Fairtrade at Equita

New to the Pittsburgh landscape is Equita, a shop located in Lawrencville dedicated to "essentials for ethical living." Pittsburgh has garnered national press for the prevelance of green, LEED certified buildings, and shops like Equita are demonstarting that all aspects of our lives can be green, not just our food and architecture. Organic sheets by Loop are merchandised along side organic cotton jeans by Loomstate, both of which are incredibly stylish and don't emit even a hint of "granola hippy style." This full service shop sells much more than textile goods, check out organic beauty products and delicious fair trade snacks (including not-to-be-missed chocolate). An online shop is coming soon, in the meantime check out the site to see what non-Pittsburghers are missing out on.

NY Times: How Green Was My Wedding?

This weekend in the Style section, the Times ran a story on green weddings. This is becoming a big trend and even mass-culture magazines like Bride Magazine is picking up on it, catering to eco-friendly couples. There are ethical wedding dresses, organic locally grown flower arrangements, even biodegradable cutlery! Even if you aren't going to be planning a wedding anytime soon there were some great ideas for travel in the article. When I head to LA next month I'm going to offset my carbon emissions that are caused from my cross-country flight. At TerraPass you can buy a pass that is determined by miles travelled, and they will guarantee to offset your emissions by planting trees or other environmentally conscious activities.

E! "Play a Part Bag"

E! online is really pushing this tote bag on their website. It is the "Play a Part Bag" and promises cool merchandise that will save the enviroment. But I have to ask- couldn't they create a better looking tote? Electric blue like this is predicted to be hot for spring but I'm not sure if this is what they meant. The killer on this bag is that I'm not even sure it is made of organic or ethical materials. E! suggests "bringing this canvas bag to the grocery store or wherever you go instead of accumulating unneeded plastic and paper bags." A very good suggestion, however this tote misses the mark.

If you still want it, it's a mere $7 at E! online.

Little Earth Wood Veneer Fender

I have to give some attention to my home-town Eco Fashionistas! Little Earth is a Pittsburgh based company that has been around for years, starting out with the bottle cap belts, that you may recognize, and growing into a truly fashionable accessories line. This Wood Veneer purse from their new Designer line is gorgeous! I love that is is made from sustainably harvested wood and is applied in a unique form that is reminesent of a vintage guitar. There are three woods available, Macassar Ebony is my favorite, which will set you back $280.

Annatarian Spring Party Dresses

I came across this line called Annatarian, based in LA, the designer creates Eco-couture party dresses as well as Eco wedding gowns! Everything is custom made to order using recycled and organic fabrics- there are about six styles to choose from, "Sprite" see above is my favorite. It features three layers of fabric, the bottom and top layers being sheer, and I find it to be a flattering shape that would be great from spring an summer parties! Come to think of it, they would make great bridesmaids dresses and you could kit out your entire wedding party in Eco-couture! How fabulous would that be?

I want it Nau!

Oddly enough, i read about this in Men's Vogue, with Keifer Sutherland looking gorgeous on the cover! Nau (pronounced now, and Maori for welcome) is a brand new sustainable clothing company- fleece made from corn or recycled plastic, and wool from pampered New Zealand sheep. The clothes for men and women are meant for hiking, biking and other outdoor ventures but are designed to be stylish enough to grab a latte after your excursion with out looking like that girl. My favorites from the women's collection are this jacket and skirt- i just love the ides of hiking in a skirt!
They encourage online shopping so as not to waste energy and resources on stand alone stores, so check out there offerings here.The coolest part? After you have worn the clothes into the ground, return them and Nau melts them down to create new clothes!

SANS

Relatively new eco line SANS just showed their Fall 2007 collection in New York this weekend. Designing duo Lika Volova and Alessandro De Vito created dynamic deconstructed looks that are oblivious to trends and therefor will not go out of fashion anytime soon.

Featured in style bibles such as Nylon, WWD, Surface and Flaunt, SANS is making a big impact on the fashion community not limited to sustainability enthusiasts. The name SANS refers to their fabics being sans pesticides as they use primarily bamboo, tussah silk and organic cotton and wool.

Unfortunately the collection is not sold online, so most of us will have to settle on dreaming about it, but if you are lucky (and determined) it is said to be stocked in a few NYC retailers.

Stella McCartney Stilettos

I am in love with these pumps from the Spring Stella McCartney range! She does not use any animal products in her shoes and these are a fine example- a mix of gold metallic over black fabric intersected with gold fishnet mesh topped in clear vinyl, the 4" heels fade from black to silver. These are a great way to put a little but of spring's spring's futurism into your outfit without looking like CP3-O. They will set you back a whopping $595 at Intermix. These definitely fall into the category of Eco-couture!

What is Organic Cotton?

Catergorizing things as 'organic' often has fuzzy boundaries. How is organic food different from all-natural, anyhow? The World Health Organisation has estimated that about 20,000 people die each year in developing countries because of sprays used on nonorganic cotton. The cotton plant is one of the most pest-prone crops, and about 150 grams of pesticide is used to cultivate the cotton for just one T-shirt! Organic cotton, on the other hand, is grown according to world guidelines for organic crop production, which prohibits the use of toxic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. So, even thought organic cotton will not make you healthier, it is a far more ethical and evirometnally friendly choice.

For clothes made from organic cotton check out:

CupcakeBabies.com

Patagonia.com

AvitaStyle.com

Ethical Purses from Matt & Nat

I am loving this new purse from vegan line Matt & Nat. The gorgeous shade of blue would go great with jeans and the studs give it an edgy vibe. If you haven't heard of this brand, they use synthetic leathers and never include animal derived materials such as wool, fur or leather. An added bonus is their affordable prices- this bag is $100 even. For all the fashionistas with a conscience this is a great brand to check out and widely available too! Check out the store finder on their site.

Researchers Insist We Buy Better Clothes

Researchers at Cambridge University have published a report saying that "fast fashion" is causing carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, because of how they are produced and cared for. Fast fashion or disposable fashion has become very popular with chains like H&M and Target making cheap trendy pieces that can be thrown away after each season, guilt-free. This new report suggests we invest in better quality clothing rather than throwing out trendy pieces each season. I think that is a decent suggestion, I would much rather invest in something luxe than snatch up tops that fall apart in the wash! Many of us bought Stella McCartney's H&M line, but her real line lasts longer and looks better by far! Finally, what do you think of the report's ultimate solution: that people lease clothes and return them at the end of the month, so the garments can be loaned out again- like library books! Would you recycle your clothes, or even wear recycled clothes?

H&M to Release Organic Cotton Range

At select H&M locations this March, you will be able to buy from their new Organic Cotton range. The range is said to include many basics such as jeans, sweatshirts and tops but will also feature more trendy pieces like jumpers and leggings. H&M’s head of design Margareta van den Bosch says, "They combine a conscious choice of materials with the latest design, allowing you to look just as good on the outside as you feel on the inside." All the pieces will have special tags indicating they are from the organic range. Any chance they will make it to the Pittsburgh location? I'm lusting after the outift in this photo!

Post Numero Uno!

Welcome to my brand new blog about living, breathing, sleeping (and not so much eating) fashion! You may be thinking, "What a broad subject, I know all there is to know!" But, just you wait, this is going to be a little different. I'm focusing on Eco-Fashion- sustainable, environmentally friendly, and of course chic!

Hopefully this is will be a great way for everyone to learn about Eco-Couture, there really is not that much out there but it is going to be such a big movement!