Leg-lengthening nude heels are way in this season — so much so that Bergdorf Goodman’s even put together an entire web store section dedicated to them. Want to try some on for size — but seek greener options? Try on a pair of Willa shoes from Naya — a stylish, more sustainable option that’s versatile enough to dress up or down.

Naya sent me a pair of the Willas for review — so I stood an extra 2-3/4 inches tall at the Gather Green party last night, thanks to the sustainable, natural cork heels. Cork was used in the footbed, outsole, and platform wrap too — adding a nice fashion detail while eliminating the need for more dyes and color. Also among the green features is the inner lining fabric — a flashy animal print made with recycle content. The leather upper’s veggie-tanned (though not organic), and has a nice but not-too-distracting leaf detail.

Are these greener heels comfortable? I’d rate them about as comfortable as your average, high-quality near 3-inch heels. The shoes do have extra arch support padding, which helped, but the front of the leather uppers dug into my toes a little bit. I’m not planning to take any long urban hikes in them, but I’m hoping the wide straps will loosen up a bit up front with wear.

The fashion bonus of these shoes for me is that they go with practically everything — and do makes legs look longer. The style’s classic enough to transcends trends — though cork heels are the rage right now.

Willa sandals cost $135 a pair at Shoes.com — expensive for thrift store shoppers, but a steal compared to Yves Saint Laurent’s $675 cork heel sandals. Each pair comes with a reusable bag made with recycled PET — in a box made with 80 percent recycled paper.

Earlier:
>> El Naturalista: Dome shoes take green design to new heights
>> How to shoe shop green while saving green
>> Pocketflops: Recycled flip flops with an eco-fashionable bent

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Love Hard Tail’s yoga pants with the extra long fold-over waist band — but wish the pants were organic? Click your yogi fingers over to Hyde where you can get the Kelly Pant for a similar price and in similar style — but with organic cotton.

Hyde’s an organic yoga clothing company, and the Kelly Pant’s one of its latest styles. Designed with Kelly Morris, Jivamukti senior teacher and founder of Conquering Lion Yoga, these pants have a comfy, stretchy feel, a tagless design for an irritation-free practice, and a waist band long enough to roll down to the top of your legs.

On the green side, the Kelly Pant’s made with 92 percent organic cotton and 8 percent spandex. Plus, 10 percent of the proceeds from the pants go to a nonprofit called Bent on Learning, which provides yoga and meditation instruction to New York City public school students.

I wore the pants to yoga class last night -and loved the comfy fit, though I generally opt for shorter roll over waistbands. According to Hyde, the long waistband supposedly makes your legs longer. I’m not convinced of this — horizontal lines in general make things look shorter, not taller — but do think the band’s a quick and convenient way of hiding panty lines!

One thing to keep in mind if you’re going for yoga style is that foldover waistbands don’t pair well with long tops that go past the waistband. Why not? The shirt goes over two thick layers of yoga pant fabric, adding a third layer of fabric while hiding the fact that your pants are adding bulk to your hips! Unless you want to add an extra inch to your hip circumference, this is not advised — though in my zeal to wear all the new Hyde clothes I got for review together, I broke that rule yesterday.

Thus, you’re only getting a photo of the top half of me, wearing Hyde’s OTM Halter. OTM stands for Off the Mat, Into the World, a nonprofit that uses yoga to inspire sustainable activism — to which 10 percent of what you spend on this tank goes.

The halter top has a built-in shelf bra, an extra long length that’ll hide pantylines or your butt if your tail is not as hard as you’d like it to be, and ties at the back of the neck. I recommend tying it a bit askew to make plow pose more comfortable. Considering its halter top tie style, I was concerned that the top would lack support and shift during practice — but it was surprisingly comfortable!

In the future I’ll wear the OTM Halter and Kelly Pant separately — and check out some of Hyde’s other organic styles. I know a lot of women like the cover-up type styles, and both of these new Hyde items perform that function quite well — but I’m of the opinion that clothes intended to cover up generally end up making those areas look even bigger and more noticeable. Luckily, Hyde has lots of other styles to pick from — and all eco-friendly too.

Earlier: Manduka Lyrics Cork Block: Give your yoga practice a sustainable boost

Top photo via Hyde

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Want recycled, long-reusable, and recyclable flip flops for the summer? Try a pair of Okabashi flip flops.

Forget those cheapo flimsy flip flops that fall apart after a long day at the beach. Okabashi flip flops are made to last — and even come with a 2-year guarantee. I got a pair of the Ocean design for review, and liked the sturdy, comfortable feel. The thick soles and nubbly massage pad in the arch area both make for a comfortable, sturdy fit — rare in a pair of flip flops!

Of course, all flip flops do eventually wear out. As you know from my post yesterday, Old Navy’s collecting flip flops for recycling for a month starting on Earth Day. But Okabashi flip flops will still be good to recycle long after that Old Navy event’s over. Siimply send them back to the Okabashi factory in Buford, Georgia, where they’ll be crushed up to be remade into new products — like other flip flops! In fact, most Okabashi flop flops are made of up to 25 percent recycled materials.

The one downside of the Okabashi Ocean flip flops: They tend to be a tad on the narrow side. My feet tend to be on the wide side — which means the edges of my feet feel uncomfortable, since they hit right against the edges of the flip flops. For the same width reasons, the straps — otherwise flexible, wide, and comfortable — are a bit tight around my feet too.

On the other hand, the length of the size small flip flop is a perfect fit for my 6.5-size feet. And I do love the strong grip of the flip flops — no fear of slipping and falling on slick floors with these shoes. Those with narrower feet than mine will likely find them perfect, as evidenced by the glowing customer reviews left on Okabashi’s website.

All Okabashi shoes are designed and manufactured in Georgia. Each pair costs $9.99 to $14.99 on Okabashi’s website, but right now, you can get 10% off all flip flop purchases by using the code EASTER11 until Sunday.

Earlier:
>> Pocketflops: Recycled flip flops with an eco-fashionable bent
>> Ocean Minded: Cute eco-friendly flip flops and casual footwear

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After record rains, the weather’s warmed up in California — which means it’s now the time of the year when everyone’s fishing out their flip flops from the back of their closets — to remember they broke the thong part of the cheapo shoes while running around last summer.

If you saved those flip flops with the great intention of getting them fixed for reuse, I hope you can find a shoe repair person willing to do that on the cheap for you. For those resigned to finally sending no-longer-wearable flip flops to the landfill, I’ve got good news — You can recycle those flip flops, starting on Earth Day!

From April 22 to May 21, simply take your used flip flops to an Old Navy store near you and look for a collection bin that looks like the one to the right. Called Flip Flop Replay, this month-long recycling event comes thanks to a partnership between trash-to-treasure eco company TerraCycle and Old Navy.

What happens to the collected flipflops? They’ll be turned into material for playgrounds. So clean out your closet on Earth Day and give your old shoes a new life. Tomorrow, I’ll post about some great green flip flop options so you can get beach ready, eco-fashionably.

Earlier: Recycle your athletic shoes with Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program

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Curious about what’s new in green products and services? Go Green Expo in Los Angeles opens its doors to the public tomorrow and Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. With about 150 booths, the expo seems smaller than past years — but does bring together a wide variety of green businesses, from eco-jewelry to solar panel installation companies to the usual reusable bag and bottle vendors. Here are 10 booths I recommend stopping by:

GREENspotDROPoff. Don’t want to pay the $15 expo admission fee? Just bring some e-waste you don’t want — whether it’s an old laptop, cell phones, or toner cartridges — to be recycled at GREENspotDROPoff’s booth. You’ll both dispose of your unwanted stuff responsibly AND get free admission to the rest of the expo.

Grace & Greene. Need an eco-bikini now that the weather’s getting hot? This new eco-friendly boutique in Redondo Beach has its own line of green bikinis, made with organic fabrics, reclaimed textiles, and recycled nylon — and modeled by local surfers!

Linda Loudermilk. Shop eco-luxe fashion up at the eco-famous designer’s own spacious booth, with many different styles on display — all finely crafted with the highest green standards.

bgreen apparel. Stock up on organic cotton basics at this local eco clothing company. T-shirts, camis, and undies are on sale at special expo discounts. Earlier: Bgreen Apparel: Comfy and cute organic cotton camis and panties.

Fibre Arts Design. Browse cute handbags made in California with eco-friendly materials. For all of 2011, the local company’s sending $1 for every bag sold to Red Cross Tsunami relief.

Farm Fresh to You. Get local, organic certified produce delivered to your doorstep every week with this community supported agriculture (CSA) service. A regular box of fruits and veggies usually costs $31.50, but the company’s offering an expo special of $25 for your first delivered box — no further commitment required. Earlier: Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles.

CSA California. Get even more local with this L.A.-based CSA service, if a pick-up location’s available near you. And stop by the booth for a free healthy snack of raisins and fresh oranges! Earlier: CSA California: Local farm in a bag — and a raw deal for SaMo locavores.

Organic Olive Essence. Tired of beauty companies that say their products are organic — when only one or two ingredients can make that eco-claim? Then you’ll be happy to know this company’s got actual USDA certification for its entire green personal care line. Dab on some luscious body butter to see just how good a real organic product makes your skin feel.

Numi Organic Tea. Warm up from the always-too-cold convention hall AC by drinking a cup of delicious organic Rooibos tea from this eco-ethical tea company. Earlier: Numi Organic Puerh Teas: Fruity summery drinks — with extra antioxidants.
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Go Green Expo also features speakers — like Ed Begley Jr. and Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (of Whale Wars fame) who’ll speak and Saturday, and Mariel Hemingway on Sunday. And if you mainly started reading this post because you wanted to find out how to save $15 on expo admission, keep in mind that parking at the L.A. Convention Center costs $12. Go green and bike or take public transit to the Go Green Expo and keep the green in your wallet.

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