Eco-Stylista

Womenswear clothing line Stewart + Brown have been making beautiful, environmentally-friendly clothing since 2002, taking inspiration from their love of nature and their passion for good design. As a trained painter, co-designer Karen Brown draws inspiration from colors and patterns you can find in her sketchbook (excerpts of which she publishes online!). For fabrics they use only organically grown cotton, lush Mongolian cashmere that helps the nomads sustain their traditional way of life, cruelty-free merino wool and yak down, sustainably harvested tencel gauze, hemp silk charmeuse, hemp jersey and linen cultivated without the use of herbicides, pesticides or defoliants, and factory surplussed recycled and salvage fabric, organic cotton and hemp canvas.

Their latest Early Spring 2009 collection is a mixture of pretty dresses and fun prints and basics, full of pieces that could be worn out on the town or at the yoga studio – not to mention their lookbook features some beautiful photography.

(Click on images to view them full-sized.)

To find out more about the brand or look out past collections, check out stewartandbrown.com.

Started in 2007, Bahar Shahpar‘s eponymous womenswear line makes fun, beautiful, funky clothing out in Brooklyn, NY using sustainable practices as the cornerstone of her manufacturing process. According to her website, she designs using only “ecologically sound materials, minimizing waste and overall energy consumption in every instance possible. Fibers are evaluated according to the methods used for their cultivation, processing, and finishing, and vintage trims, natural buttons, and unbleached organic cotton linings are incorporated into most pieces.”

Her Spring/Summer 2009 line has me itching for spring. On a day as beautiful as today, when the sun is shining and begging me to take to the park with a book and a pair of sunglasses, leaving my coat at home, her colorful collection of sundresses, tanks, and light jackets are just the cure for the dreary mood the weather of late has left me in. Using a refreshing mix of both bright and pale yellows, full green, and bold patterns, the whole line screams summer fun.

I am DEFINITELY going to have to get my hands on that green/yellow jacket when things warm up!

To see the full collection, to find out more about Bahar Shahpar, or find out where you can buy these pieces, check out her website here.

It’s obvious now that I’m not the only one who’s a fan of H&M’s organic cotton clothing. The line has been so popular that they’ve decided to boost the amount of the eco-friendly material used in 2009 to an estimated 4,500 tons (up from about 3,000 tons in 2008). This is a great step toward more socially-conscious earth-friendly fashion considering conventionally-grown cotton uses 10% of the world’s pesticides and 25% of insecticides, which lead to water and air pollution all over the world.

And as if this weren’t enough, H&M has also announced they will begin distributing clothing made from recycled materials such as PET bottles and recycled fabric remnants (much like the Urban Outfitters “Urban Renewal” line, although hopefully cheaper).

The pieces will include more cute shirts, t-shirts, blouses, skirts and dresses for us, as well as suits, skirts, vests, and jeans for the guys and will be distributed in stores nationwide this spring.

Now if only those new Alexander McQueen McQ for Target pieces were being made with organic cotton too…

Sweating in synthetic materials is so 2008. Tomorrow Adidas debuts their new SLVR label and opens the new SLVR store in New York City. Touting minimalist designs such as the Zero Waste Tee, which is made with only one piece of fabric and a single seam, and made from fabrics such as sustainable organic cotton, soybean fiber, bamboo, and water-resistant nylon, the label looks simple but uber-chic. The designs don’t break any fashion molds, but their sheer simplicity make for some beautiful pieces that you’ll damn sure wanna take a jog around the park in.

The concept store opens in New York City on February 17th and after Fashion Week ends, more will begin popping up around the globe.