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Get in the mood for your summer holidays (if you haven’t already been and come back!) with some gorgeous hand-made, ethical, Hawaiian themed outfits from Muumuu Heaven, a family run business based in, you guessed it, Oahu, Hawaii. Muumuu Heaven began with the concept of creating beautiful, high quality products, whilst maintaining corporate and social responsibility and without creating a detrimental impact on the planet.
Muumuu Heaven contribute 1% FTP to help preserve Hawaii’s coral reefs, use vintage and recycled materials to avoid wasting fabric and the brand is a favourite with the Hollywood rich and famous. You can purchase items from the label online at BTC Elements and Shop Equita.
We all want to be a one-off and now you can be with Armour Sans Anguish (clothing without sorrow), the brainchild of two fashion forward girls called Tawny Holt and Julie Edwards, who are both passionate about one-of-a-kind, recycled and sweatshop free clothing. Deconstructed vintage style is their forte and looking through their collections (which get snapped up pretty quick), Armour Sans Anguish excel at it. Julie is a consummate pro when it comes to repurposing old items, having acquired the skill of thriftiness from a very early age. Tawny majors in Cultural Anthropology and Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz and has always loved making things. Online eco-store BTC Elements are currently selling a beautiful Armour Sans Anguish, 'Layered and Lovely' reconstructed tulle dress, created from reclaimed and secondhand fabric, for $200. If you're a fan, get purchasing now, before it sells out, like all their other beautiful creations.
Eco-conscious fashion needs a dose of avant-garde innovation, cue Gary Harvey, who produced a collection of vintage couture inspired dresses from recycled garments, which were showcased at London Fashion Week this year. From a towering bridal gown constructed from 10 wedding dresses, to an aptly named, military dress, made from 28 army jackets in various shades of olive green camouflage, Gary's collection is a striking and pioneering move for the ethical fashion world. Gary says, "By sourcing fabrics and raw materials that have literally been thrown away, you can look good and be good too." Gary Harvey was the creative director of Levi Strauss for almost 10 years and his earth-conscious designs were born out of creative frustration. Since then his passion for recycled couture has prevailed and Gary has designed a range of conceptual eco-couture outfits. He is now taking private commissions for his unique socially conscious designs. It's exciting to see originality and great concepts filtering into the ethical fashion arena. Hopefully this will be a growing trend rather than a passing one!
Ethical fashion is picking up pace and more of us are realising the impact of the mainstream fashion industry on our increasingly fragile environment. Billions of dollars worth of pesticides are sprayed on cotton crops every year, polluting the environment and harming producers all over the world. Forty million garment and textile workers worldwide are subject to poor working conditions, low pay, forced overtime, unsafe working environments, to name but few of the problems these individuals face. The ethical fashion industry is demonstrating to us that it is more than capable of producing stylish garments with a conscience. One of the brands that are embracing this vision is the California based Ecoganik, providing “a fusion of fashion and eco consciousness.” Ecoganik is a member of the Organic Trade Association, the OTA Fiber Council Committee and Co-op America Business Network and they only use certified organic and eco-friendly materials in their clothing and accessories, free from harmful pesticides and chemicals. To colour their garments they use low impact dyes, free of metal and mordant substances.
Ecoganik make the most of alternative fibres such as eco fiber – a recycled cotton fabric, tencel – a 100% biodegradable silky fabric made of the cellulose extracted from trees, using a non-toxic process and hemp – a crop that is naturally antibacterial and resistant to insects and pests (thus it can be grown without the use of pesticides).
Ecoganik’s ranges are affordable and incredibly attractive. Here are a few of my favourite pieces. You can find all these pieces online at Couture Candy.
1) Bamboo Dress with Lace in Sky, $129 – 92% bamboo, 7% spandex.
2) Long Stripe Dress in Blue and White, $150 – 62% polyester, 19% cotton, 19% modal.
3) Organic Tissue Earth Tank in Chamomile, $63 – 100% organic cotton.
4) French Terry Short in Tulip, $85 – 100% organic cotton.
5) Jersey Elastic Waist Mala Pant in Eggplant, $105 – 100% organic cotton. 
[via Hippyshopper]
For sensational summer vintage fashion, you must check out (no, really you MUST) Deborah Lindquist, one of LA's most well respected and sought after environmentally conscious designers. I am really impressed with Deborah's collections. Embracing vintage clothing avoids contributing yet more waste to already overflowing landfill sites. For that reason, I wholly applaud vintage and recycled fashion.
According to WRAP, in the UK alone over one million tonnes of textiles are discarded every year. Opting for vintage and recycled fashion goes some way towards correcting our throw away culture (although there are many other areas to consider and still a very long way to go). For her designs, Deborah uses a combination of recycled cashmere, repurposed kimonos and saris, vintage silk scarves and sustainable materials, including: hemp, organic cotton and organic wool. As a Vegan I stay away from cashmere, silk and wool, but wearing vintage is better than buying new items made from these materials, which would otherwise be binned. Deborah Lindquist has an A-list following including the likes of: Sharon Stone, Gwen Stefani, Demi Moore and Charlize Theron and produces stunning garments that leave smaller imprints on the planet than mainstream fashion items. Trained at the Parsons School of Design, New York City, Deborah's avant-garde fashion has featured in a range of prominent publications such as: InStyle, Lucky Magazine, People and GenLux. It is hard for me to pick favourites, but somehow I have managed, so, here is my selection of hot summer garments, courtesy of Deborah Linquist. 1) #VFB - Vintage tropical floral bustier, $687.2) #BDL - Empire waistline long dress. Vintage sari fabric bodice embellished with semi-precious or crystal beads. English net and silk chiffon body with doubleface satin ribbon halter tie neck, $950.3) #LDH1 - Vintage kimono and hemp/cotton bustier dress with semi-precious beading, $775.4) #HBD - Hemp/cotton babydoll dress with raffia and organic cotton lace trim, $700.5) #SSK1 - Hemp/cotton pleated mini-skirt with organic cotton lace trim, $200.
For some interesting and innovative recyled fashion, take a look at goodone clothing, who create unique one off pieces from hand-picked recycled fabrics. goodone garments are designed to flatter the body shapes of both men and women. All designs are produced in a range of sizes and if you provide your specific measurements goodone will create garments to fit you exactly.
You can also take part in the design process by providing your own materials, or contacting the label with your personal preferences on colour, style, texture and pattern.
goodone clothing arose out of discontent with a very negative industry that unnecessarily exploits people and the environment in the manufacture of garments. The creation of goodone clothing was born out of a desire to produce good clothing, with a company that focused on being good themselves, by being good to the environment, producing clothing that focuses on reducing waste, energy expenditure and pollution in the manufacturing process, hence the name goodone clothing.
The label source most of their materials from textile recycling factories in and around London and manufacture their products in the goodone studio in Hackney, East London.
My favourite pieces are the titty dress (as seen on the right) - made from a combination of handpicked recycled t-shirts, combined with organic fairtrade cotton, for £60 and the belt dress (as seen above) - made from a combination of hand-picked sweatshirts, for £70.
Recently, goodone have launched their response to the Anya Hindmarch 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' bag, with a limited edition, organic, cotton, fairly traded cloth bag for £8, adorned with the simple statement, 'Do I fucking look like a plastic bag?' This is available via the goodone website.
