Green Options

I’m pretty much in love with these hand-printed fabrics from Canadian crafty duo Repeat!

Roisin Fagan lives in London and her partner Arounna Khounnoraj is from Toronto. The pair met when they were neighbors at a craft show in Toronto almost three years ago, and they hit it off immediately. After running into each other at several other Toronto shows over the years, where folks kept asking them if they sold their fabrics, they decided to do just that and to do it together!

I cannot believe we haven’t covered LIVE Textiles yet in our Fab Fabric series. I found them a while ago, but my interest was reignited when I saw some of their new prints for sale at Near Sea Naturals.

I fell in love with these eco-friendly fabrics by Jenny Lee-Katz the moment I saw them (thanks Design*Sponge).  With nearly 50 designs to choose from each available on three eco-friendly base cloths, I am sure you can understand my excitement.  The designs feature vibrant colors and a contemporary seaside vibe.

Remember this fabulous Forsythia linen swatch I ordered from Cicada Studio? Well,
thanks to Ohdeedoh’s post about de-branding the kitchen counter with pretty canisters, I was inspired to make over my stainless steel canisters. I love stainless steel, but it can seem very clinical. I decided to warm up my canisters with linen cozies. Read on for the complete how-to…

Just in for spring Cicada Studio has added a new linen swatch to the shop.  The cheerful Forsythia swatch is printed on a generous 13 x 17 inch swatch of 100% Belgium Linen.  I first featured designer Michelle Engel Bencsko in the Top 10 Modern, Eco-freindly, Printed Fabrics on Etsy. One thing I love about indie fabric designers is there ability to come out with new patterns more frequently and Michelle never disappoints.

Her fabulous linen swatches are the perfect size for a multitude of craft projects.   Read on for some great ideas.

I originally featured Shannon Lamden’s work in the Top 10 Modern, Eco-friendly Printed Fabrics on Etsy.  Since then the endlessly creative woman behind Aunty Cookie, has released a few new fabric prints inspired by the intricate art of paper cutting.    

The task of finding modern, eco-friendly fabrics is daunting.  Etsy is a fabulous resource of sprouting designers, but can be difficult to search.  My original post on the Top 10 Modern, Eco-friendly Fabric Sources on Etsy was the top post on the Tiny Décor Blog in 2008 and continues to be in the top 3 posts so far in 2009.  I have decided to again do all the research for you to create an updated list for 2009.  There are some oldies, but goodies that remain on the list, but I have also found a few new gems.

Determining what is eco-friendly and what is not is often very subjective.  At a minimum all the fabrics on this list are made of natural fibers with the least amount of conventional cotton as possible.  Some of these fabrics are a linen/cotton blend that is more eco-friendly than a 100% conventional cotton fabric or a synthetic fabric.  All of these fabrics are printed with non-toxic, water-based inks.  Most of these fabrics are screen printed by hand by the designers themselves.

Lotta Jansdotter is the label for Lotta Anderson’s amazing fabric designs and creations.  ”Dotter” means daughter and “Jan” is the name of Lotta’s father.  Lotta grew up in Åland, an island between Sweden and Finland, which has been a great source of inspiration for her Scandanavian designs.

Lotta Fabrics

There is a small selection of wonderful, modern fabrics at Lotta Jansdotter.  The fabrics are screen-printed on 100% linen.  Linen fabric is made from flax fiber which is naturally grown without the use of harmful pesticides.  Fabrics are sold by the half yard for $22.  There are also linen remnant bags available with 4-5 remnant pieces each featuring a different design.  Both the fabric yardage and remnant bags would be prefect for small sewing projects (try making your own fabric cuffs).  Just look at Lotta’s bags and home accessories for inspiration.

Check out these amazing and bright fabrics by Marina Cavalieri. These wonderfully designed textiles are hand-printed onto certified organic and natural fibers.

The textiles designed by Marina Cavalieri are perfect for home accents, soft furnishing, upholstery and fashion clothing and accessories.

On top of their small production company and printing in small batches onto organic and natural fibers, the company is also working towards Fair Trade certification, to ensure that communities receive a fair wage and adhere to ethical practices.

It’s great to see that more and more textile companies are coming around to the term green. For some, they dip their toe in the water, for others it’s complete immersion. GreenSTYLE by Robert Kaufman is a nice wade into environmental waters with the green shore on the horizon.

This line of green fabric is organic, sustainable and uses low-impact dyes. The company recognizes that it is just the beginning of their journey into eco-friendly but their commitment to greener fabrics extends beyond production and procurement and into the office itself. The company is taking steps “to reduce paper waste, recycle and conserve energy.”

The GreenSTYLE line offers up many different fabrics including a nice selection of canvas, Linen and organic cotton.

It seems to me there is an abundance of cozy sustainable T-shirts, sweat pants/shirts and general weekend lounge wear out there, but where does that leave the nine-to-fivers, cubicle and corner office dwellers; those of us who need to look crisp & collected during a presentation in the board room, court room or at that power lunch?    

Discover some great looks below made of sustainable fibers that will help you look pulled together, while also satisfying your desire to tread a little (or a lot) lighter: