Today Reem Alasadi deserves mad props for her complex, deconstructed designs and unusual take on how to make fashion more sustainable.

Reem Alasadi bills herself as “the intelligent choice on planet fashion.”

I love how out of the box Reem’s thinking is – she shows there are more ways to be eco-friendly than to use organic textiles or go fair-trade – there is such a multitude of solutions out there – and this is a very creative one!

Zachary’s Smile offers a large collection of women’s vintage fashions (yay!) as well as unique clothing by emerging designers. Today, Zachary’s Smile has two New York locations (and an online shop coming soon!) and three distinct private label collections, which I think is a really smart business model for designers who are unwilling to make the total leap to sustainable design. It’s a good reminder it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Do what you can, take baby steps. But do something, no matter how small. Take the first step.

Basically hypnotized by the breathtaking terrariums of Paula Hayes – so self-contained and perfectly arranged – like little verdant haikus.
But what about a living fashion? A garment that functioned like an ecosystem, that evolved a bit each day, that never lost your interest because it passed through seasons, breathed, lived, surprised you with its tenacity the way life does?

Urban Renewal clothing is created in Philadelphia, where UO is headquartered, out of vintage or dead stock or otherwise recycled fabric/clothing.
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In keeping with the UO theme today, I thought I’d pick some UO trends and try to locate similar items on Etsy. See what you think!

I recently finished reading Braungart and McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle, which is pretty much the bible for green/sustainable product (any kind) design.

The authors outline two different types of product which are explained in more detail here: A product of service and a product of consumption.

What would this look like if we’re talking about clothing?

Monday. Back to the daily grind. However – some of us have amazing jobs that have us itching to get back to work! Witness the amazing Shannon South of Remade USA, for instance. She salvages leather coats and jackets from thrift stores and remakes them into some of the most beautiful bags I have ever seen and I do not say that lightly as I am a shoe girl. You understand.

Recently, wandering around the webosphere, we stumbled upon a treasure trove of flea market oddities, stylish ensembles for the well dressed man, and the occasional post on (un)fashion. Intrigued, we got ahold of the blog’s author Cruz and were delighted to score an interview with a stylish, vintage-lovin’ mind!

I’ll be the first to admit that denim has got me wrapped around its finger. I’ve given up a lot of things, but jeans? The epitome of cool? Luckily, I don’t have to! Even as we speak, clever people out there are busily trying to figure out ways to make denim “personalization” more environmentally friendly. Today we profile the past and future of jeans that want to look 50 yrs. older than they really are.

Did you know I used to be an astrophysicist? True story, till I found my true calling deciphering this funny thing called fashion. So you can only imagine how beyond thrilled I was to stumble upon (no not the web thingy) this stylish gal’s unique vision.

Designer Shabd (cool name!) Simon-Alexander creates very limited edition collections inspired by Hubble telescope photos of worlds being born and stars dying.

Billed as the world’s number 1 clothing recycling site, BigWardrobe.com is a huge online clothing swap, with thousands of members and items online. You can sell or trade your clothes with other members.

or: the secret life of thrift store clothing.

You feel pretty good when you schlep a trash bag full of clothing to your local Goodwill, right? It’s like recycling your clothes, minus the handy receptacle.

But what happens when you drop off the bag? I wish I could make some really cheesy 70s style educational film about this, where the camera is actually in the trashbag as it gets slung around but alas…I will use the power of words instead.