Sacramento stylist Kari Shipman of Juniper James poses in some of her thrift-shop finds. (Courtesy of JuniperJames.WordPress.com)

Look, we love a great deal. But that doesn’t mean we want to compromise our fashion ethics. Is it possible to balance both?

The short answer is yes. Bottom line is: You don’t have to get a second mortgage to support eco-fashion endeavors, and green looks great on you.

But cheap eco-fashion is equal parts great find and big scam. In this issue, we look at both sides of the coin.

• First off: How to do cheap and eco-chic right? This article will get you started.
• Kara, our DIY Doyenne, throws herself into a project of remaking old belts without spending a lot of money or time. It’s the kind of DIY you can do on your way out the door for dinner and a movie. Follow along with her tips here.
• Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be cheap: Plastic shoes and polyester clothing are some of the worst environmental and social offenders. How bad are they? Take a look.
• Fall is a popular time for makeovers, perhaps because the heat finally abates and your makeup will finally stay in place. There are a whole host of great green options for 2010, and we put together this list of our favorite potions and lotions for under $25 a pop.
• Finally, in Seam Ripper there’s always something new to be found by revisiting our top posts on cheap fashion from this very blog. And as always, it’s free to join the discussion in our comments section!

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.

Whether you’re enjoying a whirlwind summer fling or you and your husband are happily married, chances are you want to feel pretty when you head out with a hot guy on your arm. And lucky for you, eco-designers have caught on to the need for special-occasion dresses that will guarantee your date never looks away.

Here are our top three, in no particular order:

• Stewart+Brown’s floaty “Camellia” dress ($165) in organic crepe cotton is ideal for a daytime picnic or evening stroll in the park. And it’s double-layered so you won’t give your date a sneak peak at your unmentionables (until you’re ready to, that is).
• Gypsy 05′s “Emma” silk maxi dress ($219) has eye-catching movement and an ethereal hand-dyed grey print from natural pigments. It will easily transition from a high-end sushi restaurant to a beachfront bonfire.
• Pure by Justin Alexander’s organic silk dupioni sheath ($280) is billed as a wedding dress, but with its chic bateau neck, flattering length, and embellished neckline, we can easily envision it out on the town for dinner, drinks, and the theatre.

So you’ve gotten a handle on giving an ethical makeover to your everyday clothes, but what about your workout gear? Is it perchance full of polyester and other nonrenewable, petroleum-based textiles?

That’s where the genius of Adidas by Stella McCartney comes in. The London designer worked with organic materials and designed for a woman’s body in motion, so these are not your average sweats.

And just in time for summer, the Adidas website has discounted most of her offerings by 10 percent or more.

With free shipping on orders over $99, you might as well stock up on a whole new outfit, starting with these organic cotton French terry cover-up shorts — perfect after you finish swimming laps — and finishing with this yoga hoodie, with short bell sleeves for a little extra flair.

There’s appropriate gear for every sport and competition, from golf to triathlons. And everything is so well designed that you can’t help but want to hit the gym in green style.

Tomorrow morning, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York will open its doors to the “Eco-Fashion: Going Green” exhibit, on display through November 13.

The exhibition features innovations in eco-design over the past 250 years, from a hand-loomed silk brocade dress circa 1760 to modern-day names like Bodkin, Edun, and FIN.

According to the curators, everything on display represents one of the following broadly defined themes:

• the repurposing and recycling of materials
• material origins
• textile dyeing and production
• quality of craftsmanship
• labor practices
• the treatment of animals

Admission is free, so if you’ll be in the city over the next six months, stop in and kill an afternoon admiring these works of eco-art.

The Museum at FIT, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, New York, N.Y., 10001. (212) 217-4700.

Who am I to question Stanley Kubrick’s vision in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Who am I to reject the metallic unitards of 1965′s Lost in Space?

Or Uhura’s mini-dress in Star Trek?

So I may be a self-professed sci-fi geek, but as someone who lived through the year 2001, perhaps I am qualified to say a thing or two about our past perceptions on the “future” of fashion.

Instead of utilitarianism, uniformed, unisexed, unitarded humans, the year 2001 came and went, like every year before — with bi-annual fashion shows and designer shoes.  A decade on, the wheels of haute couture are still turning. What a relief.

I am certainly not breaking any new ground by saying that the fashion “of the future” we have put onscreen has been more a reflection of the era in which it was made, than of any clear vision of the future. But it’s more than that. A “favorite” quote from 2006 speaks of the impending ubiquity of technologically-advanced fashion. The Forbes piece entitled “The Fashions of the Future” foretold the coming fashion revolution:

“…Cohen says wearable technology will eventually become a basic commodity, much like the blue jean. “Why buy a basic pair of khakis when future ones will be able to keep your legs warm with heating coils built into the lining? The future of technology in fiber and products is only a few years away.”"

Well, a few years have passed. I still put on my pants one leg at a time. Pants — not sci-mini skirt or metallic unitard, and here we are in 2010. (A year for which Arthur C. Clarke conveniently wrote 2010: Odyssey Two.)

Everything is just sort of the same as it ever was, instead of LED panels in all our clothes, and pants that heat up and keep you warm (though I’m sort of sure this is what pants are for, anyway), and kinetic parts, cameras in our hats, and metal pieces everywhere. Fans in coats has never taken off. I don’t have glowing strips on my shirts, Tron-style.

Instead of the future of fashion, might those just be the fringe of fashion?

Rather, we have used technology for individual ends, like customizable shoes; and ways to cut fabric so we don’t end up with waste; and materials that biodegrade, even though they are synthetic; and textiles and clothes that are made with less impact on the environment. In short, the future of clothes has become more earth-conscious, not more space-conscious.

The future of fashion hasn’t led to some utilitarian future of function without uniqueness; it has given us more uniqueness (with more ease) than ever before. It has given us the technology to make more ethical choices about what we wear.

Sans silver miniskirt, I happily await the thrilling future of fashion — all while wearing my organic cotton tee printed by a local artist.

Set for wide release on March 25, the buzz surrounding the highly anticipated and eco-minded H&M Garden Collection is reaching a fever pitch. The collection features dozens of looks using recycled polyester, organic cotton and linen, and other sustainable textiles.

Kara first brought it up on the blog in January, and now that the look book is out, we can hardly wait for next week!

We’ll be first in line to scoop up this silky draped dress made from sustainable tencel ($19.95).

Which look is your favorite?

The Society for Rational Dress has such a great concept: Women deserve freedom from conformity in how they attire themselves. That’s why the label produces unique limited-run garments from batches of surplus fabric — because everyone should have the opportunity to be one-of-a-kind.

So it’s our lucky day that SfRD is having a blowout sample sale this weekend in Los Angeles.

Society for Rational Dress Sample Sale
What: Nab tees for $20-$50; dresses for $35-$90; leather skirts for $85-$150; sweaters for $45-$160; and all other samples, overstock, and one-of-a-kinds at up to 75 percent off retail.
Why: You might even be able to rationalize a pair of shoes.
When: Sat. March 15, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: The Reserve, Society for Rational Dress Studios, 255 S. Santa Fe Ave., at E. 3rd St., ste. 100, Industrial District (213-613-0757).

(via DailyCandy)

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.

Earlier this month we reported on H&M’s Garden Collection and its lofty promises to clean up the fast-fashion retailer’s act. Unfortunately, new information may torpedo H&M’s big green hopes, if you believe genetically modified (GM) cotton shouldn’t bear an organic label.

As Ecoterre.com reports:

Roughly 30 percent of the tested samples contained genetically modified cotton, says Lothar Kruse, a director of Impetus, an independent lab in Bremerhaven, which examined the cotton fabrics in question. The contaminated cotton was traced back to India, which is responsible for more than half of the global supply of organic cotton, with an output of nearly 107,000 tons of fiber in 2009 alone, according to thee Organic Exchange.

India supplies more than half of the global supply of organic cotton.

The controversy over GM and organic cotton is far from over, but we can’t help but notice they have fairly compatible goals. Organic farming is designed to reduce farmers’ reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers that run off the crops and poison the habitats of native flora and fauna. Some strains of GM cotton have been developed to diminish the desirability of cotton for its main pests and to increase the crop’s heartiness in poor soil, meaning less pesticide and fertilizer are needed altogether.

So while it doesn’t excuse H&M for defrauding its ethical consumers, shouldn’t we be revisiting the GM debate to see if it’s worth berating a market leader for trying to do the right thing?