So you want it all in your eco-fashion — not just eco-friendly materials, but also eco-friendly, low-impact dyes — as well as fair trade and fair labor! And of course, the clothes themselves have to look good, stay in fashion, and generally last a long time –

Then stop by Indigenous Designs, a company that’s been making fair trade, organic fashions since 1994. Here you’ll find great basics — like classic polo shirts and simple button downs — that look good, fit well, and have all the socio-eco-friendly attributes too.

Combining all those do-gooder elements with good fashion isn’t easy to do, as Truly Organic’s demonstrated with its unevenly-dyed crunchy clothes. In fact, I hadn’t shopped much at Indigenous Designs because I used to associate the company with crunchy-wear — some of which, like the “earth” cardigan (below, right), you can still find on the website.

But for the most part, Indigenous Designs has gotten both more stylish and practical, making nice basics for both men and women. I recently got a Pogo Stick Polo shirt (top left), made in Peru with organic cotton and tencel and dyed almond with low-impact dyes. I like the fitted design and the gathers at the neck — details that add a nice modern accent to a classic look.

That shirt costs $72 — which some may consider pricey, but is still less than the popular Lacoste polos that have none of the fair trade, organic attributes. I will say that the pricing at Indigenous Designs does seem odd though. A gorgeous handknit organic cotton pullover (below left) costs just $38, yet the crunchy-as-can-be earth sweater (below right) costs $139. I recommend spending a little time browsing the site to find the good deals.

Indigenous Designs was founded on fair trade principles and is fully committed to fair trade and eco-friendly initiatives. Find out more about the Peruvian artisans who make Indigenous Designs’ clothes — by hand!

Photos via Indigenous Designs

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A “Green Vest” that simply attaches green gadgets to a perfectly good vest could be a bully-magnet if worn by kids, I wrote not too long ago. Now, it appears this bully magnet’s actually being created and sold to geeky environmentalists!

For the bargain price of $140, you can display your love of solar power by wearing an ugly Solar Vest. If any passerby happens not to notice the four chunky solar panels that take up a good quarter of the vest, the eco-wear’s clearly labeled “SOLAR VEST” in bold white letters to set them straight.

The Solar Vest boasts lots of pockets to carry all manner of gadgetry and keep them juiced up on sunny days. However, as Jaymi Heimbuch points out in Treehugger, “no geek who might wear this is going to be seen sitting in the sun for the hours it’ll take to charge the small handhelds.”

There’s a reason geeks are known to have pasty skin and it’s because they don’t walk around for hours in the sun. They might, however, devise a complicated pulley system that will haul this thing out their window into the sunlight, and back in when it finishes charging their gear.

Chinavasion’s making things even worse for lost eco-geeks by insisting that the vest’s perfect to wear to “go cruising for chicks,” who’ll be drawn to the vest “like moths to a light bulb.” Let’s hope that the green guys google for proof of chic-magnetism and find this post before donning the vest and stepping outside.

Not all solar clothing’s so blatantly ugly. The solar bikini, for example, actually looks like a futuristic, albeit uncomfortable, bikini, and makes better sense as a solar-power device since bikinis are meant to be worn on sunny beaches in the first place.

Know of any other solar-powered devices, whether eco-gorgeous or eco-fugly?

Photos courtesy of Chinavasion

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Win free stuff while discovering green themed blogs! Stop by Green Gretchen or The Good Human for your chance to win:

>> An ecoSkin dress. Green Gretchen’s giving you a chance to win an ecoSkin dress of your choice! Pick from one of the four above, all made in the U.S. from a Bamboo-Tencel-Spandex blend. Read the Green Gretchen post to find out how you can enter multiple times by blogging, facebooking, and tweeting about the contest.

>> A Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger. The Good Human’s giving away this $99 gadget that’ll juice up your small electronics with the power of the sun. Read The Good Human’s post and follow the very complicated instructions — which include a mandatory subscription to The Good Human — for a chance to win the Solio.

Photos via Planet Threads

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Want to wear your love for Kahlua? With Beca Designs jewelry, you can — and greenly too. The necklace-and-earrings set below’s made with recycled Kahlua bottles –

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I have 2 favorite camis — both made of organic cotton. One’s black — and you can see me in it to the right. The other’s white — or used to be white until I washed it with a red shirt…. Now it has a retro pink tie-dye look.

Both camis from the same company: Bgreen Apparel. This eco-friendly clothing company says it “started with the simple idea of offering quality organic cotton garments that look good, fit comfortably and leave the world a better place.” And indeed, their clothes really are high quality, functional, comfy organic basics that feel good and fit perfectly!

In addition to the camis, I also have a pair of Bgreen’s bikini panties — which are also very comfy and cute. Plus, Bgreen also offers organic cotton hoodies, yogawear, T-shirts, shorts, and more. All of Bgreen’s clothes are made in the U.S.

Some may find the $16 per pair of panties or $28 per cami price high — though I’d say considering how much I wear these pieces, I’m definitely getting my money’s worth. But frugal fashionistas can get a 20% savings by using the coupon code June 2009 until the end of this month.

Need to touch and feel before buying? Bgreen will be at Venice Eco Fest this weekend, selling their organic clothes at an discounted prices. Already a fan of Bgreen? Win a $75 gift certificate for more Bgreen stuff by sending in a photo of yourself wearing Bgreen fashions. I may try winning this myself –

Bottom photo via Bgreen

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Inspired by the way The Uniform Project eco-transforms the same LBD every day? Here comes a cute organic cotton black dress you can wear at least 2 ways — available now for 40% off!

Envi’s having a summer solstice sale, so you can get all new arrivals at the eco-fashion web store for 40% off by using the code “SOLSTICE” (via magnifeco). The convertible Pop Doyle Dress above’s one of the new pieces — made in the U.S. out of 100% organic cotton — that can be yours for $56.40 after the solstice discount.

Already have an eco-LBD for the summer? Then browse Envi’s 124 other new items for the season for light organic cotton cardigans, jeans, and tanks made affordable by this sale — through June 20, after which the discount code will stop working and days start getting shorter.

Photos via envi

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Here comes a new shoe option that helps make eco-footwear fashionable and popular — but also leaves me a tad puzzled: Keds, Loomstate, and Barneys New York are teaming up to create and sell Keds made with organic cotton uppers and a recycled insole board.

No, my befuddlement doesn’t come from the juxtaposition of high and low fashion; Barneys and Loomstate have both teamed up with Target before. For this project, Loomstate’s designing the shoes, Keds is making them, and Barneys is selling them for a win-win-win.

I’m bewildered, instead, because Keds actually launched a green line back in March, also made with organic cotton. The cost of those (below): $55 a pair. The cost of this Keds-Loomstate-Barneys shoes (above): $75 a pair.

There may be a percentage difference in the recycled content in the insoles and outsoles, but from what I can tell, the shoes are pretty much the same except for the colors in the uppers: The $55 pairs come in just 3 solid hues, while the $75 pairs come in 5 multicolored designs — which granted, do seem somewhat prettier.

On a philanthropic level, the $75 shoes will send 1% of sales to The Organic Exchange, while the $55 shoes will plant a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Other than that, the difference in the shoes simply has to do with the brand-cache of Loomstate and Barneys. Like the multicolored designs enough to pay $20 extra a pair? Pick them up at Barneys New York stores later this week.

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Green fashion’s now got a uniform — that’s always the same and always different. One eco-thinking girl’s made a commitment to wear the same dress every day for a year — but to unique-fy each day’s look! (via kottke)

Look closely at the outfits in the picture above, and you’ll see the same dress in each one. The girl in the dress is Sheena Matheiken, who’s making this extreme eco-fashion habit chic — and a different kind of chic every day at that.

Dubbed The Uniform Project, Sheena’s dressing up in the same dress — or to be more accurate, 7 identical dresses — to promote eco-fashion while simultaneous raising funds for the Akanksha Foundation, a Mumbai-based nonprofit dedicated to giving slum children educational opportunities. Each day, Sheena reinvents the dress with all manner of accessories, most of which are “vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.”

In fact, you too can be part of Sheena’s eco-fashion experiment! Just donate your accessories — and your pre-loved scarf or necklace could make it on to Sheena’s daily photo blog of her outfits.

Earlier: Eco-clothes meet performance art

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It’s true — Pasadena does have something Santa Monica does not: Majestical Roof — pro-local, pro-handmade store that serves as a hub for artists, craftsters, and the neighborhood fans who support them.

Getting to The Majestical Roof is in itself a pleasant adventure. This eco-conscious boutique is tucked inside a cozy courtyard, decorated with colorful murals and shady trees.

Once inside the store, explore carefully – because each item is a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted gem. “No MPP (no mass manufactured products)” brags the poster for Majestical Roof’s recent Alternative Art Market event.

Recycled fashions make a big comeback in this boutique: vintage ties recrafted into cellphone holders, funky purses made from repurposed fabric, and even cute doggie clothes revamped from old sweaters. This shop prides itself in supporting local crafters and artisans who create everything from handmade jewelry to bamboo T-shirts.

A few more highly recognized eco-brands, like No Sweat sneakers and ecoist purses made of recycled gum wrappers, also share the boutique’s space. And if you want artwork for the apartment, the walls here double as a gallery of sorts for unique paintings by local artists.

When I stopped by about a year ago (why does it take me so long to write these posts?) I ended up buying a unique book by a local artist called Joey Chou. The title: Crazy by the Letters: Mental Problems From A to Z.

This Edward Gorey-esque book has whimsical drawings of little kids suffering from psychological maladies. U, for example, is for poor little Urian: “Urian’s dream is to be a quality inspector in the factory like his dad. He doesn’t know it comes with the side-effect of Underload Syndrome.”

Crazy by the Letters now sits on my coffee table for my crazy friends to leaf through and self-diagnose their ills. Find out more about Majestical Roof in this short video by Pasadena.com — then pay the little store a visit!

The Majestical Roof. 88 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Ste 102., Pasadena. 626.844.8886. Tues-Sat 11:30 am - 8 pm, Sun noon - 6 pm. Closed Mon.

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Upcycling out-of-style clothes into new chic outfits is a fast-growing eco-fashion market today — but designer Deborah Lindquist’s perhaps the best known for turning unwanted clothes into high-end eco-chic pieces. And earlier this week, Deborah debuted her Fall / Winter 2009 line — dubbed “Goth Girl Goes to the Country” — at Point de Vue Salon in West Hollywood.

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