Eco Fashion, Green, Organic, Sustainable Apparel living green, organic cotton

Is green the new black? It seems everywhere we turn lately, there are trendy companies offering eco-friendly clothing, accessories and make-up. How exciting is it to be able to go green and care for the environment in style?  San Diego is a hotbed of eco-chic organic lifestyles and now it’s easier than ever to be green AND fashionable. It can start with simple steps like carrying a reusable water bottle, walking to places instead of driving and purchasing eco-friendly products.

To launch a “green” journey into full speed ahead mode, plan on reading a few fashionable green books like Green Chic Book: Saving the Earth in Style by Christie Matheson, Eco-Babe’s Guide to Greening It by Stephanie Byng or The Green Book:  The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen.  The authors of The Green Book enlisted the help of some high profile friends, including Cameron Diaz, Robert Redford, Jennifer Aniston, Tyra Banks, Tiki Barber and more, to tell how they make a difference in regard to the environment.  The book focuses on how little things can make a big impact, for example not asking for ATM receipts:  if everyone in the U.S. refused their receipts, it would save a roll of paper more than two billion feet long-enough to circle the equator fifteen times! 

Consider this:  if one out of every five Americans purchased a 100% organic t-shirt instead of one made from conventionally grown U. S. cotton, nearly fifty thousand tons of agrochemicals would be prevented from polluting American ecosystems.  Also, the process of dyeing fabric generates the largest proportion of wastewater produced by the textile industry.  So, even though 2010 is a big year for color in the fashion industry, fashionistas should be buying clothes with “natural” colors to complement them.  If most Americans bought just one pair of pants that weren’t dyed, it would save enough dye to cover the city of San Diego with an inch of colorful liquid. 

There are some gorgeous eco-chic items at TRE in the Forum Shops in Carlsbad and Flower Hill Promenade in Del Mar, where they have several tops made of organic cotton and jackets made entirely of bamboo.  ”Eco-friendly apparel is much more elegant than just t-shirts.  We have chosen to carry beautiful organic jersey and cotton clothing at TRE,” says Sheree Vihon Bergthold, co-owner with Rochelle Johnson.

Pangea in Flower Hill Promenade has cute canvas bags, which can be used instead of wrapping paper for gifts and for carrying things that would normally go in plastic bags. 

Now is the time to give secondhand clothing a second chance.  In the San Diego area, Carolyn’s Designer Resale, Double Take or Flashback’s have a huge selection of gently used clothing.  The average American purchases about forty eight pieces of new clothing per year.  If just one of those articles were purchased from a secondhand store, the energy equivalent of more than half a gallon of gasoline could be saved because of all the energy used to manufacture and transport new clothes. If one in every ten Americans substituted his or her next purchase of one new garment with a vintage one, the energy saved could fly everybody in North County to New York City for Fashion Week!

Everyone needs to be aware of the imprint they leave on the world.  It really takes just a little change to make a big impact.  If everybody does their part, the environment has a chance at being saved.  So, in this stylish eco-friendly world, green truly is the new black.

For Related Articles Try:

• Best Diets to Lose Weight
• San Diego Healthy Recipes
• Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle and Longevity