This short Technology and Entertainment Design Conference clip is by Rachel Armstrong who states :

“Scientists need to work outside their own areas of expertise to make new technologies that are pertinent to the 21st century and to collaborate, both with other scientific disciplines and the arts and humanities.”

“Metabolic materials” - is what TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong researches - construction materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to “grow” architecture.

Rachel thinks of this as we think about awesome parks or gardens because “metabolic materials” are made from terrestrial chemistry…

Read more of this story »

Monica also planned how to stimulate the job market. She intended to provide work that would benefit local craftsmen and women’s organizations worldwide. Simultaneously, waste would be reduced significantly.

The handbag materials are milk cartons, juice boxes, telephone books, and newspapers. The craftspeople are artisans from across the globe. Designers are both staffed and sourced.

Read more of this story »

After spending hours narrowing down my choices to 6 very cute, very functional options, I thought I would turn the decision part over to you. Below, in alphabetical order, are the finalists. If you find them all thoroughly underwhelming, please post any recommendations and I will certainly take a look! Who knows - by my calculations, I’m due for another pickpocketing event in early January, so I’ll need some good ideas for the next one, too.

Read more of this story »

What’s new is the digestion process to produce lighter and more delicate nettle fibers to spin into fine yarns. The company has around 70 hectares of agricultural farmland in the north of the country dedicated to production with three years of extensive research under their belt.

Read more of this story »

Good news!  Angelina has an answer to that one too.  In this photo, you’ll notice that Angelina is devoid of any leather, but she is utilizing one style trick that can easily be transferred to the leather look.  This is her at the Academy Awards, can you pinpoint her secret weapon?

Read more of this story »

Cradle To Cradle For Everything?

Jason and I got to talking about Cradle to Cradle, as it’s an interesting topic, and well, they’re already doing everything else, why not take it a step further? Do I hear a protest? You don’t want someone’s underwear recycled into your t-shirt? But it’s for the cause, man… OK, jokes aside, and even if it wasn’t underwear being discussed, but some other form-fitting cotton garment, Jason did the research. Because he cares that much. The thing is, 100% cotton gets baggy and saggy. So it’s more likely to be thrown out soon. If it happens to be owned by someone who’s passionate enough to find a place to deliver their used cotton underwear, it can be recycled. Jason explained that less than 1% of all cotton is currently recycled, and Jeff pointed out that even pure cotton sometimes contains dyes and chemicals that make it impossible to recycle.

Read more of this story »

German thread maker Amann, with the new Lifecycle Threads brand name, distributed press releases to the trade last August.

Read more of this story »

As Lucille told us in an earlier article, Clary Sage hosted a lovely trunk show with Linda Loudermilk’s collection taking up at least a quarter of the boutique. There were delicious hors d’ouvres, wine and plenty of competition to try on eco-couture. Linda has always been very experimental, and continues to push forward with the most cutting-edge eco textiles. Unusual raw materials like seaweed or milk are woven into clothing as gorgeous as any I’ve seen on the Paris runways.

Linda’s background as a sculptor ensures that the lines she creates within her garments are far more innovative than most. Clary Sage also has a great selection of Loudermilk jewelry, with variations on her famous faucet necklace, as well as some other great pieces. The faucet necklace is something she conceived to draw attention to the water crisis, and a portion of the proceeds go toward the UN’s “water is a human right” campaign. If you can’t make it to Clary Sage to pick one up, they’re also available online at inhabitat.

Read more of this story »

PHOTO BY PR PHOTOs (Angelina Jolie in sexy black leather mini dress at Inglorious Bastards premiere) If there is one fall/winter garment Angelina Jolie knows how to work, it’s leather. In fact, aside from her lips, it’s probably the most well-known feature on her body.  And there is no doubt that, for fall 2009, leather is in. Unfortunately, the material stirs up about as much controversy as some of the larger-than-life celebrities that wear it. If you’re vegan, an animal rights activist, or just plain socially-conscious, leather is a material you’ve learned to live without…until now. Eco-fashion has finally caught up to demand and there are now ethical options for leather and leather-like clothing and accessories. In this 3-part series, I’ll give you the scoop on:

1.where to find ethical leather options
2.how to avoid looking gaudy in leather (no chaps for this lady!)
3.the #1 hottest, must-have leather piece that will pull any look together

Let’s start with exploring more ethical sources for leather…

Read more of this story »

I’ve always been thoroughly impressed with Bodkin. It’s one of those lines that I wish I could be the designer of (that would be a rather large boost to my ego) or at least own every single item they create. Even while perusing Bodkin’s website I get giddy with a slight bit of down right jealousy…wishing all the breathtaking garments were hanging in my wardrobe.

My eyes may have been too blinded by the incredibly unique clothing I was viewing on earlier visits to the site, or maybe my heart was pumping too much blood to my brain giving me a bit of a brain spasm, or, perhaps, I lost my breath and fainted-any of these are possible. But, on this visit, my eyes not only stared at the clothing, but what was written at the bottom of each picture. Words such as hand dyed with red onion and blessed by the Dalai Lama made me fall in love a bit more. Whether you care about eco-friendly clothing or not, wearing non-violent silk blessed by the Dalai Lama is gratifying and incredibly exciting.

Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

But don’t get glum, chum! Cleaning up your wardrobe doesn’t have to mean replacing your funky tops or flirty skirts with half a dozen beige t-shirts and drab, shapeless dresses. The proof - if you need it - can be found at Ecouterre, the new online magazine from Inhabitat founder Jill Farhrenbacher.

Read more of this story »

Psyched to announce thier first offline event, TreeLife by The Cool Hunter, will be unveiled sometime in 2010 (city to be announced). Hey all you tree house builders and fanatics, your time has come for an inspirational modern prefab tree house playground made exclusively for forest loving, fresh air and sky dwelling mavens.

Read more of this story »

Uranus Apparel has created the newest thing in eco-undies…super cute and comfy panties, called soyshorts.

Why soyshorts? Because they are actually made from sustainable soy.

Read more of this story »

Smooth by Cosabella has seven basic shape wear pieces that come in sizes small, medium, large and extra large.

Read more of this story »

While researching Olsenhaus, a brand I was going to write about today, I came across one of the links on their website entitled ‘What the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.’ Being incredibly disgusted and mortified by the brutality of animal abuse within the fashion industry, I thought I would post word for word what Olsenhaus taught me and why in fact they are a vegan line of shoes. (My post on those shoes to come. This is by all means far more important than a frilly post about hot eco-shoes.)

Warning…if you wish to be oblivious to the horrible ethics of the fashion industry, don’t read. If you care to be enlightened and morph into a better human being, by all means, read on and prepare yourself for some brutal images.

Read more of this story »

“For every beautiful garment People Tree makes, there’s an equally beautiful change happening somewhere in the world” ~ Peopletree.co.uk

People tree is an exemplary model of “think global, act local” in sustainable fashion. With a strong business base in Europe and Asia, they work internationally with small handicraft makers in nearly twenty countries. Each textile collective is different. For example, in the nightwear collection highlighted above, they feature Nepalese hand-knit slipper socks together with these well constructed organic nighties made in India.

Read more of this story »

For Labor Day I thought I would share a little something my mind has been laboring over. It’s called a kilt. I like to call it, a glimpse of heaven. If heaven consists of recycled leather, fabric and hardware combined to make delicious ‘kilts’ in varying colors and patterns, I beg you, transport me there immediately.

Pure Bohemian, congratulations. You’ve constructed the most incredible skirt I have ever seen. Period.

Read more of this story »

Sweat drips from my nose, rolls down my chin and runs off my chest- landing on the floor with pride. The air is thick. Mirrors, fogged over. Essential oils soak into my pores, filling my body with peace. I rest my wet forehead on my mat as I breathe through pigeon, opening up my hips farther and deeper. As I listen to the mellow music, tears begin to run down my face. Sweat and tears cover my cheeks, melding into each other, creating one beautiful masterpiece of raw spirituality. Just as confusion begins to flood my mind, not sure as to why I’m crying, the teacher explains we hold emotion in our hips and it may surface in this stretch. After she says that, we move on to a new pose and my crying fades. I’m at one with my body; my mind is nowhere but the present. This is serenity.

Read more of this story »

This morning, per usual, I checked my email. A huge smile crossed my face when I saw an email from Lizz Wasserman, designer of Popomomo. With the words “Introducing” and “Collection” in the email’s subject I immediately, my heart racing, opened it. To my delirious satisfaction, my eyes soaked in picture after beautiful picture of a limited-edition-sexy collection.

Read more of this story »