Closet Change
Affordable Eco Fashion Brands make it Easy to Look and Do Good
by Crosby Noricks
If you still think that eco-fashion means yoga tanks with peace signs and burlap sack shorts, or a $425 Stella McCartney tote, the following designers are ready to prove you wrong with delicious, wearable designs. Innovative, affordable, eco-friendly designs are here to stay, and boutiques are recognizing this emerging trend, and stocking more enviro-friendly alternatives than ever before. Made from bamboo, organic cotton, and other sustainable materials like recycled leather and vintage fabrics, the clothes are soft, durable, and in the case of bamboo, naturally anti-bacterial.
So where do you start when trying to build an eco-fashion closet? Start with the basics, update your tees and tanks, your jersey dresses and sweater wraps, and then add in a few key pieces in a favorite print. The designers featured here all offer eco-designs that mix a subtle simplicity with unique features – a ruched neckline, silk edging, stitching…ensuring a well-executed wardrobe you can feel especially good in.
Toggery: Affordable organic fashions dreamed up by former personal shopper and stylist Kate D’Arcy will keep you on trend with contemporary knits that are sure to become instant wardrobe staples. Made out of certified organic bamboo and cotton, and colored with low-impact reactive dyes, the debut collection features comfy layering tanks, wear anywhere dresses, and a brilliant structured bolero. And don’t worry about your sustainable wardrobe being sewn in sweatshops; the Toggery Collection is produced in a socially compliant and quality certified production facility in Pennsylvania. Retails from just $29. Visit www.toggerycollection.com.
Stewart + Brown: Self-proclaimed organic pioneers, partners Karen Stewart and Howard Brown have been making clothing together since 2002. She is a trained painter, he a graphic designer. The result is an eclectic mix of inspired design in organic cotton, Mongolian cashmere, and other Fair Trade fabrics in prints and solids. Items can be a bit pricey, but their overstock section is a great place to find bargains. Plus, Stewart+Brown is a member of “1% for the Planet,” an alliance of small businesses that pay a voluntary earth tax and donate 1% of all sales to non-profit, non-governmental environmental organizations.
Loomstate: No need to give up the designer denim, Loomstate, an apparel company dedicated to customers who want responsible clothes and are committed to treading lightly on the earth, offers 100% organic cotton jeans in several styles. Their newest offering, the Maiden, is a flattering wide leg, trouser style, currently 50% off at http://www.thegreenloop.com for $98.
