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?

Did you know that most polyester clothing today is made from “new” polyester, made from oil? However, polyester is totally recyclable and the technology exists to do it! Furthermore, there is enough polyester clothing out there, especially if we count all the poly in landfills, that if we were to strop producing new polyester, we could recycle all the unwanted polyester and have more than enough to meet demand!

Haha – it looks like I mistyped “furs” – but those in the know will recognize the abbreviation for “Frursday.”

Today, my friends, we explore those intrepid vintage e-shops who have the moxie to take it to a whole new level and really WERK it out. Get ready for some drool-worthy eye-candy!

Okay, to be honest, I’m a fairly recent covert to vintage. It challenges me, which I love. It’s true that working a vintage piece, especially a semi-out-there one, into a cohesive look is not an easy task. I love how outrageous some of the pieces are, and how timeless others can be.

Sometimes, the best way to ease into vintage is with accessories. After shoes, my favorite accessory is a belt. It is unparallelled for tying a look together or for tweaking a silhouette. So today we explore belts. WIN ONE ON FACEBOOK!!!

With the increased popularity of upcycling, recycling, reusing, and restoring, it’s no surprise that the craft, cottage, and DIY industries have quickly risen to the top of the market.
However, there is a dark side to the craft world, which over-eager crafties can quickly turn to.

I’ve been really into upcycled jewelry lately–and Etsy has been an excellent source of vintage, eco-finds. (I actually might do all my shopping on Etsy, and I encourage you to do the same! It makes it so easy to do all your shopping in one place AND be eco-friendly!) I think they’re perfect gifts for mothers, sisters, best friends, aunts, nieces, cousins..what have you!

In times like these where cash flow may not necessarily run as abundantly as before, it’s a sure bet that (almost) any means of coming up with some spare change is not out of the question! Here’s a thought to chew on- the concept of getting green for going green. Plato’s Closet is a chain of stores that brings new options to recycling used clothing. Started by the same team who opened Play It Again Sports, the store is based off the concept that customers receive cash for the clothing they recycle

Does it make a difference if the garbage is old or new? How much of an impact are you having, if it still ends up in the waste stream? Obviously it’s more beneficial to our planet to reuse what we have rather than adding to the waste, but in some sense, I can get the frustration voiced by many people: if it’s going to end up in the trash anyways, what’s the point?

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.

With the help of Melissa Baswell from Mountains of the Moon, and the innovative products of Jendarling Bags, we examine an often overseen and yet incredibly wasteful side of fashion: The garment bag.

A typical Cinderella story doesn’t usually involve a ballgown made of discarded candy wrappers.
Unless your fairy godmother is designer Gary Harvey…

While organic and sustainable materials share the same ethical and moral roots, what many are unaware of is that the two terms are not entirely interchangeable. While organic and sustainable are not necessarily mutually exclusive either, it’s important, as a consumer, to know what it means when a product is labeled organic or labeled sustainable.

Fabric waste might seem like a topic limited to fashion designers, tailors, and, crafty people. But fabric waste doesn’t just mean leftover fabric from a homemade skirt. It means the pile of clothes left after you clean your closet, it means the towels stained from spilled wine, it means the clothes your child just doesn’t fit into anymore, and just about everything in between.

Mountains of the Moon head designer and founder, Melissa Baswell, has been making clothes out of reused fabric since she first got her hands on a needle and thread at the age of five. Now, her line Mountains of the Moon based in Chicago, is aimed at creating high-quality clothing with practices that actually help the environment. Read her inside view on how to eliminate fabric waste in the fashion industry.

When it comes to recycling, textiles and fabric aren’t usually the first things to come to mind. For a lot of people, throwing clothes away hardly seems like trash. But as these mindsets have grown and spread, so has the buildup of textile waste. This week, we’re focusing on fabric waste, and how to reduce it.

While digging online for bargains is one way to get around the price barrier of Eco-Luxe, another time tested way to skirt the big price tag is to hit up your local Thrift Store or Consignment Shop. Not only is everything incredibly inexpensive, but chances are that you’ll find something wild and totally unique.

More products are becoming recyclable, and we’re doing more with reused and recycled products. It’s coming to a point where I find myself asking, “You can recycle that?” Recycled paints, surfboards and reused wine casks.

The well-known one-liner from Mike Nichols’ classic movie The Graduate is uttered to the eponymous Benjamin by Mr. McGuire. But Ben, a rudderless young man who is unsure of where he’s headed, knows at least one thing: it’s not going to be plastics, which stand for everything that’s wrong and phony in society.

Canada was wrapped deep in the cold dark heart of Old Man Winter, Although not long home after two months away, I started thinking of what I could do to escape the inevitable frost-bite or busted back from too much snow removal.

Things were so simple when we still lived in town: every Thursday night we’d place our full garbage cans on the curb and next morning they had magically emptied themselves. Sometimes we’d hear the raccoons having a midnight party in them.