Me with my eco-rockin' style icon, Ali Hewson!

Though I consider it my favorite fashion line, I own only one EDUN t-shirt. It’s black and awesome and it has a bad-ass tiger print on it. Whenever I wear it, I feel sexy, cool and totally satisfied that the proceeds didn’t fund a sweat shop in China, but rather, helped drive sustainable employment in sub-Saharan Africa.

You can imagine how stoked I was then, when I had the chance to go to EDUN’s Spring/Summer 2009 preview party and talk to creator, Ali Hewson, the totally sweet and down-to-earth rock mama who started the socially conscious company with her husband Bono back in 2005.

It's London Fashion Week and once more Estethica has a gorgeous selection of sustainable fashion. It is the the fifth year of this important addition to the London Fashion Week scene: a special exhibit of designers who uphold the principles of fair trade, organic fabrics and recycling in their eco-labels. There is a good mix of the familiar and the new and there are lots of Canadians.

First off, from Québec City is Myco Anna. They have been creating eco-fashion for twelve years and have just made the big break into London. Their clothing is bright, colourful and wacky, with all different mis-matched patterned fabric stitched up artfully into one dress. The pieces are made out of recycled fabrics, old sweaters, ends of bolts from outlets and picked apart knitwear. Their scarves, for that cold Quebecois climate, are brightly coloured with fur bits on the end that are taken from old fur coats. The dresses feature asymmetrical cuts and flared skirts with pockets. Colourful accents are added in recycled inserts and appliqués. A really fun and lively look with that special Québecois joie de vivre.

How nvohk works

The pioneering community based eco-clothing line nvohk (invoke) announced its official logo had been chosen from a pool of 50 submitted designs. Grason Ratowsky was awarded $500 for creating the winning design—check out nvohk's website to see the logo flying high.

Eden Home should be a boon to all the eco-enthusiast online shoppers everywhere. Touting everything from clay cookware to organic bathroom linens to soap made of shea butter and olive oil, Eden Home seems like a classier, eco-friendlier online version of Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Lauren Bush announces sustainable fashion collection
First Niece Lauren Bush announced Wednesday that she was launching her first ready-to-wear collection, one that will be wholly produced in New York using sustainable and organic fabrics such as hemp silk, bamboo, and organic cotton.

Dubbed Lauren Pierce, a politically neutral combo of her first and middle names, the former model's line has been in the pipeline since the beginning of the year. “It’s less about, ‘I have to be an eco line,’” she points out to WWD. “But if I was going to make a line, it was important that it was about low-impact fabrics.”

The gang's all here! From left to right, John (from Everything Under the Sun), Ray (from Ray’s and Sons) and Jeanine (the author of this blog in the vintage gown from the Patriot’s Ball, who's super happy to have finally gotten her Smart Car last week!).

My pod? The Jeanine corner of the Earthwatch world involves itty-bitty blinking blue lights, a jungle of plants, traditional weavings in screamin’ neon. Camel-hair Persian rug stretched out on the floor. Mirror ball hanging in one corner of the ceiling, gen-u-ine crystal in the other. Cheeky West African doll lounging in front of books with too-long titles. “Wag more, bark less;” and “be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi) tacked onto the shelves. Plus more assorted bling.

Such are the decorative solutions of a displaced (Northern) California gal, who transported herself to the middle of a tiny New England mill town in the dead of winter. Sometimes, as I was picking my way down through the icy streets in my 4-inch heel boots, funkadelic stockings, and Pink blaring on the iPod, the cold, the piles of snow, and the dreary grey skies were so surreal I’d laugh out loud. But I did this willingly, folks! Earthwatch has that kind of pull.

Image Credit: Jordan Benaderet

Mass-produced, chemically dyed clothes do plenty of environmental damage, both here and abroad, but they also don’t do much for your personal style—there’s a good chance you’ll end up looking just like everyone else. But the handcrafted, sustainable pieces at this week’s Eko-Laborative exhibition, presented by Eko-Lab and Ekovaruhuset were anything but cookie cutter. Each was made of organic fibers—cotton, linen, hemp, wool—and colored with Earthues natural dyes. Crocheted jewelry, hand-mined gems, vintage charms, and striking headpieces finished the looks; read on for some of our favorites.

Supermodel Aline Weber sits in an Aveda Pedicab before the Preen show

Backstage at the Preen by Thornton Bregazzi Spring Summer 2009 fashion show we found Aveda’s four steps to a greener backstage in full swing. Aveda’s reusable liter-sized aluminum water bottles went quickly as models and hairstylists alike wrote their names on bottles and filled and re-filled them with New York City tap water. The organic food, catered by Citi Bakery, was plentiful and Aveda offered their 100% organic tea and coffee in compostable cups. Aveda’s buckets collecting bottle cups were empty which goes to show that people were using the aluminum bottles! Hopefully they will collect some caps as their buckets are now on the set of Gossip Girl, 90210 and Grey’s Anatomy.

Supermodel Aline Weber, while having her makeup applied by one M.A.C.’s makeup artists, thought the Aveda water bottles were a great addition to backstage where water bottles are normally put down and never used again. She explained that this is mainly due to the amount of people and busyness backstage before a show.