Tesco is in some ways the U.K. equivalent of Target — a place where you can buy well-priced groceries and clothes in the same trip. Now, in the tradition of Target’s eco-minded Go International collections, Tescois releasing a sweet sustainable clothing line in collaboration with From Somewhere. Fast fashion, this isn’t.

As Ecouterre reports:

Made up of damaged stock, end of rolls, and pre-consumer textile waste from Tesco’s own supply chain, “From Somewhere to F&F” consists of six striking, paneled designs that are being produced in a LEED-certified factory in Sri Lanka—the first apparel factory in the world, in fact, to receive a Gold rating for lowering its carbon footprint by 48 percent and using 60 percent less water than a standard factory.

Also, the clothes are pretty hot — we’d wear any of these dresses out on the town. Well played, Tesco!

The dresses, which start at £16, are set to go on sale on Tesco’s website this spring.

Great news! Levi Strauss & Co. and U.K. charity Forum for the Future have jointly launched a new project to urge the fashion industry to collaborate on sustainable development with an eye to the future.

The Fashion Futures project includes a sustainability report and the production of four videos that envision what the world will be like in 2025 (focusing on the role the fashion industry plays in helping bring that about).

Says Peter Madden, CEO of Forum for the Future:

“The global fashion industry generates a trillion dollars a year. What we wear – and how it’s made and sold – can have a huge positive impact on our society and environment. This report describes how fashion’s future could be greener.”

You can watch the “Slow Is Beautiful” video above, and the other three mini-movies — titled “Community Couture,” “Techno-Chic,” and “Patchwork Planet” — can be viewed on the Fashion Futures website.

We were surprised to read this environmental statement by Canadian outdoor-gear brand Arc’teryx regarding its refusal to use recycled materials:

Arc’teryx believes in integrity and responsibility. Due to the present state of textile technology and our unwillingness to sacrifice technical performance, the majority of Arc’teryx products are made with materials derived from non-renewable resources. We have not yet found acceptable renewable alternatives that don’t substantially affect our product’s performance or durability.

This is likely a direct shot across the bow of Patagonia, one of Arc’teryx’s main competitors, which was one of the first companies to distinguish itself with its high-quality eco-fleece. But it’s also a bit mystifying that Arc’teryx is seemingly justifying the use of non-renewable resources to its consumers given that people who love the outdoors are also probably the ones who want to save the environment.

In other words: Isn’t Arc’teryx alienating its market?

(via TreeHugger)

As the fashion industry mourns the death of Alexander McQueen, we at E.S. would like to salute the British designer for his contributions to the ethical movement. He inspired many young minds in the fashion world with his avant garde ideas and although his apparent suicide took him from us too soon, his legacy will live on.

Here, a retrospective of his work in the eco-realm:

• In his Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear collection, McQueen explored the ideas of recycling, reinvention, and sustainability. “This whole situation is such a cliché,” he said in an interview last March before his Paris show. “The turnover of fashion is just so quick and so throwaway, and I think that is a big part of the problem. There is no longevity.”
• In November, McQueen gave items from his collections to the “6 Degrees of Cool” project, which encourages Brits to don warm clothes indoors to reduce their reliance on energy-sucking heat.
• McQueen nurtured the next generation of talent by offering internships to many up-and-coming fashion visionaries, including Ada Zanditon and Mark Liu.
• As one of the spearheading brands behind the Fakes Are Never in Fashion campaign, McQueen sought to end the use of child labor in the production of counterfeit designer items.
• McQueen also lent his name and talent to many charitable causes, including 21 First Century Leaders and Breast Cancer Care.

Seeking supersoft skin in time for Valentine’s Day this weekend? RealSimple.com just reminded us of how much we love the Chilean Red Clover ultra rich body moisturizer by Pangea Organics.

With soothing emollients like sustainably grown organic sweet almond and coconut oils combined with organic cocoa and shea butters, even your ashy elbows and knees will be feeling loved up by this penetrating cream. Extracts of red clover, geranium, and grapefruit claim to calm, tone, and detoxify your skin, but even if they didn’t, we’d still love the deliciously fruity-floral scent.

Chilean Red Clover With Geranium & Grapefruit Body Lotion, $18 at PangeaOrganics.com.

P.S.: If you’re looking for something heavy duty for your hands this winter, don’t forget about our February contest to win a Pomegranate Hand Cream from Weleda!

Carrie Bradshaw may be the world’s most famous (fictional) shoe maven, so it should come as no surprise that she’s rocking some ethical sandals by Swedish Hasbeens in the Sex and the City sequel, due out in theatres this summer.

In this photo from the set, Carrie (played by the ever-stylish Sarah Jessica Parker) sits with Miranda’s son Brady on a brownstone’s steps rocking the Super High Peep Toe sandal.

Swedish Hasbeens is known for its handcrafted quality and chrome-free designs made with sustainable wood and natural leather. And in spite of its 3.5 inch heel, this sandal is über-comfortable.

Says the shoe’s designer (who is understandably thrilled by the plug):

“This is the sign that modern women in the US have started to appreciate high-quality eco-fashion”, says Cilla Wingård Neuman CEO of Swedish Hasbeens. “The time has come to throw away those plastic high-heels that don’t last for your grandkids and just hurt your feet.”

Want a pair of your own before the movie comes out? You can pre-order them at the link below!

Swedish Hasbeens Super High Peep Toe Sandal in Natural, $219 at ShopRobertson.com.

A month ago, when we were running our BrilliantEarth.com giveaway, we got a few emails from our vegan readers to complain about the labeling of pearls as ethical.

For them and others who refuse to wear fashion derived from any animal, there’s a new book out that explores the pearl industry and how the Chinese are revolutionizing the way pearls are made and marketed.

DeepGlamour.net reviews Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls:

As Chinese technology got better, more and more freshwater pearls came on the global market at a fraction of the price of their international counterparts. By the late 1990s, the best of the Chinese freshwaters were virtually undetectable from increasingly scarce Japanese akoyas, and soon, the Chinese pearls were available in even larger sizes than the Japanese species would allow. Symmetrical freshwater Chinese pearls now come as large as 14 millimeters (that’s as big as a marble), and are getting larger. Their skin can be flawless and comes in a multitude of colors (pink, blue, violet, orange, gold, gray), some right out of the shell, others the result of dye, chemical, and radiation treatments.

The flooding of so many Chinese pearls into the world market presented a problem for producers of more expensive pearls (just about every producer outside China). It’d be akin to the De Beers diamond syndicate discovering a competitor had come up with a new process that could create a genuine diamond, not a zirconium knockoff, but a real diamond that cost pennies to the thousands De Beers diamonds fetch. No wonder the worldwide pearl industry started screaming.

To be clear, the Tahitian pearls we gave away in our sweepstakes came from a farm that sustains an entire indigenous population without wasting freshwater or electricity, so while the pearls are harvested by sacrificing oysters, there can be good that comes from such an industry. But as with most ethical outlets, the good comes from a smaller production scale that values quality over quantity.

We’re counting down the final hours of our Brilliant Earth giveaway! The entries are rolling in and one of our readers will be lucky enough to take home this gorgeous pair of sustainably made Tahitian pearl earrings, valued at $450.

We will be accepting entries until 5 p.m. PST, and the winner will be announced this evening. See the contest terms here. Bonne chance!

Just in time for Christmas, EthicalStyle.com and BrilliantEarth.com are giving away a pair of these gorgeous Tahitian pearl stud earrings, valued at $450!

Not only are these earrings, set in 18-karat white gold, a classic addition to any gal’s jewelry collection, but the pearls have an ethical pedigree behind them as well. They originate from a progressive pearl farm in French Polynesia that adheres to an innovative philosophy of sustainability!

To enter the contest, post a comment below or Tweet your entry by mentioning @ethicalstyle in a post on Twitter.com or Facebook.com before 5 p.m. PST on Friday, December 18, for your chance to win.

Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to Kristina, who entered our contest in the comments below! And stay tuned for next week — we have another giveaway a-comin’…

No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win sweepstakes. A purchase will not improve chances of winning. Promotions begin on December 15, 2009, and end on December 18, 2009. One potential winner will be selected by random drawing on December 18, 2009, and notified via email or Twitter. For the list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to EthicalStyle.com, P.O. Box 46808, West Hollywood, Calif. 90046.

When I get excited about a new beauty product, I tell everyone I know about it. And when that product just happens to be organic, E.S. readers are the beneficiaries of my enthusiasm.

Weleda’s Rosemary Hair Oil is a rich concoction of organic rosemary leaf to smooth hair cuticles and burdock root extract to nourish dry scalps. I pour out a quarter-size amount from this tinted glass bottle and massage it into my scalp, rubbing the excess on my ends — usually before going to the gym so the sweat session helps the oil penetrate. Then I wash it out with John Masters Organics Lavender Rosemary shampoo (the scent is a good complement to the Weleda) and poof: shiny, healthy, happy hair.

After a month of weekly treatments, I don’t think my hair has ever looked so healthy. I can’t find a single split end and it’s been weeks since my last hair cut. Truly, a must-have product for all hair types!

Beyond its use of organic ingredients, Weleda doesn’t test on animals and maintains a commitment to sustainable product development, fair trade, and corporate social responsibility.

This little bottle goes a long way. Interested in trying it? I got mine at Target, but Weleda.com is offering free shipping on all orders through December 24.

Rosemary Hair Oil, $14 at Weleda.com.