Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a thing for those Brits (I think I must have been English in a past life). So savvy and fashion-forward, they’re always one step ahead. This can be said especially of the eco-design scene. The country is overflowing with shops and designers offering green goods, a phenomenon I find progressive and, well, cool. EcoSalon’s own Carlie Partridge turned us on to ROMP and Elaine Lipson highlighted a few goodies – check out her posts on Davina Hawthorne, Sharkah Chakra, and Hetty Rose.
So, I decided, as a tribute to my true loves (fashion and anything hailing from the UK) to highlight some of my favorite brands from across the pond.
Stella McCartney: A fashion icon and lifelong vegetarian (not to mention my personal idol), the company does not use any leather or fur in its designs. Stella offers an organic fashion collection, including lingerie, and launched a luxury organic skin care line in 2007. Of course we all remember yesterday’s debate, don’t we?
People Tree: The brand’s UK designers work closely with 50 Fair Trade groups in 15 countries. Their cotton is mostly certified organic and their clothing is colored using only safe and natural dyes. People Tree’s collections emphasize traditional, local skills through hand-woven fabrics, hand screen-printing, and hand embroidery unique to the regions where they are produced.
Ciel: Eco-designer to the stars, Sarah Ratty for Ciel has dressed the likes of Cate Blanchett, Sienna Miller, and Zoe Ball. She uses organic cotton, alpaca, and faux fur, Azo-free dyes (Azo by-products are toxic and potentially carcinogenic), and recycled fabrics. She also works only with factories that comply with fair labor laws.
Alchem1st: Alchem1st is a small family-run label, headed by an English and Indonesian partnership. The fair-trade garments are produced in Bali. The collection is designed and created entirely by Indonesians, using locally sourced materials and helping preserve the traditional skills of this developing nation.
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Top image: 13bobby