Have a lovely Thanksgiving, everyone! Regular blogging will resume on Monday Tuesday (apologies for the delay!).

One-of-a-kind Turkey Day greeting card made from a vintage Life magazine, $4 on Etsy.com

Since researching this article for the latest issue of ES magazine, we’ve gained a whole new perspective on the impact that donated clothes can have. So when we spotted this on Stylistic today, we couldn’t help but pass the word along.

This holiday season, give something back by donating to one of these wonderful programs that distribute winter coats to thousands of people every year who don’t own one. (List via Stylistic)

* One Warm Coat (www.onewarmcoat.org) was founded in 1992 to provide individuals with the publicity tools and resources necessary to organize their own coat drives. Through the site, you can also view agents in your area that are currently accepting clean, gently used coats. Annually, One Warm Coat partners up with Good Morning America and Burlington Coat Factory to hold an in-store coat drive that runs through January 16, 2008. For a location near you, please visit: www.onewarmcoat.org.

* Coats for Kids (www.coats-for-kids.org) was established in 2004 to ensure that “every child who needs a winter coat receives a new one”. They distinguish themselves from other organizations by only accepting brand new, never worn coats and accompanying each coat with a new hat and pair of gloves for the recipient. They also accept requests for coats and deliver them from October through the end of March, whereas many coats drives only operate from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

* New York Cares (www.nycares.org/volunteer/annual_events/coat_drive/index.php) collects nearly 80,000 gently used winter coats annually, and distributes them throughout the state of New York to men, women, and children who would otherwise go without.

Image: A coat drive/installation created by JWT Agency for New York Cares. Click here for more.

As you are no doubt aware, there is a “carnival of capitalism” happening in the U.S. on Friday. It is a national sale holiday so infamous that forgoing the Black Friday bargains is now lauded to be an act of protest. And word on the street is that this year’s deals will be the stuff of legend:

“Retailers realize that low prices will get consumers into stores this holiday season, and this could be the most heavily promotional Black Friday in history,” said Tracy Mullin, president and chief executive officer of the National Retail Federation. “Shoppers who held off buying a DVD player or winter coat over the last few months will find that prices may literally be too good to pass up.”

But as cash-strapped as many people are at the moment, price-slashing of this magnitude can be a dangerous distraction from some important considerations — like the who, where, and what details of a garment’s production, as Eco-Chick points out.

Most of all, however, beware of impulse buys this weekend. If you don’t think you’ll wear that purple velour jumpsuit come next year, don’t buy it. Even if it was only $17.99.

(Oh, and one more thing: For crying out loud, let’s play nice out there!)

We don’t often cover men’s fashion here at E.S., but after seeing this DIY challenge on Style Salvage last week we just couldn’t help ourselves:

I’ve noticed that a lot of my favourite women’s style blogs do some AMAZING DIY projects, but it’s something you very rarely see on men’s. Is it because crafts are more popular among the ladies? Do they take more pride in being able to say ‘oh this? I made it myself’?

The DIY situation in the men’s fashion blogosphere, we are told, is pretty dismal — and mostly due to laziness.

But with the holidays approaching and just about everyone’s budget shrinking, will style-conscious guys finally find a little motivation? After all — as we non-crafty females would know — it doesn’t take much to put a homemade spin on something you already have. (And you can be sure that Mom won’t be the only lady you’ll end up impressing.)

A few DIY gems out there for dudes:

• Entertain yourself with this low-budget boredom killer. The duct tape wallet is a DIY classic. It’s durable and easy to make. Check out one of the many tutorials out there or pick up a kit.

• Dip a toe in the DIY pond with a fabulously rumpled shirt! Izzydore at The Dandy Project has cracked the code: twist shirt into a tight coil, secure with rubber bands, wait, unravel.

• Spread holiday cheer with a homemade ascot-style neck tie. The most “advanced” of these three, but well worth the effort. Get detailed step-by-step instructions here (via Style Salvage). And it’s reversible!

Ladies who are new to EthicalStyle can check out past DIY posts here and here.

The new iteration of the ethical fashion movement effectively takes personal style into account, according to this story about the winners of the RE:Fashion Awards.

“I find upcycling the most challenging and creative of the ethical fashion principles,” says Orsola De Castro, winner of the RE:Fashion award for Designer of the Year. She creates dresses from rescued fragments of textiles left on the cutting room floor.

De Castro’s emphasis on the creativity inherent in the ethical fashion movement underscores an important point. These days, customers are not only looking for ethically made clothing but also for attire with individuality and flair.

Here at E.S. H.Q., we are big fans of individuality, and we want to congratulate Ms. De Castro on her award. Her philosophy about personal style is one of the reasons we love vintage so much and why we have Etsy bookmarked and our tailors on speed dial. Where and how clothes are made are obviously very important things to know, but if it looks like a burlap sack, it’s not going to get worn.

We got a press release in our inbox about a neat new company that links activism and fashion.

Artevist produces organic, ethically produced tee-shirts featuring designs from up-and-coming artists with a message.

Shirts are made with organic bamboo and textiles right here in the USA without relying on sweatshop labor. And a portion of the sale price of every tee is donated through 1% For The Planet.

The site sponsors design contests as well if you’re inspired by a particular cause and want to see your work emblazoned across your fellow social activists’  chests.

By the way, if you have a tip for us, share it at ethicalstylemag@gmail.com!

Jewelry designer Monique Péan’s newest collection was inspired by a simple concept: clean water. Now a charity collaboration based on the collection will send drinking water to those in need.

Ms. Péan teamed up with Charity: Water, a nonprofit group that operates in developing countries without access to proper sanitation methods. She says every piece in the collection is made with reclaimed gold and conflict-free diamonds, and proceeds from the jewelry’s sales will provide clean drinking water through the charity for as long as 20 years.

Prices range from $1,000 to $40,000 for a custom-designed statement piece and will be available in February at retailers Kirna Zabête in New York, Roseark in Los Angeles, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, and Ikram in Chicago.

Dame Vivienne Westwood did one for the kids last week at Whitehall Palace in London, where she presented her Spring 2009 Gold Label collection at a children’s charity benefit.

Ms. Westwood teamed up with London Musici to put on a fashion show with performing artists and a live orchestra. The goal was to raise 250,000 GBP for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a group working to end child abuse and create positive opportunities for children in the U.K. and Channel Islands.

The event was reported to be a star-studded success, with Eva Herzigova, Claudia Schiffer, and the Jagger sisters in attendance.

Ms. Westwood’s new Chaos Point collection was “inspired by ecological crisis,” according to The Guardian. The designer also recruited local schoolchildren to paint some of the fabrics. As you can see at right, this and the ecological theme combined made for some pretty unusual garments — which have apparently frightened almost 60 percent of FabSugar readers. Must have been quite a show!

(Images from Coutorture, where you can view the entire collection.)

The thing that probably puts most people off vintage shopping is the digging. Not all shops are organized so you end up skimming over a lot of dross to find vintage gold. It can take the better part of a Saturday afternoon, and who has the time and patience?

Enter VintageCouture.com. If you’re looking for a not fresh-off-the-runway outfit, this is your place. Its collection of designers is truly drool-worthy: Lanvin, Oscar de la Renta, Missoni, Hervé Leger, Halston, Dior, Chanel. If nothing else, it’s a good way to kill twenty minutes dreaming of the kind of glamourous life that would necessitate a closet full of these dresses.

Items are priced what they’re actually worth so deal hunters will lose some of the thrill of the chase, but the online shop’s well-edited wares are stunning. Just beware that vintage sizing tends to run smaller than modern labeling, so go by the helpfully provided measurements to determine proper fit.

Oscar de la Renta 1970s Silk Hostess Gown, $1200 from VintageCouture.com.

Exciting news in WWD today about two fashion charity ventures going on next month:

• Marni will launch a double project to raise money for children’s educational programs in Brazil, Columbia, Guatemala, Tibet, and India. At the end of this month, Marni boutiques will carry limited-edition totes painted by kids from around the globe for the label’s In a World of My Own project. For its second initiative, Dreams of Growing Up, five of those kids’ drawings have been screened onto grey and white tanks and will be sold to support those educational programs. The tops go on sale in mid-December. Both offerings will sell for $135 each.
• As a benefit for the Child Priority Foundation, Moncler commissioned a five-foot version of its washing instructions duck, painted by British artist Stuart Semple. The “Moncler Toy” will be auctioned off in February, after its unveiling at Art Basel on December 5 and a tour Marni flagship stores.

We like the sound of those limited edition Marni tanks, and $135 is a decent price for a good cause.

Also, your humble D.C. blogger will be there at Art Basel. I’ll do my best to get a shot of that duck!