New York socialite Olivia Palermo wore Diane von Furstenberg's "Maupiti" dress, one of my summertime staples, to Nobu in 2008. (Courtesy of Billy Farrell/PatrickMcMullan.com)

If you haven’t already, you’re about to make the annual switch from spring clothing — with all its adorable layers and accessories — to your summer wardrobe. I’ve lived in some hot areas of the country, the Mid-Atlantic and Southern California among them, so I know from hot weather. And during the most sweltering days of summer, fashion is often more purely function than form — as in, how little can I get away with wearing and still be office appropriate?

For this reason, the hot, sticky season is the ideal time for Green by Design’s Summer Light Challenge to come along. The gist is this: Go through your closet and dig out your favorite summer pieces. (Jewelry and underpants do not count, even though they may be near and dear to your heart — we hope.) Whittle this collection down to 10 items. Wear only these items from the solstice to the equinox; that would be June 21 to September 22.

In other words: 91 days, 10 pieces, and 1 great lesson about what we can do without in the name of sustainability.

Think you can do it? We didn’t say it would be easy!

Our advice: Choose wisely. Dresses are fantastic “just add shoes” outfit options. And develop an eye for coordinating. For example, this season I’m wearing my staples in khaki and white and pairing them with nautical-themed hues like navy and orange. These colors together look great in any combination, so it makes mixing and matching my wardrobe easy. You, of course, may have a master sense of color on par with Betsey Johnson — in which case, rainbow it up.

Most important, of course, is the lesson in how much stuff we have and continue to acquire compared to how much we really need. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping as much as the next red-blooded American girl. But once in a while, a reality check about waste and the environmental impact of consumption would not go remiss.

Are you up for it? I’d love to hear progress reports from anyone else attempting the challenge. Shoot me an email at mj@ethicalstyle.com anytime along the way to share your tips or get moral support!

The reviews were mixed and the box office take was lower than expected, but Sex and the City 2 was undeniably superior to the first film in one major way: the prevalence of eco-fashion.

Here are a few items spotted in the newest movie. If you’ve seen it and noticed other eco-goodies, post in the comments below!

• Vintage: Carrie in a flowy white 1970s Halston dress, purchased from a New York vintage dealer and featured in the opening scene as well as the movie’s poster. (Sarah Jessica Parker, Halston’s new creative director, liked the dress so much she knocked it off for Halston Heritage.)
• More Vintage: Charlotte is also wearing vintage sequined Yves Saint Laurent in the karaoke scene.
• Recycled: Samantha carries the Ecoist Silver Mega handbag, crafted from upcycled candy wrappers.
• Sustainable: Carrie rocks a pair of Swedish Hasbeens sandals, made from sustainably harvested wood and natural-grain leather.
• Reuse: Carrie resurrects the Dior “newspaper dress” in the new movie, which dedicated viewers will remember from Season Three of the television series when Carrie tries to apologize to Natasha for sleeping with Big.

A year ago, Sheena Matheiken challenged herself to wear one dress for 365 days as an exercise in sustainability. She dubbed it The Uniform Project and documented every outfit on her blog.

Along the way, she dedicated herself to raising money for the Akanksha Foundation, which benefits children in India’s slums.

With the long-awaited completion of the project this month, she has a lot to offer on styling and trends:

There is so much of fashion that is prescribed by magazine trends and looks that are seasonal. I think that’s the biggest problem with fashion. And some people really are stressed about getting ready.

The starting point needs to be identifying who you are and what do you like. Some people are hat people, others are belt people and skirt people. You have to try things out and see what you like yourself in.

Think you have the commitment and creativity to follow in Ms. Matheiken’s eco-footsteps? Pledge to join the 91-day Summer Light Challenge, sponsored by Green by Design.

Service Systems Associates (SSA), which operates gift shops in 28 zoos, aquariums, and museums across the country, has joined SeaWeb’s Too Precious to Wear Campaign, which seeks to end the use of endangered coral in fashion. Previously, coral jewelry could be found in SSA’s gift shops in 17 city zoos as well as the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Tulsa Zoo & Living Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Hermann Park Conservancy, Pretend City Children’s Museum, and the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa.

According to a SeaWeb press release:

“SSA is committed to sustainability in every aspect of its operations, especially in the products we provide to consumers,” said Kevin McNicholas, president of SSA. “Making sure that real coral is left where it belongs—in the ocean—and not in our stores is important to us. We are proud to join forces with SeaWeb to raise awareness about threats facing corals and let customers know what they can do to help protect them.”

Others companies that have signed the pledge include Tiffany & Co., Lilly Pulitzer, Pottery Barn, Lela Rose, and Chantecaille.

Congrats to SeaWeb on its latest victory!

Do you have what it takes to limit your wardrobe to the very essentials Green By Design is double-dog–daring you to wear only 10 pieces from your closet for the entire summer as part of its Summer Light Challenge.

The rules:

Inspired by Earth Day, we’re challenging ourselves and our readers to pick just ten garments (accessories and underthings not included, of course) and wear only those garments for the entire summer: 10 pieces for 91 days. [Or, do the "lite" version -- 10 pieces, 1 vacation -- pack light!!]

Summer is a time of simplicity and carefree days. Our hope is that those who join the challenge will gain a better understanding of their signature look and style, allowing them to shop smarter with a keener eye for pieces they’ll truly love in the future. It’s about consuming less, making do with what you have, simplifying your daily fashion equation and identifying the MVPs of your closet.

What 10 pieces will you choose?

That last part is easier than you may think. (Hint: Dresses count as a single piece and it’s an outfit all in one. Sorry, guys — no shortcuts for you.)

The challenge kicks off on June 21, the summer solstice. Are you in?

Natural beauty brand Aveeno is celebrating Earth Day with a new sustainability guide app for Facebook.

The Aveno Sustainability Guide Widget has lots of cool features, including:

• A quiz that determines your consumption footprint
• Personalized tips for greening your lifestyle
• A game that teaches recycling basics
• Video footage from TerraCycle, a partner project to encourage upcycling empty beauty-product packaging

The app launches tomorrow. To download it or register for free beauty samples, click here.

Stash away those smoky eyeliners, rich lipsticks, and powder blushes: Warm weather has arrived! Bright colors were in full effect at Spring 2010 Fashion Week — we were particularly inspired by this rainbow look on the Jean Paul Gaultier runway.

Jean Paul Gaultier's models sported oil-slick eye makeup at the Spring 2010 shows. (Courtesy of MakeupForLife.net)

So why not try it out at home? Lighten up your look with spring’s hottest colors and formulas by the top eco-brands.

Bright Eyes

Alison Raffaele’s Light Shadow Cream Eye Shadow ($16) features a cruelty- and gluten-free formula for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities. It comes in four shades, from rosy Daybreak to violet Dusk.

First Bloom

Looking for that perfect hint-of-color for your cheeks? You’ve found it in Tarte’s Natural Beauty Cheek Stain ($30). It’s the same shade as Tarte’s bestselling original cheek stain, but with a green reformulation in partnership with the Sustainable Açaí Project, a South American program to promote Amazon rainforest conservation and sustainable harvesting of the antioxidant-rich açaí berry. (And yes, the cheek stain does have some of that skin-saving açaí extract!)

Lash Out

Get a defined but natural look for lashes with Tarte’s Lash Hugger Eco-Friendly Natural Mascara ($18). The inky black formula is free of parabens, propylene glycol, mineral oil, phthalates, sulfates, and artificial fragrance and dyes. And it comes in a recycled aluminum tube.

Lip Lock

Paint your pout with a sheer petal pink when you pick up a tube of Origins Flower Fusion Hydrating Lip Color in Tulip ($16). The moisturizing lip color blends botanical waxes from lavender, rose, jasmine, raspberry, violet, and orange blossom plants for a natural, creamy base. Petal pink not your color? There are 23 other shades to choose from, ranging from the pale coral Daisy to the deep red Poppy.

Super Set

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop of spring’s most gorgeous shades, look no further than the Korres Golden Goddess Collection ($39.50). A $116 value, it’s chock-a-block with four sheer and shimmery shadows — like the flashy Golden Bronze and the tranquil Golden Green, which oddly enough look fabulous paired together — as well as a coordinating gilt eyeliner, black mascara, and a bronzed rose lipgloss. This would make a great gift for the eco-goddess in your life! (Even if that’s you.)

One final note: Sephora is having an awesome deal right now if you shop online. Now through April 19, enter code MADNESS at Sephora.com to save 15 percent off your purchase. Free shipping with orders over $50, too!

We are loud-and-proud Ada Zanditon fans, and it turns out that we scooped Condé Nast this time with our fandom.

Her close-fitting “Agyness” shift dress was high-fashion enough to catch the eye of U.K. Vogue editors, making it into the magazine’s “Buy Right: Ethical and Sustainable Fashion” guide:

A svelte number to snap up for next season comes from Ada Zanditon. Zanditon uses a range of organic and natural fabrics as well as innovative waste-reducing and energy-conscious solutions to create sculptural, elegant, desirable fashion.

Congratulations to Ada for a much-deserved honor!

This is pretty fascinating for anyone interested in the fashion industry’s overseas outsourcing. Leaders from the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Apparel served some food for thought at the recent Women’s Wear Daily Sourcing and Supply Chain Forum in New York.

The Daily Mirror covered the presentation:

Kumar Mirchandani, who champions the marketing initiatives at Sri Lanka Apparel, presented ‘The Garments Without Guilt Experience and the Ethical Dilemma,’ highlighting the conflict of price over value for consumers and profits over ethics for the retailers and the manufacturers.

He pointed out that “over the last decade as Asia emerged as the leading outsourcing destination for the global fashion industry, Sri Lanka stood alone as the only country that embraced ethical business and manufacturing practices as a way of life.  Yet, doing business ethically and in an environmentally-conscious way carries a cost which the consumers and retailers are yet to fully understand and accept.”

These production issues, particularly as they affect Asia, are so important yet get precious little media attention. And with India and Sri Lanka becoming key players in the apparel manufacturing industry, the cost-versus-ethics debate is far from over.

The Uniform Project, launched last year as a yearlong exercise in wardrobe sustainability. (We first got word of the website last June — check out our original post here.)

Now that the year is almost up, the co-founders of the project are auctioning off their old accessories for charity:

The Uniform Project(TM) (U.P), a sustainable fashion platform that embraces philanthropy through creative challenges, is today announcing the much-anticipated release of 200 one-of-a-kind vintage, designer and sustainable accessories through a charity auction on eBay, with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the Akanksha Foundation in India. The charity auction, which will run from March 29th to April 12th at ebay.com/uniformproject, includes vintage and sustainable accessories from international designers, well-wishers, and eBay, who have donated them in support of U.P founder Sheena Matheiken’s creative challenge to wear the same little black dress for 365 days.

The charity auction, launched in collaboration with the eBay Green Team, also features three full ”looks” from Sheena’s daily reinventions of  the dress, including three limited edition releases of the U.P’s iconic little black dress designed by U.P co-founder Eliza Starbuck.

You can browse the auction here. Good luck to the bidders!