Eco-Stylista

Using only organic cotton, organic hemp linen, and vegan suede, Lina Rennell‘s new Spring/Summer 2009 collection “Big Sur Meets Helsinki” explores the relationship between Mother Nature and her daughter with simple hemlines and flowery, fun prints. “Forming an elegant bohemian look, the collection is rebellious, intelligent and simple.” All her textiles are hand-printed and every piece is ethically crafted in Northern California.

All the material looks light and comfortable, perfect for spring, and has just a hint of Little House on the Prairie feel to it – but not enough to be annoying. Personally, I’m in love with the blouse hand-printed with the deep blue Pacific Water Weave print and that “Big Sur Meets Helsinki” limited-edition necklace shown above!

To learn more about Lina Rennell, check out linerennell.com.

Flipping through the pages of any glossy fashion magazine for the perfect handbag, you’re likely to find many made of leather and plastic and all kinds of things you can dream up which are harmful for the environment, may have resulted from the (brutally painful) death of some innocent cute and furry animals, but are of course oh-so-pretty. Luckily Matt & Nat saw how nasty a trend this was and created their eponymous handbag company which is totally animal-friendly and always made from recycled materials! Each collection is not only 100% vegan but fashion-forward and shows heavy influence from modern art and architecture.

You’d have no idea just looking at it, but these bags are made from recycled plastic bottles. They use them to create new fabrics each season – like canvas, felt, and this time around, a synthetic leather made to mimic ancient Japanese Washi paper that has a natural gentle crinkle to it and light shine.

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Edun has just launched their new Spring 2009 Collection for sale online, which the company is titling Origin of Species. Yeah, that’s right. They went there.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I still love Edun and I still love this line, but really? How cliche.

Anyway, for anyone who doesn’t already know, Edun is a “socially conscious clothing company” which was founded in 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono. Founded with the purpose of helping build-up 3rd world communities with “trade, not aid,” the company works at a micro-community level to teach and build skill sets to the workers in the fair trade factories in India, Peru, Tunisia, Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, Mauritius and Madagascar – where the clothes are produced using 100% organic cotton.

The latest collection has a great mix of casual basics, splashy graphic tees, and pretty blouses and dress with delicate, unique prints. Like previous collections, every piece is made from eco-friendly materials and lists the country it was created in. Although a $65 t-shirt or a $160 tunic sure ain’t cheap, you have to admire the origins of each piece and what your purchase means for someone out there.

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These shoes are just too great to bear.

The new spring collection from Olsenhaus – the 100% vegan shoe line from ethical and eco-friendly designer Elizabeth Olsen – mix bright neon colors, splashes of stray paint, and calm earthy cork and linen. From flats to heels, booties to wedges, there are a few choice pieces of just about every possible combination. And my spring-craving heart wants almost every one of them!

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My first trip to London ever was in 2007. During that trip, one of my first impressions of the city was stepping London Underground and thinking “The subways here are so much nicer than in New York!” The seats were comfortable, people were less rude, it was rush hour coming from the suburbs into the main city area and yet still, they weren’t obnoxiously crowded. I couldn’t believe it!

Apparently though, if you’d been able to visit the city earlier than I, another thing that would also stick out clearly in your mind would be the bright, bold patterns of fabric which the seats were covered in. Now, those fabrics are being given a new life, as shoes.

Using reclaimed fabric from the 50s-90s, Above + Below London churns out ultra-original eco-conscious fashionable sneakers similar to Chuck Taylors. Each shoe is handmade using leather from old check book wallets for the uppers and rubber from used car tires for the soles at two family-run small factories in Portugal.

In addition to the shoes themselves, they’ve specifically designed their site to look like a dark tunnel so that it uses less power to load and they’ve teamed up with Love London and Trees for Cities so that one tree will be planted along the M25 highway in London for every pair sold.

(found via Inhabitat)

While I am strongly against fur and leather for both ethical AND environmental reason – plus the fact that it just plain grosses me out – I can really get behind anyone who is able to make use of what would otherwise be discarded, even if it’s made of leather. The fewer animals that need to die in the name of fashion, the better. So with that in mind, check out a couple of Etsy sellers who are doing this in a really awesome way, making fun updates to discarded leather bags.

Handmade in Canada, and named after the designer’s Norwegian grandparents, Hoakon/Helga makes cute recycled leather bags with big bows, funky prints, and…. plaid? And almost all the bags for sale right now are under $100!

(found via Ethical Style Blog)

A bit on the more expensive side, there is also Vivien Cheng, who brings old handbags to life by painting on new designs to spruce them up and give them a whole new personality.

(found via Green Grechen)