(Courtesy of Zappos.com)

Shoes are a tricky territory for eco-fashion lovers. If you avoid leather for environmental reasons, finding stylish, walkable shoes proves a recurring problem. But wearing pleather is neither comfortable nor ecologically sound.

So maybe that’s why we’re particularly drawn to Naya Shoes. Featuring chrome-free leather and suede, nickel-free hardware, biodegradable latex foam footbeds, and recycled elastic, these shoes take a holistic approach to eco-design.

In addition to its commitment to carefully considered materials, the company manages to stay on-trend. Rock the hot clog look with the Irina slip-ons. Try a T-strap on for size with the Timpa sandals. But our favorite? The pleated peep-toe Ana booties. Yum.

There’s a bunch of styles on sale at Zappos, so you can stock up on next summer’s sandals right now. (And with free overnight shipping, you can have them just in time for Labor Day festivities.)

Naya Shoes “Ana” Booties, $149 at Zappos.com.

When Natalie Portman created her own shoe line in collaboration with Te Casan in 2008, she said she did it so she and her fellow vegans wouldn’t have to shop at Target for shoes.

Marie Claire fashion director and Project Runway judge Nina Garcia (right) guides a "frugalista" through Target's shoe department. (Courtesy of Sal2009.com)

“Basically, I did it out of a lack of choice,” she told the U.K. Sunday Times at the launch. “Stella McCartney does great shoes, but they’re expensive and very fashiony. I wanted a mary-jane shoe without leather. I’ve been getting stuff from Target, which is de facto vegan because it’s so cheap. But I did need some shoes that weren’t made of canvas or plastic.”

But while vegans are shopping cheap because the price point guarantees it to be faux leather, many more people shop faux leather, fur, and other luxury knock-offs because they’re cheap.

Unfortunately, there are serious environmental consequences for all that polyurethane and PVC bought through fast-fashion outlets and discount stores.

The way cheap materials are manufactured today rely heavily on acrylic polymers, the production of which generates and releases metric tons of pollutants into the air and water every year. The chemical makeup of these polymers come from coal, petroleum, and limestone, and the waste pollutes the air and water.

After the plastics are molded into thread for weaving or sheets for cutting, they are dyed and texturized in chemical-laden vats. The leftover solution is often dumped in landfills around the world, contaminating the soil with toxins.

That’s to say nothing of the social impact that making clothes for cheap has on the local labor force.

In July, a riot broke out in Cambodia over a broken labor contract that caused 4,000 garment workers to strike. The workers — predominantly women trying to support their families by making clothes for the Gap, Benetton, Puma, and Adidas — were beaten by police for trying to secure better wages.

It’s an all-too-common refrain heard throughout the sweatshops of Asia. The worst cases originate in the shady factories that illicitly produce counterfeit goods, where there are even fewer regulations to safeguard environmental and labor protections. The owners of such factories realize that if they’re already breaking one law, what’s one or two more?

As we’ve discussed in this very issue, there are affordable options for ethically made fashion. But it’s sadly not the norm.

The worst part? As costs continue to be cut and apparel companies chase the biggest return on their dollar, the drawbacks of cheap fashion will only grow. That is, until ethical shoppers decide enough is enough and cheap just isn’t worth the cost.

Recycled textiles are gaining on organics as the most popular material used by eco-designers, and for good reason. There is so much gorgeous fabric already existing in the world, whether forgotten in warehouses or stashed at the backs of closets.

In E.S. Issue 40, we tackle recycled fashion as the creative wave of the future.

• Recycled fashion gets designers’ creative juices flowing with startlingly original effects. We pay homage to the technological developments of making the best of what we’ve got.
• Kara Cook, our DIY Doyenne, has inherited a cherished leather laptop bag from our publisher, Trevor Martin. You should have seen her face light up: She was practically drunk with inspiration of how to put the supple, broken-in leather to good use. In fact, she had so many ideas, we’ve broken up the DIY projects into three parts. Volume 1 of The Leather Diaries appears here, and stay tuned for the next installment in the series, coming soon.
• As an element, gold is one of the easiest precious metals to recycle, and boy have jewelry designers picked up on that fact. Check out this slideshow of five amazing metalworkers and their glittering creations.
• Have a closet full of clothes that are almost right, but not quite? Or an eye for vintage, but no DIY hemming skills? Fear not. Our guide to tailoring will show you how much you can expect to pay to alter your beloved dresses, shirts, jackets, and pants.
• Finally, in the spirit of recycled content (it’s nice how that works out thematically), we bring to you Seam Ripper, our collection of five stories reprinted from the Behind the Seams blog. We hope to see you in the comments soon!

(Kara Cook/EthicalStyle.com)

For me, the thought of refinishing leather was a highly romantic one. I could, on some level, connect with people who for thousands of years have tanned, dyed, painted, and polished leather.

It all started with two messenger bags, both bequeathed with a wave of the hand and a “I bet you can do something with it.” One was heavily — and I mean heavily — worn and torn, the other just needed to be polished.

In the way that when someone asks me where I got my dress, I can say I made it, there is a part of me that wants to be able to do that with leather goods as well. It’s a “Kate Spade, here I come” pipe dream that I need to keep in check.

So last Saturday, I took apart the heavily worn leather tote with scissors, full of childlike wonder.

A week into my work, I have to say that my respect for our collective human ancestors who made anything and everything out of leather has risen exponentially. Working with  leather is hard work. I write this “Volume 1″ mid-project, which means I am filled with fear that I will actually not be able to accomplish my goal of making something beautiful out the old leather bag I was given. But that only drives me harder to figure this out.

(Kara Cook/EthicalStyle.com)

Preventative Medicine

The process of preparing leather yourself is a hard one, hence the price when you pay someone else to do it.

Since I don’t have any end product to show for my labor, the most important principle I can think of is this: Don’t let the leather get messed up in the first place. Keep your shoes polished and the leather items clean and moistured. Don’t let them dry out. Don’t let them get cracked. Take care of your accessories. If something gets scratched, fix it.

Your local drug store probably has the most amazing little repair kit ever. If polish gets rubbed off, don’t let it get worse. Polish it.

Take care of it, because trust me, bringing leather “back from the brink” is a labor-intensive process. I’m certainly not innocent in this regard; I have some beautiful leather shoes whose welfare I have long neglected. I can’t put leather care is perspective any better than the PlanetShoe.com post entitled “Take Care of Your Shoes the Green Way“:

“No matter which one you choose – remember that taking care of your leather shoes and boots can help them last a lifetime. Using your items until they actually wear out can be one of the best ways to be environmentally conscious – and you’ll find after a few years there will be nothing as comfortable as your well worn and well maintained leather boots or shoes.”

So here’s the easiest DIY you’ll ever do: Take the fate of your leather into your own hands, and polish it. I did this on the small bag that just needed a fresh coat, after I cleaned it. Kiwi products are ubiquitous, but for my project, I used Pedag International‘s Cream Polish in Bordeaux, which not only moisturizes the leather, but restores the color (my favorite color of leather), and makes it shiny. Buff it with a soft cloth when you are done for the best results.

Before and after stripping with acetone and lighter fluid. (Kara Cook/EthicalStyle.com)

Emergency Care

Sometimes a leather item’s surface is too far gone to be fixed with a leather repair kit, or a fresh coat of polish, it’s too dirty or damaged or discolored or any number of things for an easy fix. The leather is still valuable, still worry of respect, but needs to be stripped. Yes, stripped of all the polish, oil, sealers, weatherproofers, dirt, stains, and spills that need to be removed to return the piece of leather to it’s natural state.

Leather strippers that are commonly available are acetone (Common finger nail polish remover) and lighter fluid that contains naphtha (I used Ronsonol, but Zippo brand should also work). Fiebing’s Deglazer is actually made for this purpose. After first washing the leather with Fiebing’s saddle soap, I stripped — or thought I had stripped — the leather bag enough with a quick pass of acetone, and started dying it without marking darn sure the leather was stripped.

Don’t do this, because then you get unevenly leather with strange patches and a whole lot of frustration. I used cotton balls at first, but quickly switched to a cotton towel, dipping the tip in a 1 part lighter fluid to 1 part water mixture and vigorously scrubbing the surface of the leather. Cutting up an old cotton t-shirt is also an option, but just make sure to “shift” around the part you are scrubbing with, using a fresh section of material every so often. In the picture, you can see my partially stripped, splotch-ily dyed leather peice on the left. After the lighter fluid is on the right. Notice a difference?

Disclaimer: Always be careful when googling “leather” and “stripping.” Seriously!

Sneak peak from the next issue:

(Kara Cook/EthicalStyle.com)

Over on Tesco’s U.K. website, The O.C. actress Mischa Barton is promoting 10 bags reportedly of her making.

However, we can’t help but notice the similarities between one of her bags and a design by a favorite eco-designer of ours, Novella Royale.

A key difference between the Mischa Barton Oversized Bowler (£45, or $70.25 in USD, pictured on the left) and the Novella Royale Mister Stud Bowler ($584, on the right) is that while Novella Royale prides itself on its high-quality recycled leather and organic cotton lining, the Tesco bag is made from polyurethane in Asian factories. Boo.

What do you think, E.S. readers? Is the similarity a coincidence or suspicious to you?

From the gross-but-true category, a British company has developed a type of leather made from bacteria grown in a vat of sugary green tea.

The designers at BioCouture then dry the textile biomaterial “leather” and use it to make jackets, shoes, and accessories.

According to Suzanna Lee, BioCouture’s founder, the process can have interesting results:

Depending on the recipe the material can either feel like paper or–more desirably–like a vegetable leather.In testing with dyes we found no need for mordant [a substance used for dyeing fabrics] and an incredibly small amount of dye goes a long way so it’s eco-credentials go through the entire process. We also recycle a percentage of the fermentation liquid.

While I’m not sure I’d ever have an occasion to wear this jacket — it looks more like a Fruit Roll-Up than lambskin — the process is pretty intriguing. Are any of the vegans out there tempted?

The back-to-school bug always bites us around this time of year, even though our years of stocking up on No. 2 pencils and L.L. Bean backpacks are well in the past. But that doesn’t stop us from eyeing beautiful boots, heavenly coats, and adorable office supplies.

Near the top of our list this year is British label Mulberry‘s absolutely stunning laptop cases. They’re designed with the Apple MacBook dimensions in mind, but any notebook computer will likely fit (just take your own measurements to be certain).

Crafted from vegetable-tanned natural leather, these laptop cases come in 13- and 15-inch sizes and a plethora of rich colors, both cheerful and classic. Each case features a secure lock and a slip pocket to hold important files. And Mulberry’s commitment to quality means they will last until your machine is obsolete (and likely well beyond that as well).

Bayswater Sleeve for 13″ MacBook, £350 at Mulberry.com.

Fellas, know that we love you, we just have such a hard time finding well-priced eco-fashion for the men. But today, success!

Timberland’s “Chelsea” boots from its Earthkeepers collection are about to go on sale during Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, starting Friday. (See Page 79 of the online catalogue.)

Timberland’s website describes the eco-features so nicely, we want them to come in women’s sizes too:

Our Earthkeepers™ range features tough, rugged footwear made with the environment in mind. Thanks to moisture-wicking linings made from recycled materials, organic cotton content, rugged outsoles made with Green Rubber™ material and the all-day softness of leather from a silver-rated tannery, they’re durable, lightweight and always a talking point. This is laid-back comfort — with a conscience.

What all that means is a sole made from 42 percent recycled rubber and an organic cotton canvas lining that also incorporates 100 percent recycled PET mesh fabric. And more urban-rugged style than you can shake a stick at.

Timberland Earthkeepers “Chelsea” Boots, $99.90 at Nordstrom.com (starting July 16).

Scary stuff! The Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health has conducted lead tests on a variety of faux leather handbags, wallets, and other women’s accessories and found dozens that exceeded the federal safety standard for lead paint. (There is currently no standard for lead in clothing.)

Planet Green reports:

Researchers don’t know for sure that the lead in your handbag could leach out and expose you to toxic levels. But like the children’s jewelry and toys that were recalled in 2007 (see my Good Housekeeping feature for the full scoop) these handbags count as a pretty unnecessary source of exposure, and one that it makes sense to minimize when we’re exposed to so many unavoidable toxins in our air, water and food every day. And activists and public health officials alike worry about what happens when a toddler messes around with mom’s purse or jewelry, given the tendency of young children to put things in their mouth.

Which is why it’s great news that CEH announced today that it has succeeded in getting over 40 major retailers to agree to phase out lead-containing accessories. Macy’s, Sears/Kmart, Target, Kohl’s, JC Penney, Guess, Victoria’s Secret, Saks and other retailers have until December 1 to make sure their accessories meet new, stricter standards for lead content, after which they’ll face mandatory fines of up to $12,500.

This news just further confirms our established suspicious about petroleum-based pleather goods. Steer clear, people!

(via GbD)