Eco-Fashion Brands You'll Love!

     Have you thought about where your clothes come from or the process by which they are made? Almost every fabric goes through a dying and chemical process, whether it is to treat the fiber and prepare it for manufacture, create a color or specific design, acquire certain features such as wrinkle-free, stretch, or dura-fast. These chemicals are very damaging to the environment believe it or not, as they can cause greenhouse gas, wastes water that cannot be reused and is difficult to recycle, and makes it difficult to recycle the clothing after it is beyond its wear. Man-made fibers such as nylon, rayon, and polyester release a harmful odor, contaminate soil, and do not break down if they are disposed in the landfill.
      Due to the concern for preserving the Earth and a desire to be more eco-friendly, sustainable fashion and eco-brands have taken off. Yes, to be more earth-friendly, it is more expensive, but the benefits outweigh the cost. It only takes one person to start a revolution of change.
          Here are some of my favorite eco and fair-trade friendly companies worth checking out.

 Style With 
     This is a great online directory of clothing and accessory brands that meet the requirements of being eco-friendly, ethically constructed, organic, recycled, and much more. This website allows you to search using certain criteria, such as the type of clothing or accessory you are looking for and the category. It will provide you with a list of brands they think meet this category and a link to each brand's website. The directory is easy to use and provides access to all these brands with a click of a button, unlike searching through pages on Google. I would definitely be spending a lot of time on this website looking at all of the categories and brands listed under each. One weakness is that all of the prices are listed in euros instead of U.S. dollars, but it wouldn't be hard to find a unit converter.
    Here is what the search option on the website (http://www.stylewithheart.com/ ) looks like:

photo from http://tabiijust.com/

Tabii Just: 
    A unique company that constructs dressy attire using a zero-waste design process. This simply means that they utilize every scrap of fabric that goes into making their garment, for example making a dress and a makeup pouch or pocket square from one single piece of fabric. Every inch of the fabric is used to make something, as according to their website, 15% of fabric used usually ends up in the landfill. I think this is a really neat idea and addresses the problem of fabric waste and the importance of sustainability that many companies struggle with. Their dresses are very bright and colorful featuring bold designs. All of the designs are designed and ethically made locally in New York City. I will have the privilege of interviewing the designer, Tabitha St. Bernard for a future post. :)
  View some of her other designs: http://tabiijust.com/spring-2014/#











Freedom of Animals 
       Freedom of Animals is a luxury handbag company that is sustainable, eco-friendly, and animal cruelty-free produced in the U.S. The bags look and feel like leather, except that they are constructed using a recycled polyurethane and organically produced cotton. The coloring is done naturally and not chemically. All of the components used in making the bags have been made of recycled materials sourced from companies that participate in sustainable and ethical practices. The care is very easy unlike real leather. No animals are harmed in the process and to show their love for animals, they have partnered with a Kenyan animal rehabilitation center for orphan elephants and rhinos. The neat thing is that 5% of the proceeds from their bags are donated to this organization and their bags have names of some of the elephants. I love these bags! Once I have a steady income, I would love to purchase one of them.  (http://freedomofanimals.com/) Here is one of their bags that I am in love with:

photo from http://freedomofanimals.com/

Although going "green" typically is more expensive, the benefits outweigh the costs and it gives you a good feeling knowing you made a difference. Word-of-mouth and action can influence people to adopt this style of living and shopping behavior. We need to use our voice to stand up for what we believe and make a change in the world. It takes one person to start a revolution, but it takes everyone to make an earthquake and reduce our waste and save the earth.