materials, and upload a pic of you or a friend in it to the Flickr stream Flickr.com/groups/OxfamDIY (but hurry, entries close July 15th at Oxfam.org.uk/DIY). The top five shortlisted designs chosen by Mrs Jones will be featured on the Oxfam DIY site, and the lucky winner will have a one-of-a-kind item designed for them by Mrs Jones.
Read the whole thing "Show Off Your Design Talent in the Oxfam DIY Fashion Contest" »
Noticing a decided lack of anything remotely sexy in the way of vegan shoes, Rebecca Mink - a lifelong animal and earth activist - created her own: glamorous, towering luxury kicks made from sustainable, non-animal resources including rubber, wood, cork, and organic fabrics. When she first showed up in Italy almost 10 years ago, sketches in hand, 16 factories showed her the door, refusing to consider manufacturing such an unprecedented product. Luckily Marco Gambassi, whose family has crafted shoes for generations, viewed her project as a creative challenge. And thanks to Italian engineering, when Mink shoes were machine-tested for durability, they outlasted their conventional counterparts, proving that non-leather is a viable footwear option for green fashionistas. These "Vulture" cork wedges with delicate double ankle straps (as seen here in Lucky April 2009) could possibly be the perfect summer heel. Available by special order only - email info@minkshoes.com. Check out her entire line at MinkShoes.com.
- Lesley Scott
Read the whole thing "Totally Hot Shoes by Mink that Happen to be Vegan" »
Green Chic is a new weekly roundup of the best environmentally-aware, green, cruelty-free, and karmically-correct fashion and beauty blog posts...brought to you by an exclusive (invite-only) group of the hottest fashion and beauty blogs. Who knew it was so easy it is to be stylishly eco?
the best green fashion mags [Looking Sharp!]
yummy, paraben-free sugar and acai body scrub [FabSugar]
sandals that are cool, comfy & eco [The Fashionable Housewife]
recycle your unwanted gold this summer for shopping credits [Ethical Style]
hemp, soy, organic cotton & Chicago's first eco-boutique [Factio Magazine]
shop here for guaranteed eco-everything good time [fashion fille]
leggings as good for your legs as the environment [Fashion Pulse Daily]
bags, newspapers & even eggshells get a chic new life [Fashiontribes]
colorful, fabulous fashion made from vintage African kangas [Runway to Retail]
10 fashion tips that never go out of style [College Fashion]
choice vintage finds from Madewell & Brooklyn Flea [Refinery 29 Pipeline]
sexy summer hair sans karma [My Beauty Bunny]
plus-size fashionista Emme proves chic isn't just a 1-digit number [Stylelist]
gorgeous vintage alert: Issey Miyake [Zuburbia]
Read the whole thing "GREEN CHIC: the Best Eco-Fabulous & Cruelty-Free Links of the Week" »
Slacker environmentalist Josh Dorfman goes beyond earth tones and shapeless hemp with a celebrity stylist in an attempt to unearth some eco-chic fashion that exceeds the criteria: if it's wack, it has to go back. To check out the promo, CLICK HERE.
See if they end up dressing in corn...or actual fashion on The Lazy Environmentalist, Tuesday, June 23 at 9 pm on the Sundance Channel.
- Lesley Scott
Thanks to endless fashion magazines, countless style blogs, and a zillion reality shows on the topic - everyone's suddenly a fashion expert...which is enough to make any fashion expert contemplate other pursuits. Before it comes to that, simplify! Mal Sirrah recently curated the "One-Dress" project, a collaboration with over 1000 women from across the globe, all social-media'ing via Facebook, MySpace, aSmallWorld, and Twitter to share info about their lifestyles, dreams, and desires as they relate to dresses. Sharing their likes and dislikes in fabrics, colors, necklines, and silhouettes, a single, universal dress was conceived. Made from 100% silk knit jersey and available in four colors, it can be draped and wrapped as many ways as you can imagine; best of all, a portion of the proceeds benefit WOMANKIND Worldwide, a charity devoted to helping impoverished women improve their lives and lift their families and communities out of poverty.
Interestingly, this single-dress idea is picking up supporters as a way to make a stylish statement against rampant consumerism and mass-marketed McTaste. For her Uniform Project, Sheena Matheiken is wearing the same Eliza Starbuck dress every day for a year as an exercise in sustainable fashion inspired by her Catholic School Uniform-clad childhood:
Morissette and Woody Harrelson are both investors & spokespeople for Reco Jeans, a premiere line of super-soft denim made with the highest percentage of recycled denim fibers in the industry (much so-called "recycled" denim actually has only 1-3% recycled fibers) and produced with almost 60% less factory waste. However, it's the hip cuts and savvy styles that are winning friends and influencing people. Available starting mid July; first pre-orders start on June 21st and come with extra goodies, such as the signature reco denim iPod case. Available at RecoJeans.com.
- Lesley Scott
Read the whole thing "Alanis Morissette's Premium Reco Chic, Recycled Denim" »
...I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like...especially if it's designed by Rowley as a way to promote a more eco-fabulous means of tooling around town. Her new limited edition vintage chic beachcombers will be unveiled at the Bicycle for a Day/everyday Fundraiser hosted by the founder, actor Matthew Modine at the Solar ONE building in NYC on Thursday, June 4. For more info on the event, hop on your bike and ride on over to BicycleForADay.com.
- Lesley Scott
Read the whole thing "I Want to Ride my Bicycle...My Cynthia Rowley Bicycle" »
Used bullet casings typically get recycled right back onto the streets or battlefields - a violent cycle that Bullets 4 Peace is helping to end by transforming them into eyecatching pendants which promote peace and compassion. Variously featuring silver, gold, and crystal detailing, each piece raises awareness of a different charitable organization, including Raising Malawi (Madonna's charity dedicated ending the poverty and hardship faced by the country's 2 million orphans), Safe Passage (extreme life makeovers for abused women and their children), and The Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Foundation (helping Tibetan refugees and Tibetans in need). Celeb fans of Bullets 4 Peace include Jessica Biel, Eva Longoria, Kanye West, JT, and Quincy Jones. Available at Bullets4Peace.com.
- Lesley Scott
Read the whole thing "Bullets Refashioned into Fab Fashion Jewelry" »
