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.

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.

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.

Nieves Ruiz, of Bibico was kind enough to share her thoughts on sustainable fashion with Green By Design! Bibico produces classical garments with a clever twist that appeal to a wide age range and are all made by small cooperatives of native women in India and Nepal.

We were quite honestly beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, a sustainable fashion company in the truest, deepest sense of the word. Read on to see what we mean!

“I am often asked how I had the foresight to start a company based on the principles of
sustainability and Slow Design. “

The companies featured today are absolutely amazing – their product is exquisite, but so is their commitment to preserving traditional methods and materials. Every piece is so unique and special it makes me want to stop what I’m doing and jump on a plane to start a llama farm in the Andes, stat. Don’t think I don’t mean it.

It’s Italian, so why am I surprised? But it’s so beautiful and so innovative too! For this collection, the designer took denim and recycled the fiber into jersey for their BEE YOU TEE Full garments.
How can I not swoon when the first line on their about page is: The Crossley line for 2009 relies on total environmental respect?

Okay, seriously? You know those couples/families that make you want to gag because they are so perfectadorable? There are companies like that, too. We all know about Google with its gaggle of employee perks.
So I just found another perfect corporate fam — only this one happens to make the most luscious merino active-wear EVAR. A quick poke around the impressively well-designed website reveals gestures so thoughtful and cute it makes you all teary-eyed. Of course they all go on group hikes together. Gag (but secretly I’m SO jealous!).

There is an online showroom I trust unequivocally. If they say a designer is hot, I say, I’m burnin’ up. So when this adorable Parisian trio caught my eye on their site, I hopped right on over and found the cutest, most wearable little tops and tunics, all manufactured in small fair trade cooperatives in Mumbai from organic natural fibers.

Sometimes, you just get bored of your closet. The classics aren’t cutting it today. You feel footloose and fancy free. Out with the old, in with the new! Fashion is about the latest and greatest! Shopping shouldn’t be till death do us part!

Well, there are plenty of earth friendly ways to get rid of clothing that has outworn (no pun intended) its welcome. Have a clothing swap with friends, donate to a thrift store, OR…… You can buy clothing that is INTENDED to deteriorate over time.

Leila Hafzi first presented her ideas to the world at a show in Stavanger, Norway, in 1997. Inspired by the hand work done by women’s groups during a trip to Nepal, Hafzi’s designs take root in the very country that inspired her so much. Among the first to break into the EcoFashion world, Hafzi introduced the idea of an eco-clothing line to the high end fashion industry. Over the past decade, Hafzi has worked hard to create a network that represents the very best Nepal has to offer in tailoring and fabrics–and refashioning them into innovative and groundbreaking designs.

Way back when we had three or so outfits. One to wear until it was filthy, one to wear while the filthy one was washed, and our Sunday best. Clothes were investments, not disposable commodities that we picked up on a weekly basis and disposed of on a seasonal one.
Maybe fashion is not the right word. Fashion implies something that will soon be demode, something fleeting.
Maybe that’s not what fashion should be. Maybe it should be something timeless and powerful. Something that evolves with you, not something that you outgrow

This bag is the essence of minimalism–and really encompasses how sustainability can be best achieved through simplicity, rather than complexity.

.

Just when you thought you couldn’t get any more out of your Snicker’s candy bar besides a wonderful night of gluttony at the movies, think again! Candy wrappers, soda cans, and old tires are the new fur and leather of hand bags…and it only gets greener. Ecoist has learned to combine fashion and ingenuity to bring us a line of handbags constructed completely out of candy wrappers, tire rubber, food packaging, and other materials that would otherwise be tossed into our local landfills

ecoSkin is a line that I happened upon pretty randomly while hopping from blog to blog in search of inspiration for Green By Design. I was struck by the collection’s soft, draping dresses and silky, curve-hugging looks. The first word that came to mind was: flattering. You can tell these designs would look good on just about anyone.

No, popomomo isn’t a Pokemon character. It isn’t a line of Swedish furniture. And it isn’t a type of sushi.
popomomo is revolutionary. Short for “Post-Post Modernist Movement,” this Eco-Fashion line is a great example of going beyond your basic revamped organic cotton tee.
The website says it all: “Instead of floating in relative perspectives and endlessly reworking the past, popomomo focuses on the new and true; creating idea—as opposed to trend—based pieces.”

Desira Pesta is one of the pioneers of the DIY movement. Based out of New York City, Desira fashions beautiful, smart, unique, and full on genius designs–all incorporating a model of reuse and recycle.
Working in this field since 2003, Desira’s clothing has been recognized for its innovation, and featured in publications such as Vogue’s Style.com, Bust Magazine, Martha Stewart Show, Lucky Magazine, VenusZine, DailyCandy, Styledash, Modish, & The Deal.
I was lucky enough to be able to interview this brilliant designer, who has such a special take on modern ecofashion.

If you haven’t heard about Portland based Nau, you should definitely take a peek at their line.
This NW brand has been doing green long before it became cool. Their clothes are so fantastic, Nau has converted a lot of people to the green movement just because of the incredible style and quality of their clothes.
This year, Nau sponsored it’s first annual $10,000 Grant for Change. The idea was to support people who have started and created lasting and positive change in the world around them.

Stephanie Doucette of the Doucette Duvall–the eco-fashion line chock full of girlish accents and ’60s esque dresses–gives us her two cents on fashion as a fundamental and what’s next for Doucette Duvall.