If you head north from New York City and hang a left on Route 28 up near Woodstock you’ll find yourself on a very scenic drive through Catskill State Park. Verdant hills dotted with lakes and ponds seem to roll on forever in between the forested mountain tops.  It is here, up in the trees, that Linda Aldredge, the owner of LuLu Organics, built her weekend getaway. We came across Linda’s blog about her experience in the woods via a profile of her friends on The Selby. We immediately thought that Inhabitat readers would appreciate Linda’s treehouse as not only a sustainable shelter, but as a reminder of how functional and rewarding small and simple can be. Lucky for us, Linda graciously answered some questions and invited us for a treehouse weekend.

One Bryant Park, better known as the ‘Bank of America Tower’, is set to be the greenest skyscraper in the world when it opens later this year. Designed by Cook+Fox Architects, the glossy glass structure is the only skyscraper to achieve LEED platinum – the highest LEED rating. It racks up green points with rainwater cachement and reuse, greywater recycling, recycled and sustainable building materials, energy efficient building systems, and high performance glass which maximizes daylighting and minimizes solar heat gain and loss. I had the opportunity to talk to lead architect Serge Appel about the finer points the tower’s design and construction – read on for our exclusive interview >

Natalie Chanin has launched her newest endeavor, Alabama Chanin, which produces a small collection of housewares, jewelry, and apparel. True to her attention to community, one of the first products she created benefits post-Katrina reconstruction. All of the profits from the organic cotton, US-made Alabama Builds Shirt go to benefit Architecture for Humanity in their work with the Gulf Coast Region projects, mixing sustainable style with real social responsibility.

Designer Behnaz Sarafpour showed a capsule collection of organic pieces at the recent NY Fashion Week. The collection utilizes natural dyes derived from such non-traditional, or shall we say traditional, methods involving insects (cochineal) and sawdust. We met up with Behnaz at her showroom to preview the collection and she was gracious enough to answer a few questions for us.

Well readers, you thought fashion week ended weeks ago, but we are here to tell you that it is always fashion week somewhere. Here is some reportage on the latest green fashion events from around the globe.

Viridis Luxe is on a mission to provide sustainable luxurious clothing to those who want to tread lightly on the planet while continuing to enjoy fashion, luxury, and style. They fulfill their effortless chic aesthetic with wonderful knits in their signature fabric, a blend of the finest cashmere with long-fiber hemp. In addition the line is comprised of bamboo t-shirts and a collection of sheer silk-hemp jersey tops.

We’re happy to report that Nordstrom has begun to embrace organic style. The company is blending in organic cotton into some of their namesake brands while buying new brands that include sustainable fibers. The range cannot be characterized as expansive, but it does include one of our new favorites, Viridis Luxe, whose sustainable cashmere hemp knits are seen above.

Kirsten Muenster is a jewelry designer committed to ethical production. Her designs allow the stones’ natural beauty to take center stage, supporting without overwhelming. Similar to good food, when you find something beautiful in nature, a minimal approach is the best way to let it shine. I discovered Kirsten’s jewelry last year and wasn’t sure about the environmental slant, so I inquired. Kirsten responded and I’ll let her following words speak for herself….

While other major brands have seemed to jump on the green bandwagon with underlying marketing goals, EILEEN FISHER has been quietly expanding their organic line over the last couple of years. Along with increased sustainable fibers, including a new natural cashmere collection(!!), the company is also well-known for its social responsibility and wellness initiatives. The elegant basic styles, which can be mixed together season upon season, are also a subtle statement on necessity and consumerism.

Forget solar powered backpacks and panels – Ermenegildo Zegna’s Solar-Powered Jacket is hands down the most practical and best-looking way to charge your mobile gadgets that we have seen in a while. The jacket is slated to hit stores in November, but one New Yorker gave it a test drive and appeared to become a little obsessed with charging every small gadget he could find… including a mini refrigerator.

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Following the successful launch of their 100% organic line this spring, we are excited to announce that H&M is expanding its organic cotton range this fall! We frequently receive comments about ’sustainable style’ not being stylish, affordable or easy to find, so we are hoping this news will please the thrifty eco-fashionistas out there. Additionally, we are happy to see a fashion retailer as big as H&M making a real commitment to organic cotton. To support this initiative and help kickstart the organic fashion movement, get yourself to an H&M and bundle up in cozy organic cotton this fall.

C.L.A.S.S., which stands for creativity, lifestyle and sustainable synergey, is a new platform for the textile industry. A C.L.A.S.S. show is being held this weekend at WHITE, the cool new fashion trade show in Milan, and is dedicated to showing eco-friendly textiles.
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I don’t know if I can sum this up any better than Australian fashion journalist Patty Huntington did: “Move over Gareth Pugh – there’s a new freak in town.”

London is typically the experimental comma between the more sedate New York and Milan fashion weeks and the appetizer to what might await in Paris. So NOKI did not disappoint at the Fashion East show with a melange of thrift that appeared to be styled by Edward Scissorhands – don’t try this at home kids.  Or wait, DO try this at home, seems to have been the message. 

Estethica is a sustainable fashion exhibit celebrating its first year anniversary at London Fashion Week. It is a special space inside The Exhibition where designers will display collections founded on ecological and organic principles. Maintaining the highest standards in design and craftsmanship, all the labels here are creating high end fashion without compromise. Some of our favorite designers from home and abroad will be participating. The exhibition will feature Ciel, Davina Hawthorne, Enamore, From Somewhere; Gary Harvey, Katharine Hamnett, Noir, Nature vs Future and Veja to name a few. Stay tuned as we will highlight some of the best of these sustainable designers this fall.

+ Estethica @ London Fashion Week

Ekovaruhuset, which translates to ‘House of Organic’ in Swedish, is an eco-boutique founded by Johanna Hofring. She opened the first Ekovaruhuset shop in Stockholm in 2004 to bring one-of-a-kind, hand-made eco-creations to Sweden. The second boutique opened up in NYC last year and has quickly become one of our local favorites. Ekovaruhuset carries a few brands, like eco-sneaker favorite Veja, but stocks the shop mostly with their own designs crafted from a collective of select designers.

During last week’s New York fashion week, avant-garde label SANS combined references as obscure as German comedy with eco-friendly fabrics, pushing the boundaries of sustainable style. As older eco brands such as ThreeAsFour start to become more refined and commercial, it is comforting to have a groundbreaking label such as SANS to fearlessly pick up the torch and continue pushing fashion forward. This year’s collection proved that SANS is still the go-to label for the intellectual fashionista that requires a no-frills, modern look to accompany her downtown eco-lifestyle.

Yesterday, the Danish label NOIR held its first show during New York Fashion Week. The socially and environmentally conscious label was a welcomed addition to the slowly growing, yet still miniscule contingent of designers showing eco-friendly options here. NOIR worked with model Shalom Harlow for their spring campaign (above). The model is well known for her support of eco-friendly fashion. Continue reading for details on the collection and images from the show.

John Patrick Organic is the quintessential embodiment of “sustainable style” – consistently creating beautiful, organic, natural garments that are as fresh as they are wearable. Striking a perfect balance between organic (not straying too far into the granola), and fashion (not straying too far into circus tent), John Patrick manages to create very wearable, practical, comfortable clothes that are unique, beautifully crafted, and thoroughly elegant.

Earlier this week we went to visit John Patrick Organic to preview the Spring 2008 collection. Aside from the tasty treats and tea, there were plenty of delights on display. John Patrick hasn’t wavered much in aesthetic from his first Organic collection, which is thankful as these are exactly the kind of clothes you can live in. The collection is comprised of easy wearing separates that can be dressed up or down to get you through a day at the office or a weekend at the beach in sustainable style.

One of the frequent criticisms we hear about eco-design is its often hefty price tag. If you want to support green design, but have had trouble parting with so much of your own green to do so, now is the time to shop! Virtually every green-minded clothing outfit (pun intended) is running a summer clearance sale, with many items that will easily transition into the cooler weather, like the men’s sweater above from Patagonia and shirt from Nau. So now you have no excuse- continue reading for a few examples of the great green fashion sales going on now!

The cultural activity in Barcelona generates a huge number of advertising banners every year, which are hung from street lights to advertise exhibitions and events. In 2000 there were approximately 19,800 banners that were largely not reusable. Enter Demano to the rescue: the Spanish company recycles these banners into a variety of cool products for portage (similar to Baumm’s recycled banner bags).

Kuyichi is a Netherlands-based brand committed to making organic cotton jeans for the last five years. They buy their cotton from Peruvian farmers and strive to be socially and environmentally sound. They think owning their product should be a “look good/ feel good” situation. This year they have launched a “made-by” campaign- a blue button sewn into participating manufacturers’ goods signifies the garment has been made in an environment/people friendly way.

Earlier this year we mentioned Katharine Hamnett’s Cotton Campaign. Now with the recent launch of her new ethical line, Katharine E Hamnett, we felt it was time to take another look at the career of this designer who has long co-mingled social and environmental causes with her design work.

After years in the fashion industry, Anna Cohen has returned to her Portland, Oregon roots and launched her eponymous eco label, infusing her high-quality designs with sustainable principles and a sexy, chic esthetic that takes the crunch out of conscious dressing. She was recently awarded an EILEEN FISHER Grant for Women Entrepreneurs. The grants are intended to help grow socially conscious, women-owned businesses.

Well, it seems everyone is up in arms. We knew it wouldn’t take long before traditional environmentalists would want to rain on the eco-chic consumer’s parade. The recent NY Times article, “Buying Into the Green Movement” begs the question “is eco-minded consumerism the best solution?” and was apparently the most emailed article the day it ran. I myself received it in multiples – specific quotes on the futility of fashion highlighted. Just when you convinced yourself that you were doing your part to save the planet, that nasty image of polar bears without ice resurfaces. It is time to come down from that eco-luxury cloud, my neo-green brethren, there is more that needs to be done. I am just wondering, “what is wrong with wearing organic jeans to the crusade?”

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Designer Anne Salvatore Epstein cut her fashion teeth at well-known companies such as Marc Jacobs, IISLI and Elie Tahari, but it was her pregnancy that set her on a path towards starting her own line, Beau Soleil. She and her husband began an effort to simplify their “overly excessive” New York City lifestyle into one that is “Simple. Modern. Organic.” They moved into a green building, increased their trips to the green market, and made conscious everyday living decisions to do their part in saving the planet. It wasn’t long until this new mindset opened her eyes to how the manufacturing process of the fashion industry impacts the environment. Soon after she made the decision to strike out on her own with in order to design with the environment in mind. Beau Soleil uses fabric made out of bamboo, vegetable-dyed organic cottons and vintage, recycled leather trims.

Designer Jenny Hwa began Loyale with a small yoga collection. Luckily for eco-fashion, she has branched out and grown her collection to include easy-wearing separates and breezy summer dresses. Made in the U.S. from sustainably sourced materials, such as bamboo and organic cotton, Loyale fits the bill this summer for your trip to the beach, backyard bbq, or slip on the slinky full-length Calexico dress for a more sophisticated approach to a warm evening outing.

In a time when crazy-colored kicks continue to emerge to feed the huge sneaker culture, Veja stands apart from the noise. Their simple, well-made designs make it easy to be ethical. Veja is a Paris-based company producing in Brasil. The shoes are made from natural latex rubber, vegetable-tanned leather and organic cotton. Wild rubber trees are only found in the Amazon and supporting wild latex production helps prevent deforestation in this region. Additionally, through their sourcing of local organic cotton, Veja supports two cooperatives of small producers. Here’s to feeding your shoe fetish in green style.

+ Veja

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Eco-fashion label Naturevsfuture’s name was inspired by designer Nina Valenti’s belief that there is a constant struggle between nature and future, a tension between organic forces and technological ones. Mixing natural & sustainable fibers like organic cotton, hemp, soy & bamboo with recycled fiber fabrics such as POP (recycled soda pop bottles) and INGEO (created from corn) along with synthetic fabrics like polyethylene and spandex, she creates pieces that have a futuristic edge yet are inherently classic.

Sustainable Style Sunday is on a recycling roll, so we figured we’d continue the theme with Andrea Crews, a Paris-based creative collective whose work defies definition as solely design, art, or fashion. Their projects are based on the use and reinterpretation of the second-hand garment as a social, economic and ethical choice. One part Swap-o-rama, one part Imitation of Christ, mixed with a let’s-play-dress-up enthusiasm, they express their vision in workshops, performances, fashion shows, and eventually the commercial sale of their creations.

This Old Thing? breathes new life into old garments, creating a new aesthetic with a reverence for the past. Roy Caires, a formally trained fashion designer, and Tommy Cole, an experienced fashion photographer and thrift shop fanatic, joined forces to restructure fashion finds with attention to construction and a touch of wit. Their creations are a response to a community they felt was saturated with silk screened t-shirts and pop star trends.

Sustainability is a multi-faceted and complex issue with no single right answer to any problem. Manufacturing in developing countries can be a double edged sword when it comes to sustainability. From a fair-trade perspective it can be an important way to support growing economies, but, carbon footprint aside, from an environmental and labor regulation standpoint China has become the four letter word of production. This is an issue we’ve addressed before here at Inhabitat when we received “sweatshop” comments on our H&M organic cotton post. Last week we interviewed Terra Plana and Stewart + Brown on the subject of sustainability in manufacturing, and today we are going to revisit the issue again with an interview of Keep – Brazilian maker of eco-friendly footware.

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POSCH is a line of tote bags created by Montreal designer Luce Beaulieu out of reclaimed fabric. She designs the bags to minimize waste and maximize style. I spotted them on the sustainable style group and was immediately smitten by not just the bag’s design, but also the bright presentation.

If you have not yet heard of the battery powered Tesla Roadster, where have you been hiding your sustainable self? We are almost rendered speechless by the awesomeness factor of this amazing electric vehicle, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds, drives up to 250 miles per charge (which costs under $5) and comes with an aesthetic that not only competes with its luxury brethren – but leaves the stodgy non-electric models in the dust.

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The complexity of trying to strive for sustainable manufacturing is an issue we’ve addressed before here at Inhabitat when we received “sweatshop” comments on our H&M organic cotton post. Today we are going to revisit the issue again with an interview of two well know “eco-brands”, Terra Plana and Stewart & Brown, talking about sustainability in manufacturing.

Read the interview below >

Form and Fauna is a brand new shoe line that respects both the animal kingdom and style in their design process – pleasing vegans, environmentalists, and fashionistas alike. The shoes are handcrafted utilizing ethical materials, such as the best quality Italian synthetics. What does that mean exactly? Apparently no noxious substances remain in the final product, which is biodegradable. For the heels, bamboo and regenerative wood is used. The shoes have recycled fiber insoles and either rubber latex or compressed fermented oak outsoles. Finally, all of these good materials come together with the use of water-based glue resulting in a durable shoe that kicks your vegan style up a notch.
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