With fall here and winter on the horizon we’re bundling up for brisk weather, and fortunately Zegna is heating things up with their brand new solar-powered Ecotech Jacket. This sharp technical shell is constructed almost entirely from recycled plastic, and it features a set of photovoltaic panels capable of charging your ipod, cell, or even an integrated heating system. Perfect for sunny days on the slopes yet minimal and chic enough for a night around town, the Ecotech Jacket will keep you toasty in the most inclement weather.

+ Ecotech Solar Powered Jacket

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Post tags: fashion and accessories, green design, renewable energy, solar powered jacket, sustainable design, sustainable style, zegna ecotech jacket

Be still our hearts! These captivating wool-felt toppers handcrafted by artisan Claudia Schulz are enough to make us abandon our disdain for the cold weather and welcome it with open arms (or bare heads?). From coy 1920s-esque cloches to modernist caps adorned with poppy starbursts and poufy pom poms, check out our yummy gallery of these wearable artpieces.

READ MORE AT ECOUTERRE>

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Post tags: cap, claudia schulz, Claudia Schulz wool-felt hat, cloche, eco-fashion, felt hat, green clothing, handmade hat, hat, modernist hat, sustainable style, wool hat

Showing at New York Fashion Week is every aspiring fashion designer’s dream, and having your line on display during this prestigious event is a sign that you’ve really made it. Well, in a way, eco-fashion as a whole is very much like a promising, young designer – a select few know about it, but it’s really just starting to make a name for itself and get noticed. That’s why we’re ecstatic to report the birth of The GreenShows, a two-day lineup of amazing designers which allowed the sustainable fashion movement to have a dedicated stage during New York Fashion Week this year for the very first time in history. Watch out world – sustainable fashion has arrived!

Check out our favorite runway looks from this truly momentous occasion including Lara Miller’s dramatic and architectural stylings, Bahar Shahpar’s proud and triumphant warrior princess wear, element-inspired frocks from Bodkin, groovy garb from Izzy Lane, the mathematical “squares” concept behind Study by Tara St. James, Mr. Larkin’s revolutionary mint and copper-dyed wearable vestments, and the defiant, true to self garments of House of Organic as well as two in-depth videos with all of the designers, garments, makeup and behind the scenes soundbytes for your viewing pleasure.

READ MORE AT ECOUTERRE>

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Post tags: eco-fashion, green fashion, new york fashion week, runway show, summer rayne oakes at the greenshows, sustainable design, sustainable style, the greenshows

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

We have an announcement to make that we hope will come as welcome news to all you readers who love our fashion coverage (and also all you readers who hate our fashion coverage ;) ! We’ve been toiling for months now on a new website exclusively dedicated to eco-friendly fashion, and we are thrilled to unveil the newest member of the Inhabitat family today: ECOUTERRE.COM

Read the rest of ANNOUNCING ECOUTERRE – our new eco fashion website!

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Post tags: ecouterre, ecouterre launch, green fashion, inhabitat fashion site, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style

We’ve known about eco-fashion line Mr. Larkin for some time, but did not expect to be as blown away by the skill, innovation and sheer beauty of Casey Larkin’s Spring 2010 collection as we were at last week’s Green Shows. With a refined color palette of dusty pinks, silvery greys and breezy whites (hand dyed from natural materials like berries, twigs and leaves!), and innovative-yet-flattering silhouettes, Mr. Larkin is so seductive and fabulous that even the most non-sustainable fashionistas will want to be his Mrs.! Check out what we loved most about Mr. Larkin and see all of our fabulous photos of the styles we predict will be next spring and summer’s most coveted garments at our new eco-fashion design website Ecouterre!

READ AND SEE MORE ON ECOUTERRE >

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Post tags: eco-fashion, ecouterre, green fashion, mr. larkin, new york fashion week, sustainable style, the green shows

With the current economic climate, “frugalista fashion” on the lips of everyone from VOGUE to Target, and people are using more of what they already have, and realizing that we don’t need to spend a lot to get a lot. TRAIDremade Boutique, a new collaboration between online ecoboutique Fashion-conscience.com and the charity TRAID, is manifesting both of these philosophies with their exclusive collection of bespoke clothing and accessories inspired by the latest couture looks right off the runway! Crafted from upcycled donated clothing, scrap fabric and vintage hardware, these high-fashion pieces will be extremely covetable and so will the price – starting from £20!

Read the rest of TRAIDremade Makes Recycled Clothing Fashionable

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Post tags: Ethical Fashion, fashion conscience, green design, green fashion, recycled clothing, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, traidremade, upcycled fashion

We all know what it is like to have a favorite pair of treasured jeans that are so comfortable and fit so perfectly that we want to wear them every day. The downside to this pure and beautiful jean-love is that too much wear leads to jeans wearing out – with telltale holes in the crotch and knees – and then before you know it, you have to either start patching, or search around far and wide to find another pair of jeans as great as your favorite. But now, thanks to Denim Therapy, there is a better solution! Denim Therapy offers an amazing (and very affordable) service to seamlessly repair all the threadbare patches, broken zippers, and holes in your favorite pair of jeans, and return them to a like-new state — without patches, seams or any indication that your jeans have been through the ringer and back!

Like most people, I had a favorite pair of jeans in my closet that was getting holey and threadbare, so I decided to check out Denim Therapy’s service for myself to see if they lived up to the hype…

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Post tags: denim rehabiliation, denim renovation, denim repair, Denim Therapy, denim therapy jean repair, denimtherapy, eco denim, eco jeans, eco-fashion, green denim, green fashion, green jeans, jean renovation, jean repair, sustainable denim, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style

Get ready for school with our back-to-school green giveaway contest!

Fall is just around the corner, and students everywhere are getting ready to go back to school. To get into the autumnal school spirit and help our readers green their back-to-school regime, we’re running a contest on this site to give away an AWESOME solar powered bag by NoonSolar, stuffed with eco-friendly back-to-school goodies like recycled paper notebooks, erasers and pencils. Our back-to-school goody bag is worth over $500, and it’s a really sweet prize that can be all yours, if you enter our contest. Here’s how:

1. Sign up for the Inhabitat newsletter >

2. Sign up to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

3. Await instructions, which will be emailed out to all of our subscribers on Wednesday August 26th.

Read the rest of BACK TO SCHOOL CONTEST: Win An Awesome Solar Book Bag!

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Post tags: back to school contest, fashion and accessories, green design, noon solar, sustainable design, sustainable style

Teich, a new sustainable fashion boutique, has taken NYC by storm and the Inhabitat fashion team was lucky enough to be on the scene for a trunkshow there last week showcasing eco-fabulous designer Ryann! In addition to the very delectable line of handbags for which the shop is named, there was plenty of eye candy in the form of floaty organic dresses, delicate recycled jewelry and, my personal favorite, exclusive NYC name pendants (see storeowner Allison Teich’s neck in the pic above) that Junkprints custom-made for the store out of old records!

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Post tags: allison teich, eco-fashion, edo designers, green boutique, green fashion, green store, junkprints, new york city, olivia chen, Ryann, sustainable style, teich, yuka yoneda

As Inhabitat’s fashion editor, I spend a lot of time (yes, a tad bit little longer than is required for my job) perusing through seriously crave-worthy fashions, from the frilly and ethereal, to the haunting and hardcore. That being said, looking at all of these beautiful clothes can be very bittersweet when you’re working with a less than rockstar budget. In fact, one of the biggest complaints I hear about ethical and eco-conscious fashion is that it is just too expensive! I definitely acknowledge the fact that buying a lot of these labels is not cheap, but you have to admit that it makes sense that clothing using the latest and most innovative fabrics and paying fair wages to local people would be more pricey. I try my best to save up and buy my favorite eco-chic pieces when they go on sale to support the cause, but who says you need to spend big bucks to rock a look that is both green and cutting edge? Here are 5 easy and supercheap ways to green your wardrobe by using your noggin instead of your benjamins.

Read the rest of 5 Cheap & Easy Ways to Green Your Wardrobe

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Post tags: 5 cheap and easy ways to green your wardrobe, DIY, do it yourself, eco-fashion, green clothing, green fashion, green garments, recycled clothing, repurpose clothing, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, threadbanger

Here at Inhabitat, we always say that it doesn’t matter how sustainably a garment is made if it doesn’t look good. Think about it – if you make a blouse out of 100% certified organic cotton but it’s fugly and no one buys it, you just wasted energy, money, time and the cotton itself. Luckily, when it comes to having the best of both worlds, Velvet Leaf knows how it’s done. Designers (and sisters) Laura and Becky Carter whip up organic clothing that is part vintage charm, part global nomad, and all sustainably and fairly made. Check out our favorite Velvet Leaf looks (including 2 brand new preview looks from their smart and girly fall collection) in our gallery.

Read the rest of Velvet Leaf Classically Tailored Organic Dresses for Fall

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Post tags: fairly traded fashion, fall dresses, fall fashion, green dresses, green fashion, organic clothing, organic cotton, organic fashion, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, velvet leaf, vintage fashion, vintage styling

The success of this year’s Project Earth Day eco-runway show which took place in April in NYC was a brilliant indication that green fashion is no longer just a fad. The energy-packed show featured today’s hottest eco-lines as well as a student competition which challenged the brightest designers of tomorrow to whip up their own sustainable garments. All of the designs were brilliant, but in the end, FIT student Stacy Longo’s mod, hand-woven outfit prevailed, winning her the grand prize. We were lucky enough to catch up with Stacy to pick her brain about the inspiration for her design and what eco-fashion means to her.

Read the rest of Eco-Designer Profile: Project Earth Day Winner Stacy Longo

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Post tags: eco-fashion, fit fashion student, green fashion, project earth day winner, stacy longo, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style

How harmful are your jeans? If they’re made of cotton, they most likely went through a process that included nasty pesticides, polluting dyes and waste-generating production before you decided to put them on your legs. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Singer Alanis Morissette and actor Woody Harrelson have teamed up to bring us Reco Jeans, which are made with 50% recycled denim. That might not seem like a lot – ideally it would be 100%, but Reco is one of the only jeans companies that has been able to get it to even that level. To make things even more interesting, they’re holding a dutch auction until July 18, allowing YOU to decide the prices of 300 limited box sets of the jeans which will also include a special edition Reco iPod case. The bids in the dutch auction will also be factored into the final price of the jeans, so don’t miss your chance to take part!

Bid here>

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Post tags: alanis morissette, green clothing, green jeans, reco jeans, sustainable jeans, sustainable style, woody harrelson

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but fashion has been changing. And I don’t mean changing like fads and trends changing – that’s the old fashion. New fashion has a brain. New fashion has staying power. Not sure what that means? Well Australian designer Helene Ang and her new line Edit’d are the perfect illustration of my point. Helene deconstructs luxe vintage garments and breathes new life into them by slicing and stitching them into contemporary silhouettes. Each piece comes complete with a history of its humble beginnings so that you can daydream about its old life each time you put it on. Pretty powerful considering that we are essentially purchasing a story, an idea and a lifestyle each time we buy a tulip skirt, patterned sundress or aviator sunglasses. And you really get that with Helene’s pieces. So much so that if I had to make a PowerPoint presentation showing what new fashion is, it would be very similar to Edit’d website. In fact, I think I will take a stab at explaining what new fashion is using Edit’d’s summer collection, European Vagabond. Here goes…

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Post tags: edit'd, green clothing, green fashion, helene ang, new fashion, reclaimed fabric, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, vintage fashion

As summer heats up, we’re looking forward to bikini and pina colada time by the pool. If you’re looking for stylish items to help keep you cool that won’t break the bank or your eco-conscience, here are a few that we can recommend…

Read the rest of Sizzling Stuff for a Sustainable Summer

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Post tags: alternative to takeout containers, eco jewelry, eco to go, eco-friendly fourth of july, green bbq, green independence day, green party, green sandals, green style guide, kumvana gomani, meflex, melissa sandals, melissa summer loving, recycled jewelry, recycled plastic bottles, save plastic containers, save waste, summer shop picks, sustainable sandals, sustainable style, takeout container waste