(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.

(Pixiebell/Etsy.com)

Excited for fall yet? We are — we’re having dreams of cozy layers and camel coats every night, it seems. One of the hottest trends for cool weather we’re looking forward to most is the chunky knit. And this is one trend that the eco-movement has adopted with gusto.

Etsy is a wonderland for hand-crocheted head gear; we’ve picked our well-priced handmade favorites below.

• Beanie: HeadThreadz’s Slacker Beanie ($20) will appeal to your inner hippie. This unisex hat is handcrafted from vegan-friendly acrylic yarn in a loose knit, making it a nice weight for transition weather (but perhaps a bit light for the dead-of-winter cold).
• Beret: Make a big first impression with SavannahDreams’ Hot Pink Beret ($21). It’s knitted from cotton yarn with a pretty ridged design that will dress up and down with ease.
• Cloche: Pixiebell’s Knit Cloche Hat ($35) is the answer to your flapper dreams. The ’20s style hat is snug fitting and made from a soft wool blend. We particularly like the amber button and the pitch-perfect goldenrod color for fall.
• Fisherman’s cap: Stay snuggly and stylish in AlliGiori’s Fisherman Slouch Hat ($19.50). The tight weave will keep you warm against the worst winter can throw at you.
• Newsboy: BTRFlyMom’s Celebrity Style Newsboy Hat ($24) would enable you to fit right in among Hollywood’s boho crowd. The cotton hat features a twee brim and can be customized with a knit flower for an extra $2.

(Courtesy of Kmart.com)

By now you’ve probably heard of the J Brand “Houlihan” phenomenon. The company’s skinny cargo pants (which are sadly not part of the line’s awesome organic Green Label) are flying off the shelves this summer, and everyone wants a piece of the action.

Enter Kmart. In the span of just a couple of months, design execs at the discount retailer (or more precisely, its overseas factories) have whipped up a pretty close copy of the Houlihan for its Kmart Design collection.

The jeans, which are being promoted in the September issue of Vogue, will reportedly retail for less than $100 on Kmart.com, as compared to the $230 price tag on the real deal.

But what about protecting designer creativity? As far as we can tell, Kmart hasn’t ripped off the J Brand label or pocket detail, but every other element of the pants are copied down to the last stitch.

What do you think: Is this a fair appropriation of a trendy new style, or an intellectual property grey area?

(via Denimology)

In a provocative piece for The Guardian, ethical living columnist Lucy Siegle writes about how consumer demand — even something as small as button placement — can have a very real impact on working conditions in factories far, far away:

A CMT (cut-make-trim) factory in India, Bangladesh or Cambodia must be hyper-responsive to cope with design changes from offices in Europe. A last-minute fax insisting that a button needs to be moved sends a poorly funded, badly managed factory into a panic. Third-world firms will never tell western retail superpowers that an order is too difficult, so workers simply must finish it. …

It’s tempting to cast retailers as Dickensian ogres but fast fashion is driven by consumer appetites. We love fashion but we also dump two million tonnes of textile waste (mostly clothing) in landfill each year, which suggests we don’t value it. We get the type of fashion retail we deserve and ask for. We need a new plan.

So the next time you eye the trendy pleather boots that mimic the ones a starlet just wore in this month’s W, consider that they may have cost a garment worker in a developing country her lunch break — or more.

With the arrival of the phonebook-sized September issues of our favorite magazines, the fall fashion bug has officially bitten.

And after perusing the F/W 2010 lookbook posted by The Battalion Eco Couture on Facebook, we can’t wait to bust out the label’s take on the cozy layers, leggings, and luxe fur trims that are so in style.

Our favorite looks include this dolman-sleeved sweater over leggings and industrial boots, as well as a fur vest over an embellished tee with riding pants and wedges. (The Battalion uses “veggie fur,” but it reminds us of this vintage-inspired getup worn by Emma Watson in her boyfriend’s music video.)

Ever since discovering The Battalion last year, we’ve been continually impressed with how designers Chrys and Linda Wong seamlessly blend style and eco-sensibility in their collections, which focus on organic textiles and expert tailoring.

The designs are urban, not hippie, and we count them as a must-buy for the discerning shopper who wants to do good while staying on-trend.

Just stumbled across Ecouterre’s list of the five hottest trends in green fashion to rock this summer, and it’s making us so excited for upcoming beach weekends and barbecues.

In a nutshell, now’s the time to break out your:

• Prints
• Nautical wear
• Ruffles
• Military details
• Girly sandals

Want to know how to wear them with eco-panache? Click on over to Treehugger.

Retailers know a trend when they see it. At least British department store Debenhams has jumped on the let’s-eschew-unrealistic-body-image bandwagon with its latest storefront ad, which clearly labels everywhere one of its swimsuit models has been airbrushed.

As Mark Woods, Debenhams’ creative and visual director told the Daily Mail:

‘As a responsible retailer we want to help customers make the most of their beauty without bombarding them with unattainable body images.

‘Our campaign is all about making women feel good about themselves – not eroding their self belief and esteem by using false comparisons.

‘Not only does it make sense from a moral point of view, it ticks the economic boxes as well. Millions of pounds a year are spent by organisations retouching perfectly good images.

‘As a rule we only airbrush minor things like pigmentation or stray hair and rely on the natural beauty of models to make our product look great.

Those retouched waists are always so obvious, anyway, since much of the time they are ergonomically impossible.

This, by the way, follows Debenhams’ well-received test run putting U.K. size 16 (U.S. size 12) mannequins in its shop front this past February. Progressive forward momentum, we say.

(via The Cut)

The Los Angeles Times this week reviewed some of the newcomers to the eco-beauty bandwagon, and they all have one unique trait in common: a food-based ingredient list.

“It’s happening like crazy,” Karen Young, chief executive of the Young Group, a consulting company that works with beauty brands, said of the increased prevalence of food in skin care. “We’re learning more and more about skin and nature, and about the interaction between the two.” Young said segments of the U.S. beauty industry are increasingly leaning toward natural, organic and homegrown products as customers veer away from chemicals and synthetics.

“In other parts of the world, it is normal to use food and elements of nature for medicinal or beauty purposes,” she said. “In America we are just waking up to that now.”

The article cites brands like the Body Deli out of Palm Desert, Calif., and Farmhouse Fresh from Frisco, Tex. One maker we can vouch for is Elique Organic Skin Food, which sources its foodie-quality ingredients from Los Angeles’s famed farmers markets. And coming this summer, Elique’s founder Elisha Reverby will be offering classes out of her salon in Venice, Calif., to teach students how to make their own eco-beauty products at home (details TBA here). Sign us up!

Remember that cool lightbulb-bedazzled “Climate Dress” shown off during the Bright Green Expo in Copenhagen? Powered by energy-efficient LED technology, the dress has inspired some of the most style-conscious celebs to have a similar bright idea.

Wearable tech, as it’s known, is a look that has a lot of impact, making it popular among performers ranging from Bono and Lady Gaga. Rihanna wore her LED dress on stage in the Netherlands last month. This is definitely not a style for wallflowers.

Although it’s for that very reason that we question its practical applications for ethical consumers at large. Can you imagine wearing a Lite Brite shirt to the post office? And how exactly do you clean it?

Maybe it doesn’t matter — this is perhaps eco-fashion as art. Want more? Check out Ecouterre’s slideshow of seven celebrities showing off the high-fashion interpretations of the newest avant garde craze.

H&M is once again admirably sponsoring a drive to raise money for AIDS research. The Fashion Against AIDS campaign is in its third year, and for 2010 the fast-fashion retailer has boosted its offerings (third item):

This year, FAA has expanded to become a complete festival collection – perfect for one of the hottest looks of the summer. To celebrate the launch, H&M’s Head of Design Ann-Sofie Johansson has lots of tips for styling the perfect festival outfit. “The festival look for girls is bohemian and cool,” says Ann-Sofie, “Try wearing a pair of denim hotpants with an oversized tunic top with lace detailing, a pair of gladiator sandals and, of course, a tote bag to carry around all your necessities.” Meanwhile guys should go for a look with attitude. “Wear denim with a print T-shirt, a military style jacket and a trilby to top it all off,” she says. “It’s great to be able to offer our customers a complete festival collection with all the things you need for an ultimate festival experience!”

Only problem is…it’s super trendy. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good charity collaboration. But the ’80s throwback of an acid-washed dress pictured at right is a miniature disaster, even on someone as daring as Katy Perry.

You can view the whole collection here. What do you think of the styles: fashion forward or fashion victim?