I am in LOVE with this company, Speesees, which provides fun and stylish children’s things from beautiful kimono onesies to au natural baby hat. Here are the other reasons to love this Eco-conscious and green company.

• It’s manufactured under fair trade practices in India and the owner has developed a close relationship with the farmers who live bio-dynamically and receive health care.
• Everything is made from handpicked organic cotton, and knit and dyed with low impact dyes. All the products are made sweatshop free. “Natural light floods the premises and our energetic team, including disabled members, work decent hours for fair living wages. An organic garden surrounds the premises.”
• They give back to the community by donating $1 to every $100 earned from online retail orders. The company has also implemented a recycling program.

the scoop: when your baby outgrows his/her speesees, if you return the clothing to us, we will donate it on your behalf` to one of several grateful organizations in the area to be used by the children of disadvantaged women.

and the added perk is that you can get a deep discount on your next purchase towards those organic baby yoga pants. (Downward dog has never looked cuter).

The company was founded by Rachel Pearson, a natural cotton  diaper baby and a child of environmentally minded parents. Whereas her classmates were raised on wonderbread and fruit rollups; Pearson defied convention with whole wheat bread on recycled wax paper. But the natural upbringing has made Pearson a wildly successful ecotrepreneur, and someone who truly cares about the plights of this Earth.

Let this be an inspiration to raise Eco-minded little babies who grow up to be a compassionate and caring adults who strive to make a difference in this world. Speesees tagline is “We are in this together” We are indeed.

As my friend, Sustainable Lifestyle Guru and Karmakonsum founder Christoph Harrach states, the Green Fashion movement is a web2.0 movement. He calls it “Eco2.0″. Weather it’s true or not globally, in Germany most cool green fashion labels available are sold online.

Some labels go even further and let their customers be part of their communities deciding over styles, models, and where the money spent for charity goes to. Fair Trade clothing sold over music labels, online design contests, innovative ideas are getting so normal that we don’t even react. But isn’t it great to not only decide for wearing great clothes with a conscious feel, but also being able to connect to your clothing labels within social communities? In the end social fashion is starting to mean more than organic cotton, it can meanwhile mean that you as a costumer decide how the new collection looks!

One of my German favorites here are Armed Angels, who have a radical community approach combined with high ecological and social standards of their production and Fairliebt (”Fairly in love”), who sell simple Fair Trade shirts with a strong feeling for a new community of young, conscious buyers with a dedication to great style.

An another very innovative approach has the (not German) eco-fashion surf label NVOHK, who claim to be not only community based but community managed. You get your investments in the company back in shirts. 35% of the profits goes back to the people taking part in the community.

Internationally there has been a boom of new online selling green fashion labels, online boutiques and webshops. I counted over thousand green fashion brands and designers on the internet by now. The internet is taking over our daily fashions. Styles are spotted over blogs, and dedicated online fashionistas influence their beloved fashion designers without even knowing it.

Can we say we are changing the world, just by doing the same thing we always do: sitting behind our computers pressing about 60 different buttons all the time? Yes, we can! We are just doing it. Here the social fashion revolution starts. With a simple mouse click you become a green fashion chick. And if you like, you even decide what shirt is designed to be ready for you next month…

This is one reason I opened Pivot, a boutique devoted to organic and sustainable fashion in Chicago, last September. Prior to starting Pivot, I was working as a journalist with a fashion focus.

Through my research and reporting I discovered the developing and intriguing world of eco-fashion. I became fascinated with the fabrics and designers who were choosing to create collections that were not only beautiful, but also conscious of the environment. To me, this was simply smart. If you can have both fashion and regard for the earth, then why wouldn’t you?

So, while usually descriptors such as “green,” “eco-friendly,” or “earth-friendly” are used to refer to fabrics such as organic cotton, lyocell, peace silk or bamboo, I prefer to point out that they are just smarter alternatives.

I wanted to wear these fabrics, I wanted to support the designers and most importantly I wanted to share my excitement with others. I’ve always considered myself to be a “connector” of sorts. I love it when I can introduce someone to another person or resource that can help them.

After recognizing that Chicago was lacking an eco-boutique and a retail environment dedicated to promoting and growing the industry, I realized that opening a store would be the best way for me to share my enthusiasm and passion with the city. And that’s how I came to eat, breathe and sleep eco-fashion.

For the past seven months I have so enjoyed introducing customers to new materials, processes and the designers leading the way. Now I’m delighted to be part of Feelgood Style to continue advancing smarter fashion. I bring a very commercial and consumer-driven point of view to this blog, as every day I’m trying to find new lines that my customers will love, designs that will work for real lifestyles and bodies, and information on products that makes sense. I look forward to connecting you with smart, fashionable finds!

Editor's note: Please join us in welcoming Jason Phillip to the Green Options writing team! A freelance writer and editor based in Chicago, Jason will be focusing on the "green scene" in the Windy City for us. Mayor Richard Daly has committed to making Chicago the greenest city in the country, so we're looking forward to Jason's reports on these efforts.

My idea of sustainable fashion has always been making sure the clothing I wear gets as long a life as possible. I like keeping things in my wardrobe forever, and when they finally can’t be worn even one more time, replacing them with something from a thrift store that I know has had at least one previous owner. I like to think I'm buying classics, and also keeping material out of the waste stream. If I'm not buying something new, my purchase doesn't help spew any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or exploit any sweatshop workers, right? Plus, I can save a bundle outfitting myself with recycled duds.

But as most fans of "thrifting" know, it can be tough to shop this way all the time. There's an element of luck involved—you have to make do with what fate presents you. The scavenger hunt feeling can be addictive, but sometimes it's just not practical—like when building a professional wardrobe, or looking for outdoor apparel with modern weatherproofing performance. No one has ever accused me of being a slave to fashion, but sometimes you gotta go retail. And for the eco-conscious consumer, going retail may now mean seeking out environmentally-friendly garments. In just the past year, it seems, the fashion industry has really begun to embrace the environmental ethos, and the choices available to consumers interested in ethically-produced clothing are growing by leaps and bounds.

Case in point: I got a pair of recycled sandals as a gift this year, after my decade-old pair of slip-ons finally gave up the ghost. My wife—never a fan of the old dork cork classics, but nonetheless tolerant of my penchant for comfort over style—found a decent looking replacement pair that compared favorably in the looks department, and had some impressive sustainability features. I appreciated the fact that the soles are made from recycled car tire tread, the straps consist of used (but clean) bicycle inner tubes, and the thread holding it all together is organic cotton. Alas, the whole shoe is less than the sum of its parts; the sad fact is that the new togs just make me miss my old pair. They don't feel anywhere near as sturdy, they fall off my feet when I walk because the straps can't be tightened, and the stitching in the soles looks like it's about to wear through after only three weeks of use. Did I mention I owned my old pair since the mid-1990s? These "sustainable" sandals don't seem like they'll last through next summer. The warm glow I felt around the purchase of this innovative product has faded pretty quickly, replaced by the creeping realization that I'm going to have to make another summer footwear purchase soon.

For the fourth episode of their Big Ideas For A Small Planet series, the Sundance Channel takes on the challenging topic of dressing green. The first three episodes of this original documentary series have gotten a large amount of critical acclaim for bringing environmental issues to the millions of Americans who tune in. So far, the topics of fuel, building construction, and city development have been examined, offering up three different topic-specific ideas of how to enhance our lives and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time in each episode.

Premiering this Tuesday, May 8th at 9pm Eastern and Pacific, the Wear episode features commentary from Ali Hewson (Bono's wife and founder of Edun Clothing), Simran Sethi, Carson Kressley (the wonderfully flamboyant blond fashion guru from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), and Graham Hill (founder of TreeHugger.com). I must admit that when I saw Carson come on screen, I was worried that the episode might end up being less than serious, but he had a unique point-of-view to add to the subject of green fashion, acting as a voice for the many that see style as an integral part of their life, just like eating or sleeping. Helping to show people that wearing sustainable fabrics has little, if anything, to do with tie-dye and hippies is one of the most important factors for the growing green fashion market, and this episode does a darn good job of getting that point across.

Tarma is a company that designs, manufactures and sells unique, high quality, personal art that celebrates the spirit of adventure and a love of the outdoors. Guiding our enterprise is a commitment to meaningful social and environmental issues. We understand that everyone’s journey is exquisitely their own. Our personal art provides those who invest in it with a visual representation of their life’s journey and a demonstration of commonly shared values. For the Tarma family, our guideposts reflect our most closely held hopes, dreams and intentions. Our belief is that businesses have a social and ethical responsibility. We will strive to live by our guideposts, to do our part, and set a good example for others to follow. Social and environmental issues are at the forefront of public concern. Our goal is to deliver creative products that we 'adventurists' enjoy backed by an environmental and socially responsible company.

Sustainable underwear is a branch of the green style market that is still developing, but there are a few companies that have been around since before being green became "trendy." One of them is bgreen. Based in Southern California, bgreen has been family-owned for three generations. Before you worry about what your jeans or sweaters are made out of, start with the first thing you put on - undies.

"We strive for performance and endurance. Simply put, each of our garments is built to last. Our designs are simple and bold, yet soft and sexy. Our embellishments add a playful, curious and youthful feel to our garments. We support local communities, fair trade and environmental preservation. We exclusively use certified organic cotton and low-impact dyes to make our fabric. We believe our planet earth is the only home we have. It is everyone’s responsibility to contribute everything they can to protect and preserve our delicate planet for this generation and many more to come," says the company's website, which also provides images of their sweatshop-free California factory. Men's and women's intimatewear are the most popular of their creations, though bgreen is now also making activewear for both genders as well.

"I think perhaps the most unique thing about our business is that it was envisioned, designed, and created specifically to solve a social and environmental need," says Mike Korchinsky, Founder and CEO of Wildlife Works. Recently launching the brand in the UK with a unique website, Wildlife Works has been a success here in the States since Mike started the San Francisco-based brand in 2001.

There are few things more important than family. Our Mother Earth has cared for us since the very beginning and Father Time is with us until the very end. Along the way, we share this playground with our many brothers and sisters. Whether bird, bear or butterfly, whale, dolphin or squirrel, man, woman or child, we are all in this together and the sooner we realize this the better off we'll be.

You'd likely expect this kind of intro from a non-profit or grassroots group. Instead, you now find yourself entering into the world of Mission Playground. Based in San Diego, California, MP is well-known for using dynamic and visually stunning images on their items. "It's too easy to say something negative so we try our best to keep the things optimistic. We are trying to make a push in the clothing industry towards more environmentally sound products. It's not enough having a visual message on your shirt. We think the shirt itself should send a message from start to finish."

Allow me to begin by saying that the Oscars are a bloated display of lopsided wealth and navel gazing. But I love fashion. There’s nothing that makes me feel as good as donning a well-cut hemp pinafore over a clean, crisp unbleached organic cotton tee, my long kitty-cat earrings just brushing the tops of my shoulders. Which is why I read with interest the Oscar red carpet round-up Monday in someone else’s copy of the local paper. Once that person threw the paper down and ran away, I could really delve into the sartorial splendor that is Hollywood’s biggest event.

And I was not disappointed. Well, I was disappointed in the sheer waste of silk. And the fabrics that were obviously chemically processed. But I was not disappointed in the wealth of things to shake my head at. And believe me, I shook my head long and hard (not too hard; that’s a carbon suck) when I learned that An Inconvenient Truth won an Academy Award® for best documentary.

HTnaturals is committed to the development, manufacturing and sales of comfortable, durable and affordable daily wear garments that are less harmful to the environment and provide benefits for the people involved in the entire product supply chain, from the farmer, to the processors, distributors, retailers and ultimately the consumer. Fair Trade and Organic certified, the company even has a corporate office in China to monitor factory conditions. The brand gladly displays pictures of their overseas factory on their website. If that wasn't enough, only sustainable fibers (organic cotton, bamboo, soy, hemp, and recycled polyester) are used to create their entire collection.

Launched a few years ago, their organic cotton line began with only a few tops for men and women. Since then, 21 of their classic styles have become available in some of the softest and smoothest fabric around. Men, women, kids, babies, and even the family dog can get in on the organic cotton party with this brand. Oh yeah, there is one topic I haven't mentioned yet: how much does it cost?