Pants=Underwear, Poverty=Bad

PANTS TO POVERTY

The good thing about American Apparel is that they are made in the US, which has stricter labor laws than, say, Uzbekistan. But that's just about the only good thing about American Apparel. So, if you like wearing brightly colored underwear, underwear from Pants To Poverty is a much better option. Who wouldn't rather wear organic, fair-trade, Nelson Mandela-inspired underwear? Born of the Make Poverty History campaign, these special underwears are made using less water, ethical labor, and with a smaller carbon footprint. And they have stars on them!

www.pantstopoverty.com

Gaiam Girl, You Fi-ine...

GAIAM

I recently purchased this organic "Buddha Say Relax" shirt from Gaiam, which I thought was pretty funny and awesome and my friends thought was, well, stupid. But you know what? They're stupid, because I have this awesome organic shirt in which to do yoga (by which I mean, "eat Rice Dream bars in front of the TV while watching True Blood.") And what do they have? Some silly tank top from Nike that was made in a sweatshop? Pu-leeze. Gaiam makes all sorts of "lifestyle" products, some of which border on magical potions and what not, but who doesn't need a little more magic in their lives? Lord knows, I could use all the help I can get.

Buddha say relax. Ha.

www.gaiam.com

Hey You! Kayu!

KAYU

Kayu is one of those awesome companies that makes you feel like maybe you should have done something better with your life, besides writing silly articles about clothes... but you can still make your life count by by buying one of Kayu's cool bamboo sunglasses, made without the use of harmful pesticides or fertilizer. They are not only ecologically and ethically sound, but also give a big chunk of their profits to Unite for Sight, and organization dedicated to fighting preventable blindness in third world countries. More importantly, the glasses are super cute.

Think of them as Toms, for your face.

okay, you:
www.kayudesign.com

Unite for Sight, Inc.:
www.uniteforsight.org

And then? Andira

ANDIRA

There is nothing sexier than a simple white tee, except maybe a simple white tee with a sweet, eco-counscious graphic design on it. These 100% organic t-shirts from Andira are made using fair labor practices and earth-friendly dyes.

Go to their website to find out how you can help them help the abused and trafficked animals of the Amazon. Buy a cute t-shirt, and save a monkey!

andir yourself:

www.andiraintl.com

seriously, look at this monkey! so cute.

I Heart Hearts

ECO CITIZEN

I don't know if this awesome eco-boutique commissioned these recycled gold and silver heart pieces, but I love them, no matter who came up with them. I love pretty much everything they have at Eco Citizen, but this heart cuff is definitely my favorite thing, ever.

be a good ecocitizen:
www.ecocitizenonline.com

The Tide Is High, And So Am I

RISING TIDE FAIR TRADE

Rising Tide Fair Trade is a collective of Bengali artisans who make bags out of old Kantha quilts (quilts made from old saris, so they are twice recycled!) The bags are very bohemian and make me want to take spontaneous road trips and start smoking pot again, but I won't, because living in LA has made me dumb enough, and I don't really need to add to my inability to think clearly or make good decisions.

Anyway, it's nice when ethical, eco-friendly things are also cool-looking and useful, unlike my recycled cardboard necklace that is now a cat toy and looked weird on me anyway.


www.rtfairtrade.com

Of Corset It's Eco!

RENE GENEVA

I apparently set out to write about this amazing designer over a year ago, and then somehow forgot- which is a shame, because she has a huge range of wonderful eco-friendly clothes. Her designs incorporate organic and hemp silk with recycled fabrics, and are awesome.

I'm not usually a corset-sporting kinda gal, but these corsets made from a variety of eco-friendly materials might convince me to give it a try... seriously cute stuff.

www.mycorset.com