Daily Greenz #121

Model and founder Julia Grieve knows a thing or two about fashion, so it’s no surprise that her designs are a hot commodity in Canada and abroad.  Based on a trendy deconstructive aesthetic, every unique piece is made from several different repurposed garments and then carefully hand-stitched together to suit even the most creative personality.  All vintage garments are procured from local, to-the-trade warehouses and handmade in Toronto.  Their seasonal collections have been known to recycle up to 30,000 sweaters, thousands of shirts, and hundreds of jeans.  Celebs like Alanis Morissette can’t seem to get enough of preloved’s creations.  With retail stores throughout the U.S., it shouldn’t be too hard to find your unique preloved garb at www.preloved.ca.

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Daily Greenz #100

Yoga fanatics and eco-friendly athletes alike are intimately familiar with Lululemon Athletica, a collection of functional, sustainable yoga apparel that was created by Vancouverite Chip Wilson in 2000.  It now appears that Lululemon’s sister company by the name of Oqoqo is going strong, whose “zeitgeist apparel” is comprised of organic, stylish designs that are produced locally whenever possible (and carefully monitored when they’re not).  Made from natural materials like organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo, their clothes are also colored with low-impact dyes that aren’t harmful to the skin.  Best of all, their collection is functional, yet stylish enough to wear to the gym or a weekend around town.  Available for $50 and up at www.lululemon.com stores across the country.  Take a peek at their styles at www.oqoqo.com.

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Daily Greenz #97

We’ve all seen movies in which women will casually slip money into their brassieres, using them as a temporary holding station for small objects.  And we’ve envied them because sometimes, we’re tired of always having to lug a purse around.  Someone at Triumph International must have felt the same way because they took the idea one step further and created a bra for Japanese consumers that actually converts into a shopping bag.  The NO! Reji-Bukuro Bra (literally, NO! Shopping Bag Bra) has padding that folds out into a bag and is hooked together by the underwire.  The padding itself is made from recycled plastic bottles.

The Hong Kong-based Triumph International, who’s known for designing eco-themed bras, created the hybrid bra to reduce plastic bag consumption among Japanese consumers, who use an estimated 30 billion plastic bags a year.  Available in an array of colors, it may find its way to the U.S. if it becomes popular in Japan.  Check out the collection at www.triumph.com/uk.

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Daily Greenz #78

Nau, which means “welcome” in Maori, is fashioning
a whole new philosophy of eco-friendly style with its clothes and stores, both of which
are made entirely of recycled materials. We’re talking full-cycle
sustainability: from growth to distribution, their
practical yet trendy clothing is created from organic materials (who knew
polyester could be recycled?), which they develop directly with suppliers to
ensure quality control. They’re then
sold in tiny “webfronts,” which are about half the size of conventional
clothing
stores and built out of recycled aluminum and reclaimed hardwood to
ensure energy efficiency. To encourage
even greater eco-friendliness, they offer a 10% discount to customers who buy
directly from webfronts and will also donate 5% of all profits to a nonprofit
organization. Their credo to “Do well by
doing good” is clear in the way they fund carbon-reduction projects and buy
natural power to sustain business operations. So look good and feel good by making your next clothing purchase (like
the burr sweater pictured here for $123.50) at nau.com .

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