10 denim designers prove that organic denim has a place in your wardrobe.

When it doubt, turn to your denim. Jeans have been hanging in our closets since the 1800s, donning the likes of painters, farmers, artists, lumberjacks, gardeners, and everyday people. Above all, each pair represents the All-American classic character who exudes independence, sex appeal, strength, and work ethic. Whether you like them casual or dressy, for lounging or a night on the town, jeans make our world go round. Here are our top 10 picks for brands that make our favorite jeans with the planet and people in mind.

M2F
Today, jeans come in all the colors of the rainbow. Boasting 12 hues, M2F’s skinnys are made for comfort – perfect for riding horses or riding your bike. Either way, they’ll make a statement wherever you rock them.

Second Clothing
Go organic or go home. Second Clothing’s flare pair are completely on-trend and flattering for all. Pair them with your favorite top and channel your favorite 70s tunes for a flashback fashion statement.

Loomstate
Feeling hip today? If so, the Revelation Jean may be over qualified to fit that bill. A creamy, dreamy sky blue, these skinnys can set the tone for any youngster-inspired look.

Monkee Genes
No monkeying around here – these jeans fit like a gem. Organic cotton with a bit of stretch, the navy skinnies are not only style-packed, they were undoubtedly constructed with comfort as another key ingredient.

Pray for Mother Nature
This denim embellished top can turn heads; it works as a companion to a high-waisted skirt or a darker pair of jeans. Donating a portion of all their proceeds to Heal the Bay, Pray for Mother Nature says it all in their name.

Nudie Jeans
Hike ‘em up, retro style in these high-waisted super dark denims. Fun fact: for best aging results, you should wear and tear this pair for six months before throwing them in the wash. Now, there’s a way to literally document some history on your denim.

Reuse
With color-blocking still on the radar, these skinny jeans can inspire a neon palette to brighten your winter-wear. Get creative and pair these knickers with bold statement hues or tone them down with earthy shades for a more subdued play on the trend.

Prairie Underground
In a versatile and soothing dusty blue, these slacks won’t be getting any slack when it comes to wear. A nontraditional color gives these denim duds a fresh, modern look.

IOU Project
Telling stories is the IOU Project’s forte. Every one of their items has a tale, and they know the details and background first-hand to tell it. From the fiber to the final product, their Slim Pant is a force to be reckoned with. These trousers radiate vibrancy – in style and ethics.

Kuyichi
While these skinny pants can’t compete with the 80s extreme acid wash interpretations of denim, they’ll suit for rocking out to your favorite hair bands. An ideal pair for when you’re in the mood to flaunt some faded frocks.

Tips to celebrate Earth Day every day.

Happy Earth Day. If your community is hosting one of many Earth Day events this weekend, have fun – and we hope the weather is nice. But Earth Day is just one day, and there are many things you can do all year around to live a more conscious, eco-friendly life. Here are some actions you can take anytime.

Changes at Home

• Make sure your home is in good repair. Leaky faucets and loose window seals waste energy. Exchange outdated appliances for energy efficient models. Use fluorescent bulbs in lamps and dimmers to conserve electricity, and turn down the thermostat. Have your furnace checked out before winter to ensure it’s in good working condition.
• Small changes around the house can reduce energy consumption, waste and toxins. Unplug devices when they aren’t in use, even chargers left plugged in and devices on standby use power. Turn down your water heater by a few degrees. Wash only full loads in the washer and dishwasher. Instead of using paper towels, use cloth dish towels instead. Carry your beverages in refillable stainless steel containers. Make sure your home is properly ventilated to discourage mold growth and guard against hazardous conditions when using gas stoves, kerosene or burning wood.
• Cut down on clutter. Unsubscribe from databases to eliminate junk mail. Scan documents and store photos electronically. Pay your bills and file your taxes online. Read news online instead of receiving print magazines.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

• Recycle all materials you can. Call 1-800-RECYCLE or visit Earth911 to find recycling centers near your home.
• Donate electronic devices that are still in working order to schools and charities. Those that no longer work should be recycled correctly.
• Streamline your belongings. Donate everything that you don’t use frequently.

Shop Responsibly

• Buy only when necessary. Check Craigslist and eBay for quality used items. Borrow things that you don’t need to use often instead of buying. When you do buy, purchase a few high quality items made with recycled content.
• Support local businesses and buy local products. It helps the economy and reduces distribution costs. Support green businesses and eco-friendly products. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers’ markets.
• Carry your own reusable bags to stores. Buy in bulk and reduce packaging. Use refillable containers.
• Buy eco-friendly products. Use green cleaning products (here is a good list), and buy personal hygiene and cosmetic products that have environmentally friendly ingredients and no added perfumes. Buy and wear as little as possible.
• Buy quality clothing. Aim for classic styles that can be worn for a long time. Avoid replacing your wardrobe frequently.
• Climate Counts ranks companies on their eco-friendiness. If you need to buy a product, it’s worth checking their score and there is an iPhone app available on iTunes.

Going Out

• Use public transportation and carpool when possible. Choose the most fuel-efficient car that fits your needs. Here are some ways you can save at the pump.
• When eating out, choose restaurants that use local produce and meat.
• Leave no trace behind when camping or hiking. Report any environmental damage to authorities.

Action

• Join environmental organizations and learn about current environmental issues. Communicate your point of view to local and state government, and encourage action. If you are involved in the education system, find a way to incorporate environmental studies into the curriculum.
• If your company hasn’t already started, suggest they develop a CSR strategy. Share what you’ve learned with friends and family. If more people make even a few small changes, it can all add up to a big difference.

Image: Sarah Ackerman

Miami designer Luis Valenzuela showcases new designs at Sustainatopia 2011.

Hailing from four generations of Venezuelan born and bred artists, Miami fashion designer and visual artist Luis Valenzuela is influential in the U.S., Latin American and European art scenes. Like his painting and art installations, his couture fashion creations express a love of environment that Valenzuela says were piqued as early as three from watching his surrounding environment morph and change.

Today, his work represents a flight from traditional boundaries, with projects supporting his belief in innovation as a tool in cultivation and improvement of the way we live on the planet. “Art is a great way to shock people into thinking about things,” says Valenzuela, which he does with his signature reuse style.

In addition to his work in fashion, art and photography, Valenzuela created EcoArtFashion (EAF), a group of creatives whose focus is to bring forward ideas from art and fashion based on a heightened eco-consciousness, particularly the reuse of materials. Through this fashionable reuse concept, Valenzuela hosts a multitude of events, including EcoArtFashion Week (launched during Art Basel 2010 in Miami).

Luis Valenzuela

On April 3, Valenzuela’s work will be featured in Miami at Sustainatopia 2011, one of the largest sustainability/impact investment events in the world. Held from March 31 to April 6, Sustainatopia is featuring two conferences with 300 speakers from 34 countries. The stage will be set for a presentation of Valenzuela’s gowns, which are made of recycled materials and are inspired by women who have made a powerful impact on world history. This presentation will be paired with a performance by Natasha Tsakos, a conceptual director and motion and visual performance artist from Geneva, Switzerland.

A key initiative of Sustainatopia is to connect impact investors with entrepreneurs and organizations seeking capital, but there are many other events taking place during the week to promote sustainability in the form of art expositions, educational seminars, music and film presentations, and book discussions with participating authors.

Valenzuela says the eco art and fashion scene in Miami is growing, but, “We have to do more every day.” When I asked him about the further development of the green art community he has set in motion through EAF, he reflects. “I am a dreamer, but with focus on a good cause. I want to encourage everyone to use their skills to support this global mission in bringing balance to our environment, ultimately affecting each and every person inside and out.”

For more information on Luis Valenzuela’s ongoing work through the EcoArtFashion initiative, please visit the EAF site to see the full calendar of events planned for the entire month of April (Earth Month 2011), taking place throughout Miami and New York.

Image: Luis Valenzuela

Stuck inside on a rainy, dreary day? Have a hankering to start a new, crafty project? Using random objects and materials from around your home, these fun and eco-friendly DIY projects will cost you little to nothing.

Scrap Paper Notebook

You have a scrap paper galore in the drawer next to your desk, but this clutter is starting to get out of control. No problem! Stack your scrap paper to make all of the edges line up neatly. Punch three holes along the length of the paper an inch from the left margin. (You may want to divide the stack to make this step a little easier.) Cut the front and back sides from a cereal box and punch three holes in each side to align with your stack of scrap paper. You can cover the box panels in anything you like – get creative. Use decorative ribbon to tie together the individual sheet and the cardboard cover.

Portable Scrap Paper Pad

Need something more portable for taking notes on the go? Remove the staple from an empty matchbook and slip out the piece of cardboard that mounted the matches. Measure the matchbook and cut pieces of scrap paper to fit neatly inside. Tuck them underneath the bottom lip and staple them down.

Magazine Envelopes

After flipping through your magazines dozens of times, what else can you do with them? Take apart an envelope to use as a template and trace this outline onto a cover or page of an outdated issue. (If you plan on sending this envelope in the mail, use pages with images instead of copy. This way, the address will stand out more clearly.) Cut along the lines and fold it along the creases that match that of the original envelope. Use non-toxic flue to seal down the flaps.

CD/DVD Coasters

When your favorite tunes or films start skipping too much to enjoy, just turn them into coasters. This one is a cinch. To cover up the images and text with something a little more decorative, trace the outline of the CD/DVD onto contact paper leftover from lining drawers and cut along the lines. Seal it to the surface with non-toxic glue.

Scented Drawer Satchels

Who wears nylons anymore? I know I don’t, but they’re still lurking in the lingerie drawer. But, just because they are no longer wearable doesn’t mean you have to toss them. Cut them up into sections and seal one end with a decorative ribbon. Fill each makeshift pouch with dried herbs, tie the other end shut and put them in your drawers for a fresh fragrance.

Magnetic Dry Erase Board

Measure the outline of a broken CD case and cut a piece of blank white paper down to the same dimensions. Slip it inside and use non-toxic glue to secure the front and back of the CD case together. Secure a magnet to the back and hang it on your refrigerator for quick notes.

Homemade Drip System

Interested in conserving water in your garden? Use a pin to punch tiny holes into a plastic bottle. Shred pieces of scrap fabric and stuff them in through the neck of the bottle. (This absorbent material will cause the water to drain gradually.) Bury the bottle in the soil up to the neck next to plants in your garden, so that it releases water almost directly to the roots. Use a funnel to fill the bottle with water.

Reusable Shopping Tote

Dig through your pajama drawer to find an old, baggy t-shirt. Flip it inside out and remove the sleeves. Cut around the neck hole, making it several inches wider. Stitch the bottom hems of the shirt together. (You may want to sew a reinforcement seam for extra strength.) Flip your new reusable shopping tote right side out and use the sleeve holes as handles.

Tea Tin Candle

Following these steps, turn empty tea tins into decorative soy candles.

Bird Feeder

Rinse out an empty milk carton. Cut out two ample-sized openings on parallel sides and, about an inch below each, poke a hole using the tip of a pencil. Insert a rod through both holes to act as a perch for your feathered friends. Run a wire or string through the top of the carton to hang from a tree branch. To make it a bit more ornamental, embellish the carton with milk paint and secure popsicle sticks on the top slopes with non-toxic glue to look like shingles.

Upcycled Picture Frames

Rinse out some glass jars and completely remove any labels. With the images on the outside, roll up pictures of your friends and family, and insert them upside-down into the openings of the jars. Flip the jars over and display them on tabletops and shelves around your home.

Drawer Dividers

Do you cringe at the thought of organizing your infamous junk drawer? With some homemade cardboard dividers, it’s easy to keep it orderly. Just measure the length, width and height of your drawers. Break down a cardboard box and, based on your measurements, cut enough strips to create as many compartments as you want. Slice a slit halfway through the width of each strip to easily interconnect these pieces.

Bonus idea: taking inspiration from the image at the top of the post, why not spend an hour at the park or in the garden collecting seeds, nuts, flower bulbs, twigs, leaves or other pretty organic items to make a seasonal still life? All you need is a favorite dish or bowl and a spot to place it.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

5 DIY Alternatives to Holiday Gift Wrap

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12 Free Green DIY Projects

12 DIY Projects for a Green Geek

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose posts from the archives that we think you’ll love. This original post can be found here.

Images: Er.We, adiything, ♥ellie♥, thebittenword.com, ***FanchTheSystem!***, How can I recycle this, Mulad, Niffty.., Indie Bands With A Mission, Edgar Zuniga Jnr., sfllaw, Idle Type, Vali….

Plastic is everywhere. It’s littering our oceans, and even has its own homeland: a behemoth floating mass of plastic known as the Pacific Garbage Patch or, as Planet Green called it in an informative guest post, the “Oh My”¦What Have We Done!?” Scientists say it’s twice the size of Texas (that still state-of-the-art term for Big) and growing. Already aware of this? Well, how about this? The demand for recycled plastic far exceeds its availability. So yeah, maybe we ought to do some fishing.

Electrolux certainly thinks so, as it hits the high seas (all of them, in fact), to gather plastic and make vacuum cleaners. Yep. Vacuum cleaners from the sea. (I so bet you never experienced that sentence before. Probably won’t ever again.) They’re even calling it that. Kinda. The company’s “Vac from the Sea” program “aims to bring attention to the issue of plastic pollution and at the same time combat the scarcity of recycled plastics needed for making sustainable home appliances.”

“There are plastic islands, some several times the size of the state of Texas [See! Everyone loves to say that!], floating in our oceans,” says Cecilia Nord, Vice President, Floor Care Environmental and Sustainability Affairs, Electrolux. “Yet on land, we struggle to get hold of enough recycled plastics to meet the demand for sustainable vacuum cleaners. What the world needs now is a better plastic karma.”

Unfortunately, we’re all not going to be able to buy into the program, as they plan to only make a limited number of these suckers, which will be “put on display to decision makers and consumers as part of spreading the word.” The plastic debris will be “harvested” from the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic (which has its very own “patch,” recently fearlessly explored by one of our writers), and Mediterranean oceans, as well as the Baltic and North seas, by diving, fishing and scavenging. It’s hardly an assault on the mainland of that floating Texas, but it’s a start.

If you’re looking to get involved or follow the program’s progress, check out their blog and Facebook pages. Oh, and there’s a cool little video posted over at Crisp Green, too.

Next time you’re planning a bash and thinking about ordering in, maybe go all the way and order all of it in – like all of it. Yo! Go nuts and party hard in a recycled shipping container!

Boxman Studios is custom-fabricating these steel pains in the ass, and outfitting them with seating for 26, a double-sided bar, solar-powered electrical hookups and 500-square-feet of covered space. They “deliver” anywhere and claim to be able to set ‘em up and break ‘em down in about 20 minutes.

They even come with a cool tag line: “It’s Crossed Great Oceans and Traversed Massive Continents. It Can Handle Your Next Event.”

More fun specs: A 20′ x 25′ bamboo floor area, space for dancing, an open gullwing awning that spreads out the entire operation, “couch seating” (parties must have couches, no?) for 20 and space for six at the bar. The solar sitch is four 120-volt outlets to power TVs, a dj booth, extra lighting, refrigerators and whatever else you want to plug in.

According to Boxman’s blog, the operation started when owner David Campbell was reading about recycled shipping containers being used as sustainable housing alternatives and came up with the idea of “mobile hospitality venues.” Business acumen aside, the idea does indeed show some good enviro-citizenship: It takes 4,000 kW-hours of energy to melt a 20′ shipping container for use as steel beams. It takes only about five percent of that (200 kW-hours) to fabricate a Boxman Studios venue. Add those solar power capabilities and you have your green party in a box.

Check it out at Gizmodo.

Put a cork in it! That’s the old school way of bottling wine, one that benefited our environment in a variety of ways. But synthetic corks and screw tops were introduced so that getting to that yummy grape was more convenient, and to prevent the wine from spoiling. Some three percent to 15 percent of all bottles sealed with corks go bad due to a naturally occurring chemical compound called trichloroanisole (TCA).

To save the billion dollar industry, wineries around the globe transitioned to synthetic corks made form plastic and now, user-friendly screw caps.

In 2004, Corbett Canyon, the largest producer of U.S. wines adopted easy-to-use screw seals, mostly to respond to the perception of cork causing tainting. But the synthetics are not limited to cheapo wines. RH Phillips and Whitehall Lane converted, as well as Washington’s Hogue Cellars. And it’s not just the inexpensive ones. Napa’s PlumpJack Winery sealed half of its 2000 Reserve Cab ($100 a bottle) with plastic caps.

The threat to the cork industry pits the European farmer against U.S. corporations like Dow (the maker of Agent Orange, pesticides and PVC plastics) which heads a plastic cork research and development group called Neocork, that is backed by California wine makers and reported investors like Bill Gates.

Why the environment is getting screwed:

The Trees

No trees are cut down to make the cork for stoppers. Instead, bark is stripped every nine years or so with hand-held axes and grows back to fortify a thriving ecosystem. Cork oak trees can yield material for up to 200 years if stripped of bark to maintain their health. The cork oak forests offer considerable shelter to plant and animal species in the Mediterranean, including endangered Barbara deer, the Imperial Iberian eagle and the Iberian lynx. Working the land provides jobs for some 100,000 people in Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia, France and Portugal. The regeneration of the trees is also effective in absorbing millions of tons of carbon dioxide, thereby offsetting greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming. The cork industry group APCOR estimates the amount of CO2 emissions soaked up in each summer harvest in Portugal equals the emissions of 185,000 cars.

Emissions and Reuse

Cork has emerged as a popular green material for chic flooring and wall covering, fashion bags, pens and mini boards. It is easy to recycle and re-purpose and inexpensive to produce.  Meantime, synthetic alternatives are difficult to recycle and require much more energy to manufacture. Cork has been widely embraced by green designers and artisans for products that are easy to manufacture and install in our homes. Aluminum screw tops are often tossed out. At one UK site, blog visitors recommended these uses: Cookie cutters for dough, donations to schools for arts and crafts projects, or drill a hole in them for crazy jewelry. In other worlds, the upcycling is slow on the uptake.

Wine preservation versus earth preservation

As Grist so aptly points out, the environmental impact of the plastic screw top has less to do with leaching plastics and dangers to the grape than with “overall manufacturing footprints.” From the health of the trees, to the sustainability of the ecosystem and livelihood of tree farmers, plastic bottle tops are barking up the wrong tree, just as all the plastic conveniences that came before the newest darlings of the beverage industry.

Images: TheBusyBrain, Panda, Atlantawineguy, The Nibble, Corkfloor,

Need to test drive a prefab unit before trading in your energy hogging habitat for life in the green lane? Now is your chance. Rent a little cutie this summer and see how it goes. Here are a few goodies on the vacay market:

12 Container Houses:

June through August, the highly touted shipping material miracle in Maine is hipper than hip with undisturbed nature views, for $6,000-$10,000 per week. Yes, you too can experience the pure eco joy forged by architect Adam Kalkin of the prefab-forward firm, Architecture and Hygiene. Of course, it demands the kind of disposable cash scored in exploitative industries like banking, insurance, corporate public relations, war making and profiting. Not really the prefab message, but oh well. Nice digs if you can afford them. And you can get them, if you try.

Onward to good deals  for recession victims on uncomfortably tight budgets (i.e. cook your own meals on all trips, cart your own vat of discount vodka and olives, steal extra toilet paper rolls when you check out). Here is a sampling of some of the most fab prefabs you can rent at a variety of rates.

Roll out the green carpet and feast your eyes on a great find:

Rolling Hut Prefab Vacation Cabins can be rented for a painless $100 per night. At a former RV camp in Mozana, Washington, the low rollers offer a provocative perch for taking in the surrounding mountains – a low impact approach to “civilized camping” by Olson Sunberg Kundig Allen Architects. Sign me up after that June Bat Mitzvah in Seattle!

This is my kind of camping:

The upscale cabin experience in the Cascade mountains of Washington can be had in this Mount Baker eco “Method Cabin” and is available for $250 a night or $1500 a week.

Ooh, la lot!

Check out the sweet surroundings visible through that cute port hole. Cube-shaped teeny vacation rentals by Carre d’etoiles can be rented in France and eventually other European destinations, providing the opportunity for hotel operators to grow their operations affordable by branching out into prefab, allowing guests a unique, eco accommodation for 90 euros a night. Great stargazing provides the ecotainment at night.

All the Wright Stuff:

Experience a Frank vision of stylish function for an overnight or two. The Duncan House in Acme, Pa., was designed by frank Lloyd Wright and opened for rental last summer after being relocated to its new digs 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh from Illinois. Prefabricated by Marshall Erdman, a Wisconsin builder, it was bought by an electrical engineer named David Duncan after reading about the project in the mid-fifties.  According to the New York Times, the reassembly required putting back together thousands of parts. Today it sits on a 125-acre tract of woodland owned by young builder, Tom Papinchak and goes for $385 a night with a two night minimum. Make reservations and find seasonal specials here.

Blast from the past

Rent a vintage Airstream at a campground like the Camp Lotus resort in Coloma, California. It’s the real deal, the precursor to the prefab and some of the Silver Trailers can be set up for you, from $175 to $250 a night.

Images: brewbooks, Vrbo, Alternative Consumer, Prefab, New York Times, Silvertrailers

Did you know that your dog or cat’s fur is a renewable resource? No matter how often you groom your furry friend, their pesky hairs appear all over your furniture, in your car and on that nice black blazer you just had cleaned. Instead of wearing out your vacuum trying to fight your fur problem, here are three ingenious ways to harness the shedding power of your dog or cat.

Crafty Clothing and Accessories

In the market for a colorful clutch? Catty Shack Creations in Simpsonville, South Carolina, found a clever way to keep the mounds of fur from their grooming salon away from landfills. Founder Danelle German collects cat and dog fur and whips them up into purses.

Feeling crafty? Collect your pet’s fur and send it off to a company like VIP FIBERS INC. to be woven into yarn, which you can then knit into clothing. Pick up a copy of Knitting with Dog Hair to learn how to make your own sweater from Fluffy’s fur.

Soak up Spills

Consider donating your pet’s fur to be incorporated into a simple technology utilized to clean up oil spills. Matter of Trust is a nonprofit organization that utilizes both human hair and pet fur to sop up oil spills. The Hair for Oil Spills program collaborates with groomers to collect fur, but individuals can donate their pet’s fur, too. Check out the Matter of Trust site for donation details.

Grow Green with Composted Pet Fur

The general rule for composting is if it rots, it’s good to go, which makes pet fur a great addition to your compost heap. To prevent it from clumping, be sure to use small amounts at a time, and thoroughly mix the fur with your existing compost. Keep in mind that it will break down slower than food and yard scraps. Some gardeners also think that incorporating pet fur into your garden adds the scent of your pet, which deters wild critters. Another simple option? Collect small clumps of your pet’s fur and leave it in a basket on your porch or in piles near the base of trees. Birds will collect the discarded fur to build their nests.

Images: Ed Yourdon, The Moonstone Archive, tomnono, andy carter

The recovery from the earthquake in Haiti is showing us the value of building our physical world with sustainable reuse of materials, such as re-purposing the rubble from destroyed buildings to mix concrete for new structures.

The good news is we don’t have to rely on earthquakes, floods and fires to inspire our most innovative product designers to bring their concepts to the table. Here are some exciting trends meeting the future demands of a world that is scaling down and greening up.

Light Transmitting Concrete: Shining example of Innovation

Hungarian architect Aron Losonszi’s light-transmitting concrete is a mixture of fine concrete and thousands of tiny optical glass optic fibers, which are blended to filter views and add “weightiness and lightness” at the same time. The new material, Litraconâ„¢, forms an aggregate that is used as building blocks that can be designed in various sizes with embedded heat-isolation. Installations so far have included the Iberville Parish Vets Memorial in Louisiana, the Hungarian Embassy in Paris, two logo walls in Belgium and Hong Kong.

STRAW: The Bale Out That Works

Make hay houses while the sun shines! Resurrecting an age-old method to conserve energy and materials for neo-eco dwellings, the bales are stacked like bricks in the post and beam construction. The biggest concern: keeping moisture out, and experts say this can be accomplished with proper foundation design, roof overhang, plumbing not routed through the bales and installing moisture barriers. For green building tips on building with straw, look here.

EDIBLE GREENS: The Utopian vision of the New Front Lawn

Ask any guerilla gardener. Grass sucks in terms of water use and feeding a healthy world. With that in mind, architect Fritz Haeg’s “radical gardening” of replacing the front lawn with food we grow to eat is spreading now from his original geodesic home in Los Angeles to gardens in New Jersey, Austin, Baltimore, Kansas and elsewhere. As the Whitney Museum points out, his Edible Estates (the book is now in its 2nd edition) are reminiscent of the World War II Victory gardens with results that can be appreciated by an entire community. Go to his YouTube video and get inspired to tear out your green carpet.

CORN: High Starch, low emissions Floor Fiber

Roll out the barrel, of corn that is. Using starch’s sugar to make a new plastic for carpet offers these advantages: reduced CO2 emissions, stain-protection and biodegradable in landfills. Leading the way is Mohawk’s Smartstrand with Bio-PDO, a renewable sourced polymer which is said to require 30 percent less energy than nylon to produce along with 65 percent reduced greenhouse emissions. Another company, CornCarpet, boasts of its exceptional softness. If you must use carpet, which is not the best choice for allergies, at least corn sugar offers a better option – and a new direction that seems to be the innovator in carpet design for 2010.

RECLAIMED FABRICS: Out with the Old, in with the Old. It’s what’s new

While Knoll and other design institutions continuing their commitment to producing green certified modern textiles, sources like Modern Fabrics are launching online retailing of the best designed textiles of yore (Pollack, Pearson, Knoll, Kravet, Jhane Barnes to name a few) that once would constitute waste on the workroom floor. Instead of these to-the-trade treasures being packed up in black trash bags headed for the dump, these sources are courting designers and consumers trying to garner great upholstery for a good price (50 to 70 percent off list prices) while reducing waste. Soy, bio organic cotton and milk-based cotton may be hot in production but reclaimed is the coolest trend of all. It’s a kind of forever love the design world cannot pass up.

Images by: Jeremy Levine Design, colros, woodleywonderworks, kevindooley