Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP newsletter is sometimes a bit, well, insouciant, but today’s edition has some pretty decent recommendations for eco-friendly fashion. She even got “Hollywood green queen” Cameron Diaz in on the act.

Among these leggy blonde celebrities’ mutual favorites:

• Olsen Haus for some of the least heinous vegan options for shoes.
• MUJI socks, made from recycled textiles. No two pairs are exactly alike!
• Basic tees for men and women from Alternative Apparel’s organic cotton line.
• This solar-powered backpack designed to charge your iPod and cell phone on to go.
• Inhabitat.com for innovative and stylish home goods and fashion.
• The KOR “Hydration Vessel” — essentially an extra-fancy $30 reusable water bottle.

So… some of their suggestions are better than others. But at least we appreciate the effort!

Washington, D.C. is known for a lot of things, such as the famous Fourth of July fireworks display you may be checking out on TV this weekend. What it is not known for is fashion. After three years of living in our nation’s capital, I can attest that people here love — love — to hate on D.C. style.

It’s a real drag.

Sure: Washington is not New York City. Many beltway residents simply have other priorities. Like conducting the business of the nation — or at least trying to.

But there are still plenty of stylish people to be found in the District. And The Washington Post is doing them a great service with a new bi-weekly feature called Scene In.

Click here to check out the first episode on personal style in D.C.

At last! The first piece from the Alex & Chloe-HRC collaboration we gave you a heads up about in May hit the online shop this morning.

A good unisex necklace is a rare find. And what we have here is a laser cut acrylic “painted heart” pendant with HRC logo charm on an antique brass extender chain. For such an in-demand label, $59 is pretty reasonable. Do we sound like ad copy? Maybe. But we’ve been dying to tell you about these necklaces for some time.

There is another Alex & Chloe for HRC item that won’t be available for purchase until next week. Sneak peek after the jump!

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Any lover of luxury knows eBay is not the safest place to score a designer name. The risk of paying top dollar for a counterfeit Louis Vuitton is too great.

But what if there were someone you knew you could trust to sell pre-loved luxury goods at a fair price? That’s the ideal, right?

Enter Portero.com. Every brand-name item they sell has been authenticated by their professional appraisers. And not in the scammy “100% guaranteed authentic, but sorry, no refunds!” kind of way — as in, Portero will give you every penny of your money back if you’re unsatisfied for any reason. Even the pre-owned watches they sell come backed by a one-year warranty.

They list leather goods, jewelry, and watches by big-name brands like Chanel, Hermès, Prada, and Cartier. Every item comes with multiple photos and an assessment of its condition, ranging from “pristine” to merely “fair.”

And oh yes — there are deals to be had. The vintage gold-plated Chanel earrings you see here? Only $130, but every bit as glam as what you’ll find new in the store today.

What better way to keep fashion recirculating?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized six shipments of counterfeit designer goods last week from Chinese ships docked in Newark, New Jersey.

The cargo — reportedly destined for street sales in Georgia, New York, and South Carolina — included fake Gucci shoes, Louis Vuitton and Coach handbags, and Nike Air Jordan sneakers, worth an estimated street value of $10-million.

This crack in the pipeline is one of the largest designer counterfeiting busts in recent history; in April, $1.4-million worth of fake Ed Hardy was uncovered in New York City, and in December, police seized designer replicas valued at $2.4-million from L.A.’s Santee Alley. With that in mind, Atlanta blogger A. Scott Walton poses an interesting question:

How long can it be then, before, law enforcement starts spying around corners for those who think it’s a victim-less crime to buy fake goods on the cheap? Alas, the fashion police never sleeps.

We appreciate Shopbop.com’s ability to seamlessly incorporate ethical fashion with the rest of its seriously stylish offerings.

Brands in the Earth Friendly section include E.S. favorites like Melissa Joy Manning and Larsen Gray, plus one-off organic pieces by designers like Charlotte Ronson and Felix Rey.

As a boutique, Shopbop stocks brands whose prices are moderately high, but once in a blue moon the sales are truly extraordinary.

And guess what? It must be a blue moon.

Through tomorrow, take an additional 25 percent off everything in the sale section by entering EXTRA25 at checkout.

Oh, and did we mention? No tax! Free shipping (even internationally)!

So, what do you need?

Melissa Joy Manning Long Link Recycled Silver Necklace, $133 at Shopbop.com.

German eco-fashion e-boutique Glore is opening a pop-up concept store in Berlin for the months of July and August.

Doors open on Thursday. Then you can browse coveted but hard-to-find European designers like Katharine Hamnett, Fin, Fairliebt, and Stewart+Brown. And of course, that modern German aesthetic is reflected in the cool all-white store design.

The deets (yes, they’re in German but oddly easy to understand):

@ belleville store
Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 27
10178 Berlin
fon: 030-24628371
Öffnungszeiten: Juli + August 2009 // Mo – Sa 12 – 20 Uhr

Stop in if you’re local or traveling in Europe this summer!

(via Shrip on Twitter)

There’s no time like the summer to hit the pavement and go running, but the first thing you need is a properly fitted pair of workout shoes.

Only problem is, the average pair of running shoes gives the right amount of support for 350 to 500 miles before the cushioning breaks down and puts you at risk for joint injuries. Depending on how often and far you run, that probably means you get only a few months of use before you have to replace them.

Nike is well aware of the potential landfill impact that worn-out gym shoes have, which is why the company instituted its Reuse-A-Shoe program. Since 1990, Nike has collected and recycled more than 24 million pairs of sneakers, turning old rubber into Nike Grind, a versatile compound reused in new soles for a selection of Nike’s gym shoes and to resurface athletic courts.

Have a pair you want to donate? Visit any Nike retail location to make your deposit in a Reuse-A-Shoe receptacle. (You can also mail them in.) Civic minded? Get involved in a group shoe drive.

Most consumers today don’t remember what it’s like to have great customer service come standard in the shopping experience. But such is the price of keeping costs down.

Accessories company Ban.Do wants to change that. Its handmade works of art defy pigeonholing but like high-fashion cat toys, we are totally captivated by these confections of silk and feathers. 

The Heart by Ban.Do collection comprises its affordable offerings, with everything under $50. And the top-of-the-line Black Label features vintage materials sourced from around the world and comes with a personalized (and handwritten) haiku. Seriously!

Brides should check out the wedding section and the corsages are worth a peek. Because sometimes an outfit just calls for a huge silk flower pin.

Vintage Feathery Fantastic Fascinator, $225 at ShopBando.com.

Almost a week into summer and we already feel like we have nothing to wear. Etsy seller GaiaConceptions to the rescue!

She hits all the right marks: natural plant dyes, sustainable textiles like hemp and organic cotton, handmade in North Carolina, and a made-to-order fit.

We especially like this drawstring skirt where you can adjust the length with the pull of a cord. (Perfect for wearing longer in the air-conditioned movie theatre, and shorter at the beach!)

It comes in fourteen rich colors and sizes from U.S. women’s 2 to 18, with international shipping available.

We owe Gaia some gratitude for solving our wardrobe crisis!

GaiaConceptions Short Drawstring Skirt, $65 at Etsy.com.