Australian wool producers and international retail federations are locked in a battle over ethical standards for merino wool.

The debate centers on a procedure called mulesing, in which farmers remove a flap of skin on a lamb’s rump to prevent parasites from laying eggs in the skin folds. In recent years, many retailers began boycotting wool from farms that use the technique, arguing that it is inhumane to perform surgery on lambs without anesthesia. Facing growing pressure, wool producers eventually agreed to stop the practice by 2010.

However, with that deadline fast approaching, sheep farmers have backtracked on the agreement — and retailers aren’t holding them to it:

Australian Wool Innovation says overseas retailers have committed to buying Australian wool, despite the industry failing to honour a deal to stop mulesing next year.

The industry had agreed to find an alterative to surgical mulesing by 2010, after a series of animal welfare campaign and boycotts by retailers.

An AWI delegation has just returned from meeting retailers in the US, Europe and the UK to explain why that deadline won’t be met.

AWI chief executive Brenda McGahan says some retailers were unhappy, but most accepted the explanation.

“It’s one thing to not be happy about a message or a change in a policy, and it’s another to say they are not happy about our wool”, she says.

The news is a blow to the animal-rights groups that have been fighting for an end to mulesing. Yet we can’t help but wonder whether all this dithering over mulesing is missing the forest for the trees. If mulesing saves the sheep from a lifetime of agony from flystrike, wouldn’t it make more sense to pursue a more humane way of conducting the surgical procedure than to protest it?

If you have an opinion on this issue, please share it in the comments section!

We hope all our U.S. readers had a happy and restful Thanksgiving! But Cyber Monday means it’s back to reality and to the gym for us to work off that second serving of stuffing.

Luckily for us, Vancouver-based yoga company Lululemon — a new addition to the E.S. pantheon of favorites — has selections from their famous range of workout clothes in organic cotton on sale.

Our top pick? This chafe-resistant tank features adjustable straps and a built-in shelf bra for light to medium support. We love the corset-style seaming that gives this top a sexy shape while you’re pounding the pavement.

And check out the cropped yoga pants that pair perfectly with it — also in organic cotton!

Move Tank in Heathered Light Bon Bon, $39 at Lululemon.com.

British singer Leona Lewis is said to be planning to release a vegan clothing line with the help of her friend Stella McCartney.

According to the tabs:

A friend claims Leona said: “I’m on a mission. I’d love to promote a line of non-leather bags and shoes that are affordable. I think more needs to be available and not so expensive.

“There’s so much I want to do. I’ve always wanted to have my own fashion line, and that’s something I want to focus on next year.”

A quick word of advice for Leona: Make sure the clothes are actually affordable. Stella McCartney’s leather-free shoes and handbags start at $495 for rubber wedge boots — so we’re not sure that she’s one to counsel on what Average Jane considers a bargain.

And vegan actress Natalie Portman tried this route a few years ago but her idea of a reasonable price point was $200+ for pleather pumps. It’s no surprise that her collaboration with designer Té Casan went belly-up pretty quickly.

There are already a few brands that have cornered the market for non-leather bags that are a step above Target prices and a few steps below Stella, so we have to wonder whether Leona — who has no background in design — is merely aiming to reinvent the wheel.

Stressed out about doorbusters and early-bird sales on Friday? Give your Thanksgiving food baby a well-deserved nap and shop Nimli.com‘s Black Friday sale from the comfort of your couch.

Nimli is loaded with great green gifts for everyone on your list. We can personally vouch for the supersoft cashmere-blend pashminas that happen to be fair trade, but also be sure to check out vegan shoes by Olsen Haus, a sustainable mahogany spice block for your design-obsessed best friend, plush soy bathrobes for the man in your life, and recycled leather jewelry that is certain to delight a picky teenager.

Take 25 percent off everything on the site this Friday by using coupon code BLACKFRIDAY09. That’s something to be thankful for!

Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, Alexa Chung — why is it that all the It Girls from the past decade have sported British accents? We traveled to London to find out, and in the process met with several up-and-coming designers and hit the shops hard. Issue 26, themed “The British Invasion,” is all about what makes this city tick. We bring you the following goodies today:

• Ada Zanditon, the pixie-sized dynamo who first captured our attention last year, is poised to become one of the industry’s most creative and celebrated names. Read up on her nuanced and layered view of the language of fashion.
• Ready to become an Ada Zanditon fan, if you weren’t already? Feast your eyes on her spring/summer 2010 collection, “A World Without Bees.” And bonus commentary: Ada in her own words on the many layers of the design you don’t see.
• We also checked out The Organic Pharmacy, a wonderland of homeopathic health and beauty remedies for whatever ails you. The main store is in London but the good news is that the first U.S. location just opened in Beverly Hills. We tell you about their can’t-miss products (and name a few splurges for our Christmas wishlists).
• Next, Madison brings you “The Fast and the Furious,” an overview of Britain’s biggest fast-fashion chains and the protests they seem to regularly attract. Whether it’s against sweatshops or fur, the biggest retailers always catch a lot of flack — some of which is justifiable, and some of which isn’t.
• Finally, take some time off from shopping this Thanksgiving weekend to catch up on the best of the British archive from Behind the Seams. You may have missed something good!

“I am very careful about where my products come from. I work with Saga fur – it comes from Finland, they have a vested interest in proper product and breeding, and the animals have to be treated properly. I’m not a heartless person, but for those of us who work in high-end fashion, there are certain things we need to use. Fur is something my clients want. You make the choice. We don’t do a lot of it – it’s just part of the collection, the way leather is.”

– Canadian designer Todd Lynn on refusing to buy fur from unregulated farms in China. Read the rest of this sprawling feature on fur in the Guardian.

Pictured above: Fur on the catwalk during his Spring/Summer 2010 presentation at London Fashion Week.

One of the freshest trends to catch our eye recently is the knit beret. It sounds so out there but it looks amazingly cool with jeans and a boyfriend blazer. Or get cozy by the fireplace wearing it with a cocoon sweater and cords.

Sure, you could pick up a version from Topshop or Forever 21, but there’s no guarantee the hat hasn’t been made in sweatshops. There are plenty of stylish handmade or otherwise eco options — check out what we’ve found:

• Unbleached linen with a smattering of sparkle. SpinningStreak’s Big Hair Hat, $28 at Etsy.
• Channel your inner Parisian with this vintage red-and-blue pick from the 1960s. Basque Deluxe Beret, $22 at FancyDisaster.com.
• This cable knit goes from ski lodge to street in an instant. Beaumont Organic Chunky Cable Hat, £30 ($49.79 in USD) at Fashion-Conscience.com.
• Warm fleece lining and sequins mean function has officially met form. EmeraldAngel’s Sequin Berets in three colors, $23.99 at Etsy.com.
• Say yes to chunky knits with this hand-crocheted design. Nixon “Joyride” Hand Knit Beret, $22 at Karmaloop.com.

Last night we attended the champagne reception for Sustainable Sirens, a fashion project by Reel Green Media to showcase the waste produced by Hollywood’s entertainment industry.

The project will oversee the production of six dresses made from the recyclable trash generated by the movie business. The first dress is patterned after the fabulous type of gown worn by Marie Antoinette and is themed “Let Them Recycle.”

According to the project’s press release:

This unique campaign consists of a series of six costumes, each made from the recyclable products used in specific departments in the film and television industry. The dresses are photographed and printed as posters for distribution to prop houses, costume rental shops, guilds, studios, high production traffic areas and production base camps. To broaden the impact of the project, the images will be paired with an interactive website where crew members can find information about alternatives proper disposal of materials. The completed series will then travel as an art exhibition to museums, award ceremonies and events to educate people about waste prevention and sustainability.

See more photos of this unique event — including close-ups of that fabulous dress — on our Facebook page. And if you’re in the L.A. area and want to see the dress in person, it will be on display at West Hollywood boutique Code C through December 6.

The “Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion” exhibit opens today at the Pratt Institute in New York.

Featuring designs by brands like Bodkin and Loomstate, consider the project a can’t-miss:

The first American exhibition to explore the work of artists and designers who seek practical and symbolic solutions to the question of integrating sustainable practices into the fashion system.

The exhibition is organized around three main themes: Reduce, Revalue and Rethink, expanding on the traditional ecological mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by acknowledging the importance of aesthetics within fashion design.

The exhibit will be on display through February 20, 2010, with a panel discussion with the artists and designers open to the public on January 26.

Need more info? Check out the project’s page on the Pratt Institute website.

The Pratt Institute, 144 West 14th Street, 2nd floor, New York, N.Y. 10011 212-647-7778.

(Thanks to reader Clara Berg for the reminder!)

We’ve noticed a recent flurry of blog posts and news articles dedicated to the discussion of fur in fashion. Perhaps it’s because the weather in the Northern Hemisphere is turning cold, or perhaps it’s because it’s a perennial topic of debate, but there’s no question about it: Lots of people have fur on the brain right now.

Yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Gilt.com’s latest sale fur-lined garments sold out in minutes, leading one blogger to ask, “Do people (and by this I mean young-ish, educated, stylish people) really still desire to be draped in dead animals? The answer, it seems, is a loud and unabashed YES!”

And on The-Coveted.com, one of our favorite thoughtful websites, the question wasn’t whether one should buy or boycott fur, but whether it elevated or ruined a pair of spats.

With the advent of certification standards like Origin Assured, more people are seriously weighing the ethics of fur without indulging a knee-jerk reaction. And whatever has gone before in the realm of debate seems to have gone out the window.

Rabbit Fur Spats, $395 at Omelle.com.