This past week in Vegas ushered in new designers and a new category, the ECOllection, at the steadily growing, highly anticipated annual Magic fashion event.

One of this year’s standouts was Loka Kouture. The rocker chic collection by Paloma Posford and Dahiana Cedeno, launched in 2007 from a small studio in Venice, CA and line brings a new edginess to the glam rock look by blending sexiness and socially responsibility. The line is eco-conscious, vegan and sweat shop-free. Rock on ladies.

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…unless you’re a parent that hates looking at tools, trucks, sports logos, and cowboy gear, in which case you’re up a creek.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for all of the hand-me-downs we’ve received since our son was born last fall.  Passing clothing down from kid to kid is an American tradition that’s thrifty and environmentally responsible at the same time.  I’ve also had a great time going through resale shops and thrift stores and I’ve found some good stuff.  Blue jean shorts for $1?  Sold!

However,  since kiddo isn’t old enough to care about his own clothes yet, we are actually the primary viewers of his wardrobe and we are starting to get a bit tired of all the “All Boy All The Time” look - and it is darn difficult to find anything else unless you buy new.  I know it isn’t any easier on the other side. Announcing “it’s a girl!” seems to trigger a pink clothing avalanche.  (Also see Amy’s post on GirlMogul for some alternatives.)

So if you’re on the hunt for something to break the mold and liven up your babe’s couture, here’s a list of 20 eco-friendly shirts that don’t scream boy or girl (or cowboy).  Use the money you saved on the jean shorts to splurge a little, or drop a few hints to the grandparents.

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leading sports brands have responded to repeated pressure on supplier factory conditions from the PlayFair 2008 campaign. Together with trade unions and NGO’s they will explore how to promote trade unionism and collective bargaining as well as improving wages across the sector. Only last year, scandal erupted when four Chinese factories that were producing clothing and gadgets with the Olympic logo, were accused of underpaying and mistreating their workers. The joint effort for which PlayFair has been fighting for over five years is an important step in the right direction.

Campaigns like this that promote awareness are essential educational tools for change.

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Many believe vintage shopping to be one step closer to protecting the planet! When I’m not around to swing by a favorite buy-sell-trade boutique like the Painted Bird, I find digging around online for styles the next best thing. Recycling clothing and finding creative wardrobe solutions like Dig ‘N’ Swap are truly the way to go. Once in a while I like looking for cool graphic teeshirts from online vintage boutiques such as:

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Kee-Ka is named for the sweet babbling of babes, and the company is devoted to eco-chic apparel for little ones.  Eco-chic translates to fair trade, fair wage, 100% certified organic, low impact dyes, social responsibility, charitable contributions, and ecological responsibility.  Of course, babies don’t care about their fashionable onesies, but their bodies deserve only the purest organic fibers against their skin.

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There is an end of summer sale happening over at Eco Citizen.

… Eco Citizen was born from the simple desire to help people and contribute to the well-being of the world. “It feels good to know that the items I sell are not only well designed but also fair trade, organic and sustainable- to know this gives me a purpose.” Joslin Van Arsdale

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What started out two decades ago as an experiment, became the inspiration and vision behind what MATT & NAT’S fashion-forward, design-centric and animal-free handbag line is today.  The experiment was to embrace a vegan diet for just 30 days, but little did Creative Director, Inder Bedi know that it would set off a series of events that would lead to the birth of a super chic handbag line influenced by modern design and architecture. 

Serious, structured, edgy & incredibly modish describes the brand new Fall ‘08 handbag collection from this widely popular Montreal-based company.  Taking its cues from menswear this season, its heavy on hardware and boasts a deep color palette.  The Japanese Paper series has the look of leather, but is made of treated cardboard while the Feutre series looks and feels like felt, but is crafted out of recycled plastic bottles.     

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Dig ‘N’ Swap

Dig ‘N’ Swap has a new solution

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Australian fashion company Bird has beautiful organic designs. Shown above are a couple of their styles from last summer and featured below with red are looks for this summer.

Bird Textiles believes:

Global Sustainability will be the driving force changing the way we work in the 21st century. Sustainability meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability does not necessarily mean a deacrease in quality of life or product. At Bird we believe it is possible to create beautiful quality products in a responsible and sustainable way. We are not perfect. We are working on reducing our footprint. We are working towards sustainability.

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Kate D’ Arcy is both designer and model behind the Toggery Collection that is full of contemporary, yet comfortable knits made of eco-friendly fabrics, most of which features ultra-soft organic cotton.  “I’ve created a lifestyle brand that enables women to make socially and environmentally conscious decisions about clothing, while still being fashion forward and trend oriented.  Everyone needs to do their part but it doesn’t need to be a sacrifice” says Kate.

Her new Fall Collection is right on target with the hot trends of the season featuring royal jewel tones and renaissance-esque sleeves.  With versatility in mind, these looks vary from your not-so-typical casual wear to dresses you’d like to be seen in (and remembered) at a cocktail party.   

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Recently we highlighted very hip, accessible, fine organic designs. This time fgs is featuring a dreamy, far away Norwegian brand called FIN. Environmental consciousness and social responsibility are at their core. Pictured here are images from their new lines. In fact they are previewing their Summer 2009 collection as well~

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Models, designers and media will all be offered emission-free transportation to and from the shows courtesy of Aveda branded petty cabs; organic & locally sourced food is being served to models, stylists, makeup artists and production crews backstage; all use of fur is being eliminated; show invitations and programs are being printed on post-consumer recycled paper; and they’re replacing all bottled water (400 p/show on average) with reusable SIGG bottles that will be filled with NYC tap water (which is actually some of the most pure in the US believe it or not).

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These fun GirlMogul.com tees are a refreshing alternative to the rampant retail ‘pink think’ and “So Sexy So Soon” flash-n-trash that’s predominant in Packaging Girlhood as of late.

GirlMogul’s aspirational identity-wear offers positive personas that are Shaping Youth in favorable ways… I’m sold!

“We believe in encouraging girls’ dreams. You won’t find any princess messages here; just positive, encouraging messages…Future Leader of the Free World, Future CEO, Future Zoologist, Future Brain Surgeon”…

Quite a refreshing change from the snarky tidbits of consumerist tripe with the ‘shop ‘til you drop’ mentality I’ve come across with back to school shopping lately, eh?! Seems like they could use a few more eco-focused nudges toward going green, so I contacted founder Andrea Stein to pitch her the idea of encouraging ECP readers to create the phrase THEY’D most like to see on a tee-shirt…Here’s our mini-interview:

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 Ahhh….the feel of cashmere!  Is there anything like it?  This incredibly soft and high quality cashmere is sourced and produced in a remote region of northwestern Mongolia which allows traditional Mongolian herdsman and knitters to sustain their centuries-old craft.  This helps them avoid pressures from cheap cashmere markets that lead to over-grazing and desertification. 

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What makes Sustainable Babyish more wonderful is that it’s GREEN! How is it green? Erin uses Eco-friendly textile such as hemp and Organic cotton. Hemp is great because it is a renewable resource and gentler to the planet. This wonder fiber is also ultra absorbent. Sustainable Babyish takes it a step further and uses Organic cotton which uses sustainable practices in cotton farming, a definite plus. Erin also utilizes fair trade labor by employing WAHMS in the United States. Her diapers, especially her soakers are sold out within minutes of being stocked. It’s incredible how a mother can change the world one diaper at a time.

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Once upon a time I could hit the local Outrageous Outgrowns, Zwaggle and haggle online for eco-friendly finds, or find green parenting ways to make a difference by showing how to host a kids’ clothing swap among my pals.

But when kids get a bit older and media peer pressure kicks in, tweens and teens are ripe for consumption junction mall rat mentality, sometimes even calling gently used items ‘gross,’ or being turned off by wearing their own friends’ castoffs in a swap-n-shop format…

So how do you effectively combat commercialism and turn brand influence on itself?

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Cuz, ya know, kids need new stuff all the time.

Sorry folks, I’ll try and regain my composure now. I just wanted to start this post off with an appropriate amount of ridiculousness. I get that Toys R Us is trying to get on the green bandwagon. They’ve sent out a press release that includes this:

Toys”R”Us stores nationwide are now offering customers another way to go “green” with a new line of “R”Us branded reusable bags in a variety of eye-catching styles and colors.

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From Habitude’s About page:

We’re a design-oriented company with a strong belief in protecting and respecting the earth’s natural resources through all of our business and personal choices. Our aim is to offer sustainability AND style to the eco-conscious consumer.

Habitude founder, Laura Chapuis states: “By 2005, I’d been working in the fashion industry eight years and I was finding it less and less meaningful. So, after 10 years studying and working in New York, I packed up and moved south to Texas.” When she landed in Texas and learned that most of the organic cotton grown in this country is grown there, it felt like serendipity. She said, “like finally, here was the time and the place to do what I’d always wanted to do . . .” In addition, Laura mentions her fondness of the Gandhi quote “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

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Early childhood educators suggest that using a child’s name is the first place to begin teaching your child the alphabetic principle.  Learning name recognition, as well as the letter names and sounds of one’s own name, is the logical and most appropriate way for children to learn their letters.  Custom items brandishing your child’s name, such as Sweet Line’s custom organic cotton embrodery t-shirts, give your child lots of opportunity to experience their name.  I still remember when my daughter was two-years-old and learned to spell her name from a custom clock her grandfather gave her. 

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