Sign me up for any skin-care product that promises soft, smooth, hydrated skin in the winter. My legs always get crazy itchy! Like, for example, the sugar scrub by natural beauty line Simple Sugars. And not only does it make good on its claims, but it’s totally organic and vegan too.

What makes the sugar vegan? It uses raw sugar (like the stuff you get in the brown packet):

The only difference is the crystal size of the vegan sugar is a little larger, so it’s a bit more coarse than the regular formulation. It’s also a little darker in color due to the tan shade of the organic vegan sugar. If you have really sensitive skin, we recommend going with the original formulation which uses the refined sugar ( on purpose!) for its smaller crystal size and lower melting point which makes it a more gentle exfoliant.

Best of all, the scrub comes in five yummy flavors: almond, coconut, chocolate, raspberry, and rose (if foodie scents aren’t your thing). But don’t limit yourself to just one: In the sampler below, you get two scrubs, a facial exfoliant, and a foot treatment in addition to loofahs, microfiber facial cloths, a foot scrubber, and more. Would make a great Valentine’s Day present for sure!

Super Smooth Basket, $68 at SimpleSugars.com.

As the Copenhagen climate talks draw to a close, it’s worth noting how much our culture has come to value the merits of green – both because people truly care about the Earth, and because caring about the Earth has grown so chic. But the actual rules of green living are surprisingly hard to navigate, not least of all when it comes to choosing clothes.

Do you want to save the animals or the planet at large? Do you focus on your outfit’s origins, or its afterlife? Do you submit to the harsh realities of the food chain? Or do you fret about the death of cows and bunnies while the planet weeps over your petroleum-based pleather?

– Boston Globe columnist Joanna Weiss in her latest op-ed, “The plight of the green fashionista.”

Apologies if we got your hopes up, but last week’s news of a Leona Lewis leather-free fashion collaboration with Stella McCartney turned out to be a hoax.

Not a hoax, however: Stella has confirmed that she and singer Morrissey will be turning out a line of vegan footwear in the coming year.

Morrissey has historically worn leather shoes, despite his vegetarian ideals:

Despite being a staunch supporter of animal rights, the singer was often spotted wearing leather and suede footwear, and once said of his favourite shoes, (a pair of suede moccasins that were a gift from Pete Burns) ‘I find shoes difficult to be ethical about – one just can’t seem to avoid leather. One is trapped, ultimately.’

Admittedly, our favorite shoes are leather too — we have yet to find a synthetic that breaks in so nicely, lasts as long, or feels as comfortable as leather. But best of luck to Morrissey in his endeavor to make that holy grail of vegan footwear.

British singer Leona Lewis is said to be planning to release a vegan clothing line with the help of her friend Stella McCartney.

According to the tabs:

A friend claims Leona said: “I’m on a mission. I’d love to promote a line of non-leather bags and shoes that are affordable. I think more needs to be available and not so expensive.

“There’s so much I want to do. I’ve always wanted to have my own fashion line, and that’s something I want to focus on next year.”

A quick word of advice for Leona: Make sure the clothes are actually affordable. Stella McCartney’s leather-free shoes and handbags start at $495 for rubber wedge boots — so we’re not sure that she’s one to counsel on what Average Jane considers a bargain.

And vegan actress Natalie Portman tried this route a few years ago but her idea of a reasonable price point was $200+ for pleather pumps. It’s no surprise that her collaboration with designer Té Casan went belly-up pretty quickly.

There are already a few brands that have cornered the market for non-leather bags that are a step above Target prices and a few steps below Stella, so we have to wonder whether Leona — who has no background in design — is merely aiming to reinvent the wheel.

Leigh from Canadian brand Elroy — an E.S. recommended pick for vegan fashionistas — notified us this morning that its high-fashion fall collection is now available online. A huge bonus if you don’t live near Vancouver!

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

For fall 2009, Elroy evokes the ideals of brazen beauty, a juxtaposition of strong architectural shapes with bold colours to create a striking collection that stands out in the crowd and delivers a fierce dose of fashion. Crafted from sustainable, socially responsible fabrics, the fall collection shows that choosing to shop responsibly can go hand in hand with being fashion forward.

Check out our thoughts on the spring collection here (a lot of which is currently on sale!).

Organic Cotton Fleur Dress, $114 at ShopElroy.com.

Famously vegan British designer Stella McCartney has come out swinging at other style setters who use leather and fur in their designs, reports My Fashion Life:

The popular British designer and vocal vegetarian – who refuses to use fur and leather in her collections – thinks the fashion industry is heartless for continuing to use animals for aesthetic purposes.

“People in fashion just don’t want to hear the messages. I find it astounding, because fashion is supposed to be about change – I mean, we’re supposed to be at the cutting edge,” she told the Guardian.

“I can only think people don’t care as much as people in other industries. So, yes, I think people in fashion are pretty heartless.”

While Stella is entitled to her opinion, it’s a dangerous precedent to slam other designers for not adhering to your ideals.

For starters, many of Stella’s dresses are made from silk, which necessitates the boiling of silkworms to harvest the cocoons without tearing the silk thread. And a large number of McCartney’s pieces are manufactured in China, including her entire collection for retailer H&M. I’m sure there are people who are fine with wearing leather but not OK with using cheap foreign labor or buying disposable clothing at fast-fashion outlets.

Baywatch star Pam Anderson is set to launch her green fashion line A*Muse at New Zealand Fashion Week, Ecorazzi reports.

Over the past several months, Anderson has been collaborating with Heatherette designer Richie Rich. He told Stuff.co.nz — which previewed the collection and pronounced it “flashy, trashy, vegetarian, and green,” apparently ignoring the contradiction in terms — that the clothes will reflect Anderson’s personal style:

The range will also reflect her stance on animal rights, and the pair plan to produce a leather-free shoe line. “Working with Pamela, she’ll say ‘make it sexy, clingy and punky’ – it’s definitely ready for a night out,” Rich says. “It is very sexy with a dash of a smile, but also very wearable. Everything from leggings and T-shirts to sexy dresses.”

We question how well Pam’s style will translate to the masses — with her reputation, we’re not sure associating her with “ethical style” is going to do the movement any favors. Not to mention, the trendier her designs are, the shorter the life-cycle will be and the less green they are in the long run.

We are longtime fans of LUSH and its organic, vegan, and packaging-free bath and body formulations. (We love to give baskets of their solid bubble baths and massage oil bars as baby and bridal shower gifts — they’re always well received!)

On Monday, the Santa Monica location hosted an open audition for young women aspiring to be on the dating show Millionaire Matchmaker. We have to say, for a company that does so many things right, LUSH really had a misfire here.

The show, if you’re unfamiliar, sets up youthful model-types with generally gross rich guys on the hunt for a trophy wife. If you’re not a cynic, it’s really hard to root for the pairings to work out.

And the message of the show also seems to go against LUSH’s feelgood stance. Frankly, watching Millionaire Matchmaker feels more like a cold shower than a hot bath.

We’d like to remind the company to take a hint from its bestselling Karma bubble bar and continue their search for partnerships with positive meaning.

For the vegan stylistas out there — that is, people who won’t wear leather or silk or wool or fur for ethical reasons — fashionable clothing that fit their philosophies can be limited. But the Los Angeles Times interviewed the experts for where to find clothing free of all animal products.

Our favorite was Elizabeth Olsen, the designer behind OlsenHaus:

“I didn’t want to be the brand that only hippies wear,” said Elizabeth Olsen, founder of olsenHaus Pure Vegan footwear in New York. OlsenHaus, which has been in business one year, makes strappy stilettos, ultrasuede ankle boots and colorful ballet flats using a mixture of manmade, plant-based and recycled materials. These are shoes that could easily stroll a red carpet and raise eyebrows — not so much for their ethics but for their stylish ingenuity.

We admit — even though we wear leather shoes (as Madison recently wrote, they hold up the best and are more comfortable than plastic), we have a soft spot for Haus’s clever designs and craftsmanship.

Shown above: Faux-Suede “Balance” Sandal, $205 at OlsenHaus.com.

Earlier this month, we told you about the death threats issued against Australian designer Alannah Hill for her use of rabbit fur as trim on select items. This week, she caved — only because activists threatened her seven-year-old son.

She issued the following statement:

“‘After 4500 intimidating and abusive emails, the decision not to use rabbit fur AS A TRIM was made for me by the one that threatened my seven-year-old son, Edward. They wanted him to burn in hell.”

As we’ve said before, we feel that activists who threaten violence against designers who work with fur are hypocritical at best. Is this really the best way to get their message across?