EcoSalon’s top 20 favorite sustainable fashion sites from around the globe.

They help us find out about new designers, industry news, trends, learn what sustainable fashion means, and discover all the swanky events we can attend on a global level – these are our eco fashion writers and designers, our go-to girls reporting all the news fit to print, from the exciting and beautiful to the all-too-often tragic and wasteful designer landscape. These are the pioneers of a new type of fashion that explores, connects and draws us in to what the industry could be if we simply supported it more.

We’d like to throw our own hat into this ring, as well- but then, you’re already here reading us, aren’t you?

Past Fashion Future

Past Fashion Future founder Emma Grady says: “I founded Past Fashion Future one year ago as a platform to explore my personal style aesthetic and to show the beauty of timeless and classic fashion and style. I love hearing people’s personal style stories, specifically about their sentimental connection to the clothing that they wear.”

We love the site layout, sharp, stylish images and especially, Something Old, Something New, a series that reveals how modern day style mavens wear heirlooms, vintage, and ethical fashion.

Vogue’s Green Style blog

Come on, It’s Vogue, it’s Livia Firth, it’s eco fashion and it’s high style – do we need to say any more about it?

Ecco eco

BurdaStyle

BurdaStyle, is an online social community that uses the web to bring the craft of sewing to a new generation of designers, hobbyists, DIYers and anyone looking to sew. What could be more sustainable than making clothes yourself? Sewers flock here to mingle, share and support over projects, patterns and full galleries of completed designs.

Join their community to keep current with what other budding (and seasoned) designers are doing. We most certainly do.

Six Magazine

SIX says it was founded with one aim, “to celebrate the designers, individuals, independent brands and companies who are creating a more ethical and sustainable future for the fashion industry.”
We love how the site incorporates beauty products as well as high fashion and packages it so beautifully we want to read every article.
We also love that SIX represents the sixth sense we all have when it comes to style and value.

Clever.

4 Equal Sides

Tara St James, founder of Study NY and 4 Equal Sides believes that “open source material plays a strong role in the development of the sustainable design community,” making her the rare designer that has vision enough to see how the sustainable designer’s new model needs to play out. Under her guidance, Study’s interns have developed, produced and continue to sell their own sustainable mini collections. St James is very open about her production and design process and documents her own story as a designer in a visually as well as editorially personal way that makes you come back for more.

Fashion Me Green

FashionMeGreen is a sustainable fashion awareness project and style site. Founder Greta Eagan says it’s “Conscious coolhunting from around the globe,” and we are in total agreement.

All the curated product pulls, designer features, amazing photo editorials and fashion trend pieces give us extreme hope for the future of ethical fashion that it can in fact be stylish enough to become mainstream without anyone even noticing.

Closette

Yuka Yoneda, founder of Closette and Ecouterre’s Senior Editor calls herself a shopaholic.

“Well, I was a shopaholic. I was always a jeans and sweatshirt kinda girl, but when I graduated from college and got a job in the city, I went a leeeetle crazy with the shopping – okay, a lot crazy. Then I learned about where the clothes I was buying came from and how they were affecting and hurting other people, particularly women and children, around the globe. The idea that these crimes against women, pollution and chemicals going into our water and bodies, and just shear waste were all happening because I wanted a new top or jeans really made me feel ashamed. I knew I had to make a difference in my own life, so I started thrift shopping, supporting sustainable designers and making my own clothes and I feel wonderful knowing that the garments I wear don’t contribute to anyone else being hurt (except maybe for the people who have to look at my crazy outfits).”

Check out Closette for some fun DIY ideas, shop vintage and secondhand clothing or try winning one of her fun giveaways.

Goodlifer

Founded by Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Johanna Björk, Goodlifer is all about style and the good life. “With your help, we’re writing a guidebook for a new generation of Goodlifers. We want you to share in and help craft a positive, enthusiastic vision of a future that is both sustainable and achievable. Through first-hand, personal journalism and thoughtful exploration and discussion we’re here to consider daily choices, reconsider assumptions, pose questions, uncover opportunities, make you think and collaborate with us on what it means to be a Goodlifer.”

Sign us on Johanna.

We’ve been following Timo Rissanen since we came across him in this New York Times article and were more than elated to finally meet him recently at the Yield exhibit in Brooklyn. Timo says on his site: “I’m investigating fashion creation without fabric waste creation through design practice.”

We are fascinated by his finds.

EFW

EcoFashionWorld says they aim to inspire with new ideas, ideals and information. “Our goal is to keep you green, gorgeous and growing with a comprehensive guide to finding sustainable designer brands and online eco fashion stores.” For those new to the game and fumbling over the words like Peace Silk or tencel, check out their glossary for the latest terminology definitions.

Ethical Fashion Forum

The Ethical Fashion Forum is a non-profit organization, that makes life just a little more easy “for fashion professionals to integrate sustainability at the heart of what they do.”
Membership to the EFF delivers support for sustainable fashion businesses through three programs with each program including several essential tools which members can take advantage of to succeed in ethical fashion business.

Members can also stay current with events, sourcing and EFF socials.

Ecouterre

The fashion daughter of Inhabitat, Ecouterre is a heavily photo-curated website devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design. “We’re dedicated to showcasing and supporting designers who not only contemplate cut, form, and drape, but also a garment’s social and environmental impact, from the cultivation of its fibers to its use and disposal. Our ethos: To follow the evolution of the apparel industry toward a more environmentally sound future, as well as facilitate a conversation about why sustainable fashion matters.”

Treehugger

What came first, eco blogging or Treehugger? I think many of us were reading Treehugger when eco fashion was just beginning to evolve past the point of crunchy. Still on track to provide us with timely fashion news, we’ve bookmarked the site and will continue to go back.

Eco Chick

Eco-Chick editor Starre Vartan, consultant and author of The Eco-Chick’s Guide to Life, says the main intention of her site is to “inspire readers toward a healthier, more sustainable life (which we think means a happier life too). That includes slowing down, unplugging, getting out, going in, making mistakes and moving on, being choosy, doing research, and growing every day. Rest and relaxation are real and important, and so is time with friends and family. We love local food, farmer’s markets, independent designers, handmade everything, and connecting with where our stuff comes from and who makes it. We especially love inspiring women who keep us on our toes and asking questions.”

Her site covers all aspects of the fashion industry and Starre is a known girl about town on the streets of New York City when it comes to getting the scoop on eco-fashion. If you’re where she is, you’re in the right place.

Magnifeco

Magnifeco is an eco-fashion blog currently based in Tokyo by founder Kate Black and features fair-trade, sustainable, organic, recycled, vintage and vegan brands in a place where ethics meet aesthetics. From earth friendly fabrics, to sustainable manufacturing processes and fairtrade practices, the site features conscious designers and products for the conscious consumer.

Market Publique

Market Publique is an eclectic marketplace dedicated to vintage fashion “committed to bringing the community together so we can all have a place to buy, sell and discuss vintage in a positive and focused environment.”
The Brooklyn based company started when the founders realized there was a lack of options for quality vintage sellers online.

We are obsessed with how great the styling is and are always inspired to grab a piece to add to our own wardrobes or to simply wear clothes differently after we leave the site.

Holly McQuillan

Holy McQuillan, Yield Curator, designer and lecturer in the fashion design program at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts in Wellington, New Zealand says since completing her Masters of Design, which explored the presentation of cultural memory through garment design, her work has focused on exploring the possibilities that arise when garment design is restrained by one goal – zero-waste.

Peruse her site or get in touch with her with some of your own zero waste design questions. She will get you rethinking fashion for sure.

Organic Girly

Organic Girly founder Jennifer Barckley is not only one of the nicest people we’ve ever met, she’s also a fantastic resource. Utilize her “Ask me anything,” button and she will get back to you quickly. Check her site for periodic updates on vegan and sustainable fashion forays that sometimes even lead her to chicken sitting.

Social Alterations

Mary Hanlon’s Social Alterations was “developed with fashion and textile design educators in mind, it also acts to create a platform for design educators to benchmark themselves against other educators not only within their own field, but across various design disciplines. In order to create real lasting change, designers of all disciplines must work together to foster transformation.”

A wonderful venue for timely fashion news regarding everything from Fast Fashion to CSR.

Image: Shandi-lee

The post From Eco to Vintage to DIY, 20 Fashion Sites We Can’t Live Without appeared first on EcoSalon.

There’s always something going on in the fashion world despite the crowned achievements of fashion weeks and celebrity collaborations taking center stage.

For instance, a good contest for budding designers to partake in, news so juicy you won’t be able to stop talking about it and of course, a trend someone has picked up on that you had on your radar but didn’t quite know how to make it sustainable.

Here’s a little overview of some of our favorite blogs covering fashionable things.

Ecouterre’s Denim Challenge sponsored by the Gap, garnered a slew of very talented submissions that you can peruse here. Tough decisions to be made for the Ecouterre staff and judges (shh, one is me) but the grand prize winner will be showcased on Ecouterre, Inhabitat, and the Gap 1969 Stream, as well as receive a $200 gift certificate. While lucky finalists will get their name, design, and a link to their portfolio or website showcased on Ecouterre and the Gap 1969 Stream and a fancy new Ecouterre t-shirt.

(See image above from the challenge and definitely one of my top picks. Wide leg jeans can do that?!)

Burda Image

BurdaStyle’s Party Through The Decades contest sponsored by Bernina. The contest is open to BurdaStyle members (reason to join now?) and will serve to be an exciting platform to showcase “Your joie de vivre in a fabulous party look,” says creative director and site editor Alison Kelly (you might remember her name from Project Runway years ago?)

Check out Alison’s favorite party looks spawning over the past few decades on the site.

FIT Image

The Eco-Fashion: Going Green exhibit over at FIT will be wrapping up on November 13th so get on over there to witness first hand the information and actual garments thathighlight both the positive and negative environmental practices of the fashion industry through the ages.

Treehugger writes here about how you can get an “Earthy education” by attending.

Paige Green Image

Educating yourself about eco-fashion and developing a consciousness about it is half the challenge, living it is quite the other. Many challenges are out there right now to live a more simple fashion life but when I saw this Fibershed challenge I realized I needed to step it up.

The Fibershed challenge “Is inspired by the need to swing the pendulum of our production – and our consumption to a more balanced state, that supports the health of all humans and the greater ecological system of which we are apart; through the re-integration of organic fibers, natural dyes, and a regional base that supports local communities and economies,” says the site.

The challenge to live for one year in clothing made from fibers within a geographical region 150 miles from founder Rebecca Burgess’ front door. You can go to the site and pledge money which will go to:

Pay Farmers fairly for their fiber
Pay local mill to process the fibers
Pay for professional documentation of the project- photo and film
Pay for knit patterns to be drafted and samples to be created

Go to Fibershed now and pledge!

Vogue Image

On the other end of the fashion spectrum, we have Anna Wintour and Vogue. I love this post by writer Johanna Bjork from Concrete Flower on “Vogue’s Vague Eco-Fashion Foray,” where Vogue supreme goddess Anna Wintour has finally discovered eco-fashion, but, well, doesn’t know what it is.

Bjork writes of the sustainable choices Vogue picked: “A steep price tag is just not enough to make something eco. While some of these materials may be better than their alternatives, most of these fashion houses make loads of crap from ‘conventional’ materials, probably in Asian factories. One eco piece does not make up for all the rest. We call this greenwashing.”

Here, here. Anna, call me.

The post Ecouterre’s Denim Challenge, Burda Style Parties and Anna Wintour Gets Called Out appeared first on EcoSalon.

You read about, link to and send out tweets talking about a plethora of sites filled with either great content or stunning clothing, and it can be hard to keep track.

I have my own problems keeping up, so maybe I’m doing this for my own good. Regardless, here’s a top 20 round-up of what I consider the best of the best (and most interesting) sites when it comes to shopping as well as learning about eco-designers, trends and news.

(Is it shameless to put EcoSalon and my new eco-boutique Shift in here? Shh…)

Blog Love

Founded and carefully curated by Abigail Doan, Ecco Eco is undoubtedly one of my favorite blogs to peruse as of late for how refreshing as well as interesting the content is: Fiber meets fashion meets art meets couture meets environment? Love it.

Doan is also a writer for other fashion blogs, an editor and an environmental artist residing in NYC and Europe.

She says of her art: “My eco-textile and art farming projects are a means to create sustainable solutions and key visual links to the global challenges we collectively face.”

Ecouterre’s mission? “To follow the evolution of the apparel industry toward a more environmentally sound future, as well as facilitate a conversation about why sustainable fashion matters.”

I just love it when they’re able to shock me with what can be solar or wind-powered in regards to clothing and accessories!

Through a team consisting of the likes of founder Jill Fehrenbacher (also founder of Inhabitat) and Managing Editor Jasmin Malik Chua, we’re able to discover designers taking fashion further than we ever thought it could go.

Run by founder/writer Kate Black,  Magnifeco’s daily eco-fashion and style blog features products that are fair-trade, recycled, reusable, sustainable, organic, and/or vegan.

Through her “Boutique of the Week,” I’ve found online shopping meccas I never knew of.

In writing this I just realized that when you click on any of her blog’s featured photos, you get taken directly to the spot where you can buy them. Nice Kate!

I almost feel like it’s unnecessary to write anything about Treehugger because you all probably follow them. They’re one of the most solid sources for eco-fashion trends, news and upcoming designers.

Why I will write about them is because their prolific writer Emma Grady is one of the hardest working women I’ve come across – writing almost every article you read on the site. While there are a few other writers, Emma single-handedly walks us down catwalks, and shoulders us at events where all the right people are gathering to make some noise.

And we like her for that.

One of the coolest ideas that came around last year to bring an awareness to how many clothes we have and how little we need was from designer Eliza Starbuck designer of Bright Young Things.

Starbuck designed her LBD inspired by how to make a dress “universally wearable yet individually specific,” not to mention sustainable and fashionable. Then she paired-up with Sheena Matheiken of The Uniform Project and women taking on their wardrobes in the form of wear-a-thon’s ensued. Her site chronicles a few women currently participating in their own – utilizing her (Starbuck’s) very own LBD for sale on her site.

“I’ve seen so many women with closets full of clothes who say, “˜I haven’t got a thing to wear.’ I’m giving them one dress that they can wear forwards, backwards, open, again and again, with anything they like.”

Eco-Chick

Eco-Chick Founder and Editor Starre Vartan is who I consider the current go-to green girl.

Not only does she run this blog full of current eco-fashion news, tips and interviews, Starre is the author of The Eco-Chick Guide To Life and can be found editing and guest writing on many popular green blogs. She’s also a great connector and connected to her natural environment which I think helps her to write from an honest place.

Starre Vartan for president.

With a team of writers that spread across four continents, EFW (Eco Fashion World) offers all the latest eco-fashion news and reviews, designer Q&A’s, store profiles, launch updates, and interviews with their “favorite ethical divas.”

I peruse their “comprehensive eco fashion finder” for brands or shops and resources around the globe to save myself time sometimes.

I love designer Tara St. James’ blog because it satisfies many things I need.

1. It’s written from the perspective of a designer, so I get to see different aspects of what designers go through from pattern making to dyeing.

2. I get to see what’s coming up next from a woman I consider pretty damn forward in terms of fashion.

3. I get to shop if I want her limited run pieces.

4. She’s a great writer and keeps me interested.

I don’t need to say any more.

Great Eagan’s FASHIONmeGREEN is a sustainable fashion awareness project and style site featuring eco-fashion makeovers with “style influencers.” Many who thought before Greta’s greening, eco was pretty sucko.

You can check out the FMG Daily for a current feed on what is hot, peruse her “Projects,” where she travels to the fashion capitals of the world to select a fashion influencers, and catch the behind the scenes footage in her webisodes.

Label Gazer’s goal is “to shine a spotlight on the many wonderful designers exploring various areas of socially responsible, ethical and eco-friendly fashion.”

Peruse the site’s designer database comprised of the top designers in the sustainable design field, find great deals at hot sites. And when you see some really forward-fashion-featured, then click on their link to it and voila, you’re instantly at a site ready to buy it.

Very carefully curated and delicious to peruse.

Go-To Industry Resources

Ecotextile News should be at the top of your reading everyday.

This environmental magazine for the global textile and clothing supply chain is published 10 times per year as a magazine, delivered direct to your door, and is a great blog providing expert analysis, in-depth commentary and offers the latest news on ethical fashion.

As a writer I love it because it keeps me up-to-date on lots of interesting issues.

Think you know a few things about organic cotton? Well, you might want to check out this site to see just how much and then keep learning.

Created to be a resource for industry and consumers alike who have an interest in the fiber, this site has ongoing information about organic cotton farmers, farming, designers implementing organic cotton, super-brands and interesting events.

Bookmark this site for sure.

The Ethical Fashion Forum is a non-profit network focusing upon social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry.

Their mission? “To support and promote sustainable practices, facilitate collaboration, raise awareness and provide the tools and resources needed to reduce poverty, reduce environmental damage and raise standards in the fashion industry.”

Founded by both designers and businesses, this is great tool to help keep your finger on the pulse of industry discussions.

A newcomer to the internet but run by seasoned professionals like Summer Rayne Oakes, Benita Singh and Adam Schwartz, Source4Style is the first online marketplace created for designers and suppliers to search and source the world’s leading sustainable textiles.

You have to sign up to utilize the whole site but there’s a blog at the site where you can keep up to date on a few issues Source4Style is part of.

To even be able to participate on the Source4Style.com platform, the team gives potential suppliers a Sustainability Questionnaire and Fabric Listing, both of which are required before joining the site. This is to ensure the materials they offer are in the most presentable, accurate and transparent way possible for designers and suppliers.

With Summer Rayne Oakes at the helm, I pity the fool who tries to pull a fast one on them

For Eco-Shopaholics

Jennifer Miller, founder of Mission Savvy has five “Missions” that represent her online store: Dream, Compassion, Freedom, Instinct and Voice. Each of these collections represent an animal protection issue. She doesn’t bang you over the head with it, instead she creatively offers you clothing from designers that best exemplify her theme.

Five percent of profits generated by sales from the site are donated to a select group of animal welfare and conservation groups who work on the front lines of tough issues.

Although she’s based in Charleston, West Virginia, Miller oftentimes takes her show on the road to a city near you. Check out her tour schedule.

Based in New York City, Kaight’s brick-and-mortar shop and online site has taken center stage for awhile when it comes to boutiques, and there’s good reason for it.

Kaight owner Kate McGregor is always thinking ahead.

She’s another super hip woman having parties with designers, listening to feedback from customers, being a part of the sustainable solution and having a Melissa Store within her store. Too cool.

Designer Lina Rennell who owns Beklina is a marvel at what she puts into her store’s collection.

Think clean, modern eco-design meets art.

Just going to link to the site for this post got me distracted and wanting more from her.

Jute and Jackfruit was at EcoSalon Shops! and it was the first time I got to see a representation of the store and I loved it.

A nice collection of some of the more well-known designers in the field today. The site boasts nice clear pictures, so I can easily check out the clothes I am considering purchasing.

One important goal of Jute and Jackfruit is to empower women worldwide, as the site donates one percent of revenue to environmental and social causes.

“We try to partner with and support independent women designers here in the United States as well as designers and products that are made by women’s artisan groups and cooperatives overseas.”

Based in San Francisco, Eco Citizen’s brick and mortar and online shopping venue are owned by Joslin Van Arsdale who’s background in textiles, trend forecasting and writing help her curate this amazing shop.

Men will be happy there’s something there for them too!

Says Van Arsdale: “It feels good to know that the items I sell are not only well-designed, but also fair trade, organic and sustainable – to know this gives me a purpose.”

Me too, I’m going to get a pair of Melissa shoes as soon as I finish this post.

Foundfuture founder and former 400 Showroom co-owner Shannon Lorraine opened this little marvel this year and I always go back to it when I want inspiration for fun accessories or well, just to buy them.

Mi Asunta’s sexy necklaces and sweet swallow head bands by Love From Hetty and Dave give me that little bit of country and little bit of rock and roll I so desperately need.

Artists running boutiques? Keep it coming.

Sodafine’s designer Erin Weckerle’s boutique specializes in innovative and unique handmade clothing, accessories and gift items, not to mention a ” selective collection of vintage clothing.”

Based in Brooklyn, this sweet little haven of ethical goodness loves its designers and we love them too.

Image: garryknight

The post Your One-Stop-Shop for the Top 20 Eco-Fashion Sites appeared first on EcoSalon.

For those of you reading and asking, “Hey, what did I miss?” honey, you missed a lot!

This past Friday night, we hosted Ecosalon Shops! at a New York City venue in TriBeCa where nearly 20 designers, three eco-friendly boutiques (Foundfuture, Juno & Jove and Mission Savvy), and organic food and drink vendors (think chocolate! think martinis!) gathered to have a susty soiree. Thanks to a collaborative effort that included EcoSalon, sustainable designers, brands, editors, bloggers and friends, the place was packed and the fashion was flying.

But before that even happened, early arrivals, hoping to grab the product-packed goodie bags first, were swarming the space! After seating our eager guests in a lounge area, they waited patiently for the 7:00 whistle that kicked off the event. (Or make that the 7:00 beats, provided by none other than emcee Tofuburger. No, we’re not kidding.)

Over the course of three hours, some 400 fabulous eco gals (and a few green guys) showed to shop and mingle, including some of our favorite eco fashion writers (some of whom wrote pieces on the event as well): Jasmin Malik Chua of Ecouterre, Starre Vartan of Greenopia and Eco-Chick, Emma Grady of Treehugger, Abigail Doan of Ecco Eco and Eco Fashion World and spokeswoman, activist, writer and eco model, Summer Rayne Oakes of well, lots of green things! We were thrilled to spend time with these amazing people, some of whom we’ve been chatting with and working with online but had never met in person.

Readers who’ve been following us for the past two years also showed up and laughed over old and newer controversial stories that they’d either commented on or followed, got to meet all the designers we’ve been covering and made conscious purchases they could feel good about.

We’re deeply grateful to all the fantastic green supporters in media who helped spread the word about EcoSalon Shops! far and wide and attended the event, including Time Out New York, NBC’s Thread/NY as well as writers and editors from Lucky magazine, InStyle, the New York Times, Fox and Marie Claire.

Enjoy the slideshow, and visit us again tomorrow to watch the video of the event.

[smooth=id:1;]

Now don’t you fret if you didn’t get to make this one. Another event is already in the works and may be coming to a city near you. We’ll see you soon!

The post We EcoSalon Shopped! appeared first on EcoSalon.

I am always on the lookout for cool t-shirts. So when I saw the Des Artistes collection for the first time recently on ecouterre, I almost flipped out.

An eco-conscious label out of Germany, Des Artistes introduces works from emerging and notable contemporary artists and says on their site that “Every limited edition tee is a canvas for inspiration and an exhibition of the human spirit.” I believe it.

Charles Anderson’s “Chocolate Factory” makes you consider your relationship with art. Just look at illustrator Kera Till’s “Abeba” and the more provocative “Brain Inflation” by one of China’s most widely known contemporary artists, Ai Weiwei. The “Inflation” is of the artist’s actual brain hemorrhage resulting from a run with some police brutality last year.

“Abeba”

“Chocolate Factory”

“Brain Inflation”

And best of all, these limited edition tees go to benefit Doctors Without Borders.

They are limited so how do you get one? Looks like you just follow the contact link and shoot them an email.

Hopefully with the designer being represented currently in D&A’s Green Room, they’ll get some accounts in your area.

The post Des Artistes T-Shirts Combine Art with Fashion appeared first on EcoSalon.

Earth Day gets us thinking about our first.

You know, our first beach garbage pick-up, Earth Day concert, camping under the stars, organic meal – and for us fashion gals, clothing!

My first? A beautiful embroidered, organic cotton dress from designerEmily Katz who was then known as Bonnie Heart Clyde. I still own the dress and only wish we could see more from Emily (stop being such a foodie and get designing girl!)

For some of us, eco-fashion based finds were due to frugal funds as college students, for others, a conscious choice to do something different. We caught up with some of our favorite sustainably-minded fashion mavens and asked the question “Do you remember buying your first piece of sustainably designed clothing and did you buy it knowing what it was?”

Here’s what they had to say.

Anna Griffin CocoEco Magazine Publisher and Editor-In-chief

“Yes, it was a lilac and pink Deborah Lindquist recycled cashmere scarf, with a skull and crossbones that I bought three years ago from a store in West Hollywood. I had had my eye on it for ages, and was so thrilled when I finally bought it that I put it on, even though it was 80 degrees outside!”

Jasmin Malik Chua Ecouterre Managing Editor

“Yes, a sleeveless organic-cotton wrap dress from the now somewhat defunct Canadian label Twice Shy. It was purchased circa 2006, sometime after I learned about the ills of conventional cotton farming.”

Sara Ost EcoSalon Publisher and Editor-In-Chief

“I don’t remember the first sustainable piece I ever bought, because looking back there were plenty of eco-friendly things I would buy but I didn’t realize it at the time. Things started to click for me several years ago when I bought a pair of Serfontaine jeans on vacation in Marin County (I lived in L.A. at this point). They aren’t perfect, of course, but the Made in USA and natural dyes message caught my attention. I was so careful about what I ate, it suddenly struck me as odd that I was not being more conscious of what I wore: in short, a whole lot of petroleum and chemicals.”

Kate Black Magnifeco Managing Editor

“Yes, I remember by the time I started to get really interested in sustainable clothing I was living in Tokyo (and running the blog) and couldn’t read any of the clothing tags. Then along came a 50 percent off offer from Envi – and I stocked up! Organic cotton (yay!) shipped from Boston to Tokyo (nay!)”

Greta Eagan EcoSalon Fashion Writer, filmmaker, founder of gretaguide.com, fashionmegreen.com

“Hmm, I think my first sustainable fashion piece was from Buffalo Exchange when I was in college in Boulder, CO. As a student on a budget and also at a time when I was exploring my fashion identity I would go to the famous thrift store and swap out old clothing for ‘new to me’ pieces. I can’t quite remember the first article of clothing, but I do remember this one dress that was made of silk scarves and crafted in a very artistic way. I definitely didn’t know that I was participating in sustainable fashion back then – but I did like the idea of re-using clothing and exchanging what I no longer wanted for something that held more appeal.”

Bahar Shahpar Sustainable Style Expert

“Four years ago, I snagged this inky black oversized hand-knit scarf at Atrium – I saw the hulking pile of chunky alpaca amazingness from across the room and had it wrapped around my neck before I even thought to look at the label. The thing is, having just started my trial-by-fire introduction into sustainable design with the launch of my womens wear line, I already knew what to look for and what to avoid, but that day I was completely engulfed by the “Feelgood Quotient.” I may have lucked out, because the scarf was by Edun and I was able to march up to the register without much guilt – but I think that only goes to show that things that are made better actually do feel better. Shopping can be simple, if we spend more time listening to our instincts instead of the advertising.”

Rowena Hutchinson Ritchie EcoSalon Fashion Writer, Publicist and Blogger for the Innovative Fashion Council

“As a teen, I bought a champagne-colored silk brocade 1950’s shirt-waister with a full skirt from a stall at Covent Garden. I treasured that dress and would mooch around my Mother’s living room pretending to be Grace Kelly. Last year (and two decades later), I took it into a La Rosa Vintage in San Francisco and swapped it for a 30’s cocktail dress whose diamante deco-designed sleeves are a topic of conversation at every party I attend. The idea that an item of clothing can still be relevant and beautiful more than 80 years after it was made speaks to the new fashion ethos. We need clothes designed to be treasured and timeless and to foster an emotional connection with its wearer and, hopefully, multiple wearers.”

Starre Vartan Founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick, author of The Eco-Chick Guide to Life, managing editor of Greenopia and a contributor to The Huffington Post

“After years of creating my own upcycled clothing (I specialized in inserting castoff fabrics into my cords and jeans to make them super wide-leg…yes it was the 90’s!) I then moved to shopping at mainstream stores and thrifting about 30 percent of my wardrobe for many years. My first piece of sustainably designed clothing was a pair of hemp trousers from The Hempest in Burlington, VT in probably 2002. They are black, read as linen (but don’t wrinkle), and I still wear them as they are supersoft and worn in perfectly.”

Kelly Drennan EcoSalon Fashion Writer, Founder of Fashion Takes Action

“I have been buying second hand and vintage clothing for years, dating back to university. However, then it wasn’t about being sustainable as much as it was about being frugal with my non existent student income. From there I was introduced to the concept of locally made clothing, having worked with a few local designers in Toronto. Annie Thompson in particular was one of my favorite local designers as she was also known for incorporating recycled fabrics into her designs.  But my first piece of clothing made from a sustainable fabric, is a bamboo kimono style jacket from Thieves that I purchased in spring 2007. Back then I, like mostly everyone else, thought bamboo was a sustainable fabric. And I wore that jacket everywhere! I still own it, and yes, I still wear it. But my reasons for wearing it have changed. When I first got it, I wore it because it was sustainable first, and stylish second. Now I simply wear it because it is a timeless and stylish piece. And it is still a conversation piece, only the conversation has changed. Rather than talking about what sustainable fabrics are and how they are better for the planet, I now talk about the reasons why bamboo is not sustainable.”

Shannon Lorraine Founder of online boutique Found Future

“I remember mine! It was five years ago and I was working as a buyer and buying high-end denim – Citizens, Ag etc… And we picked up loomstate and I did know much about the line. I bought myself jeans and an perfect tee – which I still wear!”

Image: rzacakes

The post Seasoned Eco-Fashionistas Look Back at Their First appeared first on EcoSalon.