The Nest

Friday, August 17, 2007 5:59 PM

Earth-friendly fashion foibles

Not too long ago I felt the need for some new clothes—I’m newly pregnant but am trying to put off wearing maternity clothes and wanted to find some roomier stuff for the next few months—so I decided I’d try out some eco-friendly brands. I’d heard that most of the fabrics in our closets aren’t so great for the planet. First of all, cotton is one of the most pesticide- intensive crops there is (it’s estimated that 25% of insecticides used globally go toward cotton production). And most synthetic fabrics require a lot of CO2 to produce and don’t biodegrade once you’re done with them.

In the past when I’ve looked into clothes made of organic cotton and eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo, hemp and recycled cashmere I’ve found them to be really far from fabulous, and I wasn’t eco-virtuous enough to set aside style issues. But lately I’ve been hearing that there are some cool new green fashion lines out there, so I set out in search of new threads I could feel good about. Unfortunately my results were mixed. While Loomstate’s organic cotton jeans looked good, and there are some cute recycled cashmere pieces by Deborah Lindquist, most of the other lines were either not my style (too crunchy or sporty), stupidly expensive (think $50 for a flimsy organic cotton tank top your grandma could have stitched together in thirty seconds) or just not that well made.

I did make one purchase: An organic cotton knit LBD by Ecoganik. It’s got a deep V neck, slightly empire waist and bell sleeves, and you’d never guess that there’s anything “granola” about it. But even though my green fashion experiment wasn’t a total failure, I won’t be converting my closet to organic cotton and hemp until some better options arise. One eco-friendly designer I haven’t checked out yet but am really curious about is Linda Loudermilk. All her designs are made with sustainable or organic fabrics, and they’re a favorite of celebs like Debra Messing and Jennifer Beals. Here’s a cool look from her fall collection—proof that great style and earth-friendly materials don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Do you have any green or earth-friendly clothes you’re crazy about?