i-merino is about three years old, but a recent discovery to many. It may be the most sustainable performance activewear fabric on the planet. i-merino is the brainchild of a fourth-generation merino wool grower and first-generation snow boarder, Australian cofounder Stuart Adams. As a devotee of numerous sport and physical activities, Stuart experienced first hand the superior performance characteristics and comfort of merino wool. Merino is a renewable resource where a new fleece grows on the sheep’s back every year. The wool is obtained without harm to the animal. From farm to fabric, the process is fully tracked and certified, so you are guaranteed the wool passes stringent environmental, social and quality controls.

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Muumuu Heaven is a shop located on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. The family-run business got so busy producing eco-conscious and original women’s apparel from recycled Hawaiian garments, they decided to collaborate with another designer for bags to stock.

Kauai is a neighbor island, same state of Hawaii, where Denise Tjarks structures new life also from old muumuu, aloha shirts and fabric remnants. Word is spreading so fast, it’s impossible to share an exclusive not sold. But you get the idea from these two illustrations. Above is Maia, the pretty green plant print. Below that is the reverse side, an orange small floral print. Both reversible option sides are made from vintage mu’umu’us circa 1970.

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The company was honored to display their messenger bag beginning May 15th at the Sustainable Fashion Symposium in The Design Museum of University of California at Davis, which runs until July 13th, 2008. So exciting that a blog was created just for the event.

I’ve been told that artistic Seattleites in the Emerald City are famed for introducing grunge music, and that the craze made unkempt appearances a trend. This cool unisex bag can style you either way; vogue or grunge!

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Michael Miller Fabrics is co-sponsoring a Baby Bootie contest with Craft Magazine. I would love to see a green crafter win this with organic or recycled materials.

I do suspect there’s some kind of craft hive mind episode going on here, because I’ve planned to write about their organic fabric line this week - and just last week, Autumn posted here at Crafting A Green World about recycled handmade shoes. I fully intend to investigate this set of coincidences, but first let’s talk about Michael Miller Organics.

Michael Miller Fabrics launched its organic line at the beginning of the year. The sneak peek on their blog last fall included a shot of the supercute booties shown here. That blog post gave a snapshot of some of the challenges facing folks who want to bring organic cotton to market:

Did you know that organic cotton has to be grown for at least three years without chemical pesticides, defoliants, or fertilizers? It costs more because organic farms are more labor and management intensive. They’re also usually smaller and do not receive federal subsidies like conventional farming.

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Like Rebecca's Tip O' The Day noted earlier, baking soda is a wonderful, earth-friendly cleaning product you can get almost anywhere on the cheap. Borax, white vinegar, and cream of tartar are just a few items you can use to make safe, non-toxic cleaning products. This site has plenty of recipes if you want to eschew commercial products completely. However, if you are not into the DIY scene, there are a plethora of cleaning products out there that are non-toxic and biodegradable. I've used several, and these are some of the lines that have produced favorable results.

Probably the most widely available, and certainly popular, are Method products. Method produces non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners that are minimally (and tastefully) packaged, and they don't test on animals. They also just introduced floor cleaner kits (which I am SO resisting buying, since I already have a perfectly good mop and bucket), called the oMop that include those popular disposable microfiber mop pads–however, theirs are compostable. Method's appeal is their cost-friendliness and availablity–you can get it at your big-box discount store, and it does stand out in a sea of traditional toxic cleaners in those stores.

Seventh Generation makes paper products and cleaning products–in fact, their Free and Clear line has no fragrances or dyes for those with allergies. Their company has rigorous standards for their products, namely that they are all vegetable-based and biodegradable, are not environmentally hazardous or acutely or chronically toxic, contain no phosphates, chlorine, or animal products. They also have awesome coupons on their website.

If you are looking for straight-up awesomely-scented cleaning products that make your kitchen smell like flowers, not chemicals, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products fit the bill. Their biodegradable cleaners come in three scents, geranium, lemon verbena, and lavender, with a limited run of honeysuckle products out right now for spring cleaning. I love their laundry soap–there's nothing like lavender-scented t-shirts right out of the dryer.

However, my new favorite eco-cleaning line is Bi-O-Kleen, which I pick up at our local green general store. Bi-O-Kleen products are biodegradable, non-toxic, highly concentrated to reduce packaging, and they have an entire soy-based product line. The best part about Bi-O-Kleen products is that their containers are refillable at many retailers–I just take back my empty bottle, and my store refills it (for a discount, too!) I must insert a personal rave on their automatic dish soap: I've never found a biodegradable dishwasher soap that actually worked with our dishwasher, but this soap leaves my dishes completely streak-free. A note on their website–they haven't updated in quite a while, because their products have completely different (and I think better) label design, but it is the same product line.