Banana Republic's Heritage collection takes an entirely new approach to affordable green clothing. 
 
The 45-piece collection consisting of 90% sustainable fabrics and trims creates a statment that is both green and stylish.  The BR heritage designers have given concrete meaning to consumers shopping for eco-style.  

                                                                                                         soy charmeuse pants

                                                                                                      organic cotton cardigan

Shimmery, champagne-colored pants and dresses, as well as, bamboo and organic cotton tops and cardigans give the collection a look that is both comfortable, sexy, and luxurious.

Creative Director and EVP for Design, Simon Kneen, quotes, "The ultimate luxury and one we should all be able to afford is a healthy planet."

                                                                                                    bamboo rayon dress top

                                                                                                  charmeuse pleated dress

As well as using eco-friendly materials for the clothing line, the sustainable concept has also been carried out in the brand's packaging and visual displays.

When shopping for the line, look for the little green elephant on the tag.  $19 to $150 at www.bananarepublic.com.

Target has teamed up with Scott Mackinlay Hahn and CFDA award winning designer Rogan Gregory to launch Loomstate for Target, a new limited-edition eco-friendly fashion line for men and women.

The overall feel of the line is relaxed, beachy summer.  All of the cotton used in the collection is certified organic.  The fabrics are soft-washed to create a lived in look and enhance the sense of timelessness and ease the designers wanted to evoke in the collection.

In 2004, the two designers, Gregory and Mackinlay Hahn – both committed environmentalists – created Loomstate, a new casual brand dedicated to creating demand for certified organic cotton using socially and environmentally responsible methods of production.

The collection launched on Sunday, April 19, 2009 for a limited-time only; prices for the collection ranged from 14.99 to $44.99 providing an affordable option to eco-aware fashions.

Payless ShoeSource has just announced the launch of its new Zoe & Zac brand.  The new brand offers a full collection of shoes, handbags, jewelry, socks for under $30 and item as well as being touted as the first-ever affordable line of green fashion footwear and accessories.

The Zoe & Zac products are made from eco-friendly components and materials such as organic cottons and linen, natural hemp, recycled rubber outsoles, eco-friendly-EVA cushioning, and water-based glues for the shoes. Natural materials like dyed Tagua and Acai nuts are incorporated into the jewelry. Environmental concerns have also been incorporated into the product packaging which utilizes100 percent recycled shoe boxes and soy-based inks for the printing.

Zoe & Zac makes its debut this Spring with the collection featuring eight women's footwear styles, two handbags, three girls' shoes, and a range of accessories and socks.

Why is Payless looking toward "green" products?

"The sustainability movement is pervasive today and is touching so many elements of consumers' daily lives and they are interested in more and more green product options being available to them," said LuAnn Via, president of Payless ShoeSource. "But green items are often expensive and inaccessible to so many. Today, we are thrilled to launch the Zoe & Zac brand and to make green footwear and accessory products affordable, delivering new options for more people to take part in a more sustainable lifestyle."

"The most common misconception about sustainable fashion is that it comes in one color and looks one way -- neutral, boxy, baggy, shapeless," said Summer Rayne Oakes, Payless' eco consultant who is helping to deliver the new line with strong fashion and sustainable innovation. "The best sustainable fashion is invisible and that's what Zoe & Zac is all about. People like change and to wear the fashions of the season, and Payless is enabling consumers to do that in an affordable and sustainable way with this first-ever new brand."

Payless Gives to Benefit the Planet - 100,000 Trees

In conjunction with the Zoe & Zac eco-brand launch, Payless also announced today its alliance with The Nature Conservancy and its Green BOGO(TM) (Buy One, Get One Half Off) sale to partner with shoppers to raise money to plant a minimum of 100,000 trees to support The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign dedicated to planting 1 billion trees by 2015 to help rebuild the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.  Payless will donate $1 -- the cost to plant one tree -- for every Zoe & Zac green brand item sold through May 4 and on every Payless exclusive reusable shopping bag sold throughout the year. For more information on the Plant a Billion Trees campaign go to www.plantabillion.org.

Erika Hendrix is an emerging clothing brand located in Mannheim, Germany offering exclusively designed and produced fashion apparel. Each item is hand-made, eliminating waste generated from mass production, in a sweatshop free environment.

The Urban Romance collection primarily features soft, drapey tunics, cardigans, skirts, and dresses, in light-weight cotton jerseys. There are also tailored pieces, jodhpur skinny pants and bubble shorts, in medium-weight cottons.

The silhouettes which are primarily rounded or A-line, perfectly accentuates a woman’s femininity and allows for movement. The swing of double-layered skirts and v-necked slip dresses allows for an easy and comfortable grace.

The collection’s fabrics are made of approximately 95% sustainable fabrics in cotton and linen. The line offers limited quantity, high quality affordable fashion pieces that are socially responsible

Colors will remind you of nature, muted tones in dove grey, buttercup yellow, sand dune, and indigo blue, but paired with designs that are edgy and contemporary. Although the collection consists mainly of delicate, romantic spring colors, Erika Hendrix also introduces pops of color with pieces in royal blue and bright apricot.

The store also offers accessories; there are colorful, lightweight scarves, in mustard, apricot, as well as chevron and floral prints. One-of-a kind necklaces have recently been added to the collection with a bag/purse line soon to follow in May/June 2009.

Want more? Erika Hendrix also ships to the United States, many of her unique pieces are currently on sale(lucky you!), but are selling out fast so be sure to take a look before that pretty little floral scarf you had your eye finds another home.

“Fast fashion” is a term now used to describe the hyper-quick creation of clothing collections based on the most recent fashion trends. Clothing is designed for quick and cheap production turns and aimed at the mainstream consumers for mass consumption.

But, I want to step slightly backwards and examine the inception of Fast Fashion. Fast Fashion began as an initiative by American manufacturers to combat stiff competition from foreign manufacturers in the 1980s. The concepts initially introduced were Just In Time(JIT) and Quick Response(QR). These concepts were more about the use of technology in order to build better collaboration between retailers and manufacturers in order to be more responsive to consumers and less to do with creating disposable fashion.

Quick Response gave manufacturers the ability to build production processes and incorporate collaborative communication-based technologies, such as email, pos, and edi, in order to go from concept to consumer in a very short period of time, to move away from a 6 month production cycle to a 90 day production cycle and then next to 6 weeks, until finally, such companies, such as Zara, can boast production lead times as short as 15 days.

It is wonderful that we have become so refined in our communication and use of technology to be able to collaboratively produce fashion garments in such a short span. Although many retailers have gained in terms of increased stock turns, higher foot traffic, and improved gross margins; we, consumers and creators collectively, have lost…both our ability to offer sophisticated, quality garments as well as maintain integrity in our workmanship. But, even more tellingly, we have lost the time to truly enjoy and savor the efforts and mastery of the designs that are presented to us on the runway each fashion season. We are now too busy snapping or clipping photos, picking apart components, and removing exquisite trim and details in order to make the 24 hour deadline that is often required to strip down a beautifully tailored dress or jacket and refashion into “fast fashion.”

In order to meet fast fashion deadlines requires that one does not become too involved in the development of new products and a willingness to forgo innovative printing techniques and textiles and instead work with common fabrics and yarns as the components used to create these quick turn garments have to readily be available.

We are now too preoccupied with compressing our collections into a few short weeks to be able to truly explore the intricate fabrics and patterns presented to us at Premiere Vision, to stop and stand in awe at the command of cut and confidence in the use of textiles shown in Etro’s collection, or to revel along with Kors and Mizrahi in their brave introduction of color in a world that seems to be more and more grey…we needed the color, the bright pinks, pop oranges, daring greens, and sunshine yellows, to be given a reason to “Smile” in spite of it all. These collections, all that has been presented thus far in New York, London, and Milan, and soon Paris, should be quietly observed, intimated into your being, and thoughtfully processed in a manner no different than viewing any other work of art.

Yes, I know…fashion is a business, but first, it is and remains an element of expression. Its ability to transform no less, maybe more so, powerful than a Bas painting or a Wu-Kang Chan dance troupe performance as we are all able to interact on a personal, intimate level with fashion.

We have to begin to approach fashion from a different level. Our current economic , as well as environmental, crisis calls for bold, new actions on the part of every individual. Sustainable fashion is one step toward building a new coalition that is relevant and responsive to our current social climate.

Sustainable fashion solutions is based on repositioning our approach to design, production, consumption, use, and reuse. Sustainable fashion forces us to ask the question how can we be more responsible and ethical while providing our consumers with fashion options that are attractive and reflect trends.

We must begin to examine, as well as provide, models that reflect more socially aware fashions. How can we start? We can design into a longer “shelf” life for fashion apparel, provide easy garment reuse and recycling options to our consumers …we are not too far away from this concept…think vintage shopping and you are almost thereJ; initiate and support fair trade communities, and finally actively incorporate recycled materials into the design and production process.

The British government recently proposed a Sustainable Clothing Action Plan(SCAP). SCAP is a series of green pledges from London’s high street retailers. The plan has enrolled more than 300 organizations, from retailers, to designers and textile manufacturers who have pledged to improve the sustainability of clothing.

There are many fashion companies, retailers, and grassroots organizations that have already begun to campaign for more industry use of sustainable fashions. One of my favorites is Make Your Mark In Fashion which launched a competition geared at young people aged 14-30 to create a business plan for a new sustainable fashion label. Another great organization is The Sustainable Style Foundation. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, The Sustainable Style Foundation is an international, nonprofit organization that provides information, resources, and innovative programs geared toward promoting sustainable living and design. The London College is another agent for change within our industry. Its Center for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) describes itself as a globally connected catalyst for change, fully integrated with the fashion industry to create better lives through a sustainable fashion economy.

We can all begin to do our part, take small steps, see big results…ask yourself, in whatever part you play in the apparel cycle, what small steps can I take to begin to make a difference. It is our opportunity to begin to evolve as an industry and do what we do best…create (positive) change.

I invite you to check out the blog’s vodpod and see how one of us(Jackie’s Recycled Fashions) is making steps toward change.