Fame and fortune, people! It could all be yours by entering Greenloop’s ReShirt Cutting Contest. All you need is a pair of scissors, an old t-shirt, a camera, and your imagination to get a chance to win a $300 gift certificate from eco-boutiqueGreenloop and a 30-minute virtual styling session from celebrity stylist Barbra Horowitz. Not only that, but all winners’ work will be featured on Greenloop’s blog,In The Loop!

Do you love reworking your old pieces to make something hot for the club or office? Do you have piles of shirts in your closet begging for a purpose? Give those ill fitting t-shirts from days gone by a serious revamp and enter ReShirt today!

Check out these prizes… Get the whole scoop »

Well eco fashionistas of the world, it’s true-eco-friendly high heels are still few and far between. Greenloop has pulled together the most gorgeous high heels for Spring…we wish there could be more, but I guess we’ll have to wait for Spring ‘09 for the green wave to take over the women’s shoe industry.

These gorgeous FSC-certified walnut wedges from Mohop are a must for Spring. Annie Mohaupt’s unique design allows you to create totally different looks depending on the way you tie the ribbons. Each handmade pair of platforms comes with 5 sets of ribbons, which allows you to have casual, office, and evening looks all from one pair of shoes. The recycled rubber bottoms makes walking in the platforms much more comfortable and you won’t have to complain about not having shoes to match your outfit this sandal season! Get the whole scoop »

Colette Brooks, owner of LA-based biodiesel conversion company Biobling, is the new face of Keen’s recycled line of bags, dubbed the Harvest Collection. For her day job, Colette resurrects old hoopdies and pimps them out with biodiesel-ready fuel systems and funky fresh interiors. This season, Keen Footwear resurrects the rice sack and creates an eclectic line of totes and backpacks for the eco-conscious suburban set. Colette and Keen make a great match, as both reimagine materials to put a little funk in the trunk of folks with a Keen sense of style.

The charismatic couple of Conscious Living TV, Bianca and Michael Alexander, show us “Urban Fashion At Its Finest” in this eco fashion tour de force. From our sustainably fashion forward neighbors in Montreal to the funky vintage shops of Hollywood, Conscious Living TV takes us coast to coast uncovering edgy and retro designs, useful green wardrobe tips, and Michael’s bootilicious dance moves. Relax and enjoy the show-the fun (and the funk) of these two is infectious.

Known for his equal commitment to high style and sustainability, Rogan Gregory has established a small empire of ethical design. His debut collection Rogan, introduced in 2001, is an homage to vintage workwear featuring hand detailed denim of the highest quality possible. Loomstate is the 100% organic spin-off of that line which launched in ‘04, before “organic denim” was even in the American vocabulary.

In 2005, along with partners Ali Hewson and Bono, the Ohio native launched Edun; a company devoted to the “Trade Not Aid” mission of bringing manufacturing and healthy commerce to impoverished areas of Africa. Also in 2005, Rogan found the time to launch his furniture line Rogan Objects (his personal assistant better be getting six figures), that uses reclaimed wood from old factories and barns in Upstate New York and tooled leather trim to create modern handcrafted pieces that are both rugged and refined. Get the whole scoop »

Technically Terra Plana means flat land, but you’ll be hardpressed to find much flatness with this shoe manufacturing anomaly. Inspired by a deep desire for longterm ecological survival, Terra Plana publishes the life cycle assessment for every pair of shoes they produce. They design their shoes with reparability, lightness (to reduce shipping impact), anatomic design, and durability in mind. According to Terra Plana, they “minimize waste and toxin use and maximize product use and love.” They produce their line using chrome-free and vegetable tanned leathers, recycled materials of all sorts (from rubber to old quilts and parachutes), and pure latex soling materials. Not to mention, they merchandise their products with an arresting, out-there aesthetic (check out the product shots above).

Terra Plana has also debuted a more eco-conscious leather product called E-leather. It’s a ‘re-woven’ blend of leather and textile fibers practically indistinguishable from good quality leather. E-Leather is produced with closed loop water usage and best practice pollution prevention methods. These people clearly care about crafting beautiful fashion statements using only the most modern and sustainable methods possible.

And how do they look? So, so hot! Whether you’re in Milano, Madrid, or the Mid-West, these unique sneaks and heels will be turning heads. Priced from $50-300, a pair of Terra Plana’s is a worthwhile investment in a company that’s setting the bar for eco-conscious manufacturing, as well as your wardrobe.

If you want to check out a sneak peak of Terra Plana 2008, go to smartplanet.com for a look at the super-sexy strappy heels for Spring.

Photo by Ralph Hockens

For 2008, I made a resolution to bring eco-consciousness to my wardrobe and take readers of The Tastemaker Diaries with me. Our January installment of Green Your Closet introduced the Clothing Swap, a party combining the noble task of reusing your old garments by acquiring new ones from your nearest and dearest stylish friends. Now, we’re showing you how to love your wardrobe and the planet…by taking good care of the clothing you already have. If you keep just a few simple tips in mind, you can make your “personal classics” last a lifetime. If you take care of the clothes that aren’t your favorites, you can happily pass them on to another lucky person to wear for years more. By lengthening the life of your clothes, you lessen the environmental impact of the clothing manufacturing business, which makes for cleaner water, air, and soil for you and yours. Who knew buying less could have such a big effect on the world beyond our bank accounts? We also show share a few great tips on green washing (the good kind.)

Keep ‘Em Cold
Wash your darks and brights in cold water to keep colors true and save on hot water. And keep any garments that may bleed color far from whites…there’s nothing like one random red sock to ruin a whole load of whites.

Green Your Clean
The bulk from most laundry detergents is made up of water. The concentrated versions are good for just as many loads, use much less plastic for packaging, and require less petroleum to transport. The non-toxic powder versions packaged in recycled cardboard are my personal favorite.

Handwash delicates to keep them looking like new.

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(Barney’s Madison Avenue Store Window)

(Image from Inhabitat)

Finally, a New York Fashion Week that brought sustainable design to the foreground. The FutureFashion show has come and gone, much buzz has been created and many have something to say about, skeptics and supporters alike. An article by Lauren David Peden for Vogue shared some inspiring comments from participants, including Barney’s New York fashion director Julie Gilhart, who was instrumental in bringing together the 28 participating designers. Apparently, Julie grimaces at the phrase “eco-chic”, stating, “I hope we don’t use that word anymore. It’s just the way it should be….It’s more luxurious to really think about where your fabric comes from, about the impact of it on the environment, and about fair trade and labor issues.” Adding to the idea of this is ‘just the way it should be done’ was Rogan Gregory, the man behind Loomstate and EDUN, who pointed out that compared to even 5 or 6 years ago, finding high-quality, sustainable fabric is much easier. He tells Vogue, “Now, the demand is greater, so there are all these great fabrics available, which makes designing a lot easier. People understand that this is the way of the future….Why wouldn’t you do this?”

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Jenn Breckenridge here, pinch hitting for Aysia.

For years now I’ve found myself, a diehard environmentalist, fascinated by fashion. At first I shoved this frivolous fascination to the archives of my mind, thinking of it as a superfluous pursuit that would distract me from all the “important” work that needs to be done in this ailing world. Now and again, I’d sheepishly ponder my profound interest in online eco-fashion hubs like Eco-Chick and Treehugger.com’s Fashion and Beauty pages, and finally realized why fashion really matters. Fashion is our second skin. It is our most intimate possession. Let’s face it, not even our closest romantic partner has (most likely) spent twelve hours straight attached to our pelvis the way a pair of undies does. A favorite warm sweater can be our greatest comfort on a grey, frigid day. And, unlike the bodies we’re born into, clothing gives us the opportunity to choose our hue, texture, and even our shape to some extent; all these choice directly affect how our fellow humans interact with us on a daily basis.

So how can a self-proclaimed diehard environment like myself still have a closet with so few sustainably-made pieces in it? Is it money or not trying hard enough? I’m on the Greenloop team, I work with Aysia Wright, The Eco Fashionista herself, and my closet is barely chartreuse. Well, I’ve decided 2008 is the year to Green My Closet and I’m going to take the readers of The Tastemaker Diaries with me- for the good of the planet! (And it might give us clothes hounds some new ideas for how to get more stuff to wear. Let’s be real.) Ergo, the first in a series of tips on how we can all integrate some eco-conscious behavior into our shopping lives. More clothes, less guilt. Are you with me, ladies? Good. Let’s get started with the fun things first…

Step #1 Beg, Barter or Bargain

Do you ever covet your most fashionable friends’ wardrobes? Make those fantastic threads your very own without spending a single dollar: host a clothing swap at your house! Gather your stylish compadres with similar body types together to trade clothes in good condition that you’ve all grown tired of…make it a cocktail party and you may find bartering for the premium picks a real breeze. It’s for the environment, right? No harm, no foul I always say.

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I love fashion. I’m incredibly passionate about the environment. So in 2004, I undertook a little exercise in market-based environmental activism and opened the doors to my own eco fashion retail store in Portland, Oregon. Shortly thereafter, in early 2005, I launched our online branch TheGreenloop.com. We carry the latest green fashion statements, from handbags made of recycled candy wrappers and hats of reclaimed cashmere, to chic vegan boots and sustainably sexy cocktail dresses. Who says you can’t combine sophisticated style with a high level of sustainability?

Whether it’s well known eco-line Edun by Ali Hewson and Bono, or an up-and-coming Portland local like Emily Katz, we diligently screen each designer’s manufacturing practices and materials before placing their lines at Greenloop. We feature only sweatshop-free and fairly traded garments made from eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, hemp, wool, and reclaimed vintage garments, as well as the most cutting edge renewable fabrics like soy, modal, and seacell (a blend of wood pulp and seaweed.) These fabrics weave their way into affordable, stylish basics by Perfectly Imperfect and Of The Earth to high-end pieces from ethical fashion superstars like Linda Loudermilk and Stewart+Brown. The store’s green ethos doesn’t stop with the designers we stock; Greenloop offsets the carbon emissions from the shipping for TheGreenloop.com with renewable energy certificates called Green Tags. We also donates a portion of sales to ecologically focused organizations like 1% for the Planet, Global Green USA, and the Oregon Environmental Council, among others.

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