Earth Day is just weeks away, so we’re sure we’ll be seeing lots more of codes and deals on eco-apparel in April.

Elroy kicks it all off with an awesome coupon: Get 25 percent off every fashion-forward piece in their online shop, from hem- and-tencel blend dresses to organic cotton trench coats.

To get the deal, enter code DCDEAL at checkout. (Unfortunately sale merchandise is excluded.)

Jessamine Vest, $127.98 at ShopElroy.com.

Shopping local has mostly been a question of food: reducing the carbon footprint of a pint of strawberries or an ear of corn by cutting down on transportation costs and supporting small farms in your area.

But in Denmark, the idea of buying local in fashion has translated into controversy. Last month at Copenhagen Fashion Week, full-page ads ran in the Dansk Daily distributed at the runway shows, urging shoppers to “support your local designer, buy Danish.” According to WWD:

“It was targeted at a consumer audience,” said Eva Kruse, executive director of the government-funded Danish Fashion Institute, which ran the campaign. “It’s to say when you’re going into shops and buying clothes, when you have a Hugo Boss shirt in one hand and a Danish brand in the other, choose the Danish. Support the industry.”

But Danish designers were unimpressed, going as far as to pull copies of the Dansk Daily from their shows.

“This is narrow, really provincial thinking,” said Rasmus Storm, owner of the Copenhagen-based concept store Storm. “I completely understand people trying to protect their businesses, but at the end of the day, the guys who will survive this crisis are those who are forward-thinking, finding new solutions, who are doing a better job every day when they go to work. You can run ads, but at the end of the day, it’s about the product and the brand.” 

The Danish Fashion Institute rebutted that the true purpose of the ads was to get Danish consumers shopping again, as retailers have been hit hard by the worldwide recession.

So who’s right: In an increasingly globalized fashion landscape, is buying local a thing of the past? Or should patriotism guide your fashion purchases?

Some eyebrow-raising news to come out of Miami Fashion Week last week: ’90s club kid-turned-Heatherette designer Richie Rich has teamed up with Pamela Anderson for a new eco-line called Muse. Their first collection of swimsuits, casual tops and skirts, and leather-free shoes is set to debut this summer.

If Muse plans to be a true eco-friendly line (and not simply a celebrity-designed collection with a few leather-free shoes thrown in the mix), Rich and Anderson will be bringing something very new to the table for green fashionistas. The Heatherette aesthetic is not for everyone, but we will very much be looking forward to what this flamboyant duo will turn out this summer.

An idea of what to expect: fall 2007 (above), and a video of the new collection Rich presented Friday in Miami after the jump.

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Starting in two weeks, several high street retailers in the U.K. will be donating 30 percent the proceeds from their special collections to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

The campaign, called Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, was started by designer Ralph Lauren in 1990 in honor of his friend Nina Hyde, a Washington Post fashion editor who died at a young age from the disease. Participants this year include Marks & Spencer, Topshop, Orla Kiely, and other stylish brands.

In the past we’ve questioned whether other designers couldn’t pony up more than a paltry percentage of the retail price for their charity collaborations, but 30 percent is nothing to shake a stick at! And it doesn’t hurt that the merchandise is very, very cute — see more of the selections here.

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer target tee, £22 at Topshop.com (available in mid-April).

There’s a new trend on the streets of London: swishing, or the art of swapping clothes at huge organized events.

Now swishers are poised to bring this grassroots idea to the global level:

Swishing began when a group of Futerrans put their heads together to find a way to combine a love of retail shopping without contributing to increased consumption. The rest as they say is history… Today swishing is a global phenomenon, thanks to the ever growing swishing community. Futerra plans to continue to host iconic swishing events and would like to make swishing as fun and user friendly as possible.

The way it works: Participants bring sacks of clothes they’ve outgrown (stylistically or literally) and swap them with friends and friends of friends, thus expanding their wardrobes without spending a dime.

It’s important that everyone contribute items in good condition — this isn’t a flea market. And the site takes pains to welcome “people who bring along anyone else with a bulging wardrobe.”

Interested in organizing a swishing event yourself? Click here for more information and downloadable invitation samples.

In honor of our new DIY issue, we spent some time this morning checking out what’s new on Etsy. And we fell in love with seller Shecological and her handmade line of brightly printed organic cotton and hemp bags.

Better yet, Shecological is a member of EcoEtsy, so buy one of her bags before March 31 and you’ll take home one of those cool gifts we told you about. She’s offering a coin purse — might be just what you need.

If you’re new to Etsy or just want to see some of the site’s cooler features, check out our nifty guide to getting the most out of this DIY emporium.

Shecological Saturday at the Museum Tote, $58 at Etsy.com.

Set your Tivos: The Tyra Banks Show today is giving “model for a day” makeovers to four teens who are making a difference in their communities. One of the lucky participants is Ally Maize, founder of the Green Youth Movement (pictured on the right).

We had a chance to chat with Ally at EcoStiletto’s Green Girls Night Out earlier this month and we know she’s going to be great. Hopefully the appearance will recruit new members to her project to get kids involved in environmental projects.

You can watch a preview clip of the show here. Good luck, Ally! We’re rooting for you.

Jimmy Choo may be best known for its teetering high heels, but the company also has a kind soul. Along with BCBG, Chinese Laundry, and Payless, it is donating its footwear to the Cinderella Project, which gives glamorous prom outfits to high-school girls who come from poor families in South Central Los Angeles.

Every year, stylists, designers, and fashion experts all donate clothing, accessories and shoes to the charity A Place Called Home, which runs the project. 

Florence Azria, the sister-in-law of BCBG’s designer Max Azria and the blogger behind The Shoe Goddess, is pumping energy into the effort this year:

“It’s such an amazing thing to see these girls feel so good about themselves, and they deserve to. How can you not love that?”

The charity will give away all the clothes collected during the drive at an event on May 1. For more about the project, visit A Place Called Home’s website by clicking here.

Lauren Pierce, the charity-minded fashion line designed by former First Niece Lauren Bush, has debuted at Barneys to pretty positive reviews.

Vanity Fair clarifies the ideals behind the pretty prints:

For spring ’09, she worked with Women for Women International, which teaches women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo how to hand-dye fabrics. The one-of-a-kind materials accent Lauren Pierce’s timeless cocktail dresses, double-sided capes, and perfect-for-spring skirts, and 10 percent of the proceeds from sales go back to supporting the artisans.

Love that tie dye is being used so stylishly — the last dress on the right is calling our name! And how nice that the artisans get to cash in on their skills. Props all around.

Have we got an issue for you!

Do-it-yourself projects are here to stay and E.S.’s twelfth issue just scratches the surface of this exciting trend. Still, we think the new articles are a good mix of what’s going on in the DIY world:

• Outi Pyy, the brilliant Finnish DIYer from Outsapop.com, shares her pictorial and video tutorial about how to fashion yourself an awesome shredded tee this spring.
• TOMS Shoes may be best known for its funny-looking footwear, but the company’s mission is just as feel-good as its slip-ons.
• Handmade emporium Etsy.com intimidates most of its first-time shoppers, but fear not: This guide will help you find what you’re looking for among its vast glittering treasures. Even seasoned Etsy veterans may learn a thing or two!
• Get a glimpse of mineral makeup from Terra Firma, an up-and-coming beauty brand from Washington State. We test drove a couple of products from the line and fell in love with their winning formulas — get your own product recommendations here.
• Finally, Madison bravely shares her rookie attempts at knitting a scarf. She’s self-taught, so be kind.

This issue was majorly fun to put together, so you can be sure we’ll do another issue on the theme in the future.