Jewelry designer John Hardy is teaming up with supermodel and Alter Eco star Angela Lindvall to launch “Hijau Dua,” a handcrafted collection of jewelry made with recycled sterling silver or 18k gold.

As part of the “Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo” program, for each piece of jewelry purchased, the brand will plant bamboo seedlings to offset the carbon emissions used for travel and advertising.  Lindvall recently visited Bali, where John Hardy is based, to help plant 600,000 bamboo seedlings for the Bali Province Government’s “Bali Clean and Green” program and model in the John Hardy advertising campaign. Hear from Lindvall in a behind-the-scenes video, and the full article by Emma Grady on Treehugger.com

Photo Credit: Originally posted on Treehugger: John Hardy Creative Director Guy Bedarida and supermodel Angela Lindvall in Bali. Photos: courtesy John Hardy

The Battalion at Los Angeles Fashion Week was truly worth the hour and a half of rush hour traffic it took to get down to Geffen Contemporary at MOCA for a 5pm show. Linda and Chrys Wong, the sisters behind The Battalion, presented an impressive collection for Spring 2010, L’Atelier De Danse.

Tulle-clad models from Ford and Q did their egret-like walks down the runway in the most gorgeous eco collection yet. Not only that, in classic Linda Wong style, “they are clothes you could run away in,” meaning you could eat, sleep, party, or get chased in…or perhaps all of the above.

Linda’s attention to detail was what made The Battalion’s Spring 2010 such a stand out. It seemed she took the extra mile on each garment in the collection. The “Pete” faux denim vest of grey bamboo seemed simple until you got a good look at the tuxedo lapel and the classic jean jacket V applique on the back shoulders. The comfy white tee got asymmetrical sleeves. Oh, and the fringe! Linda created an uber glamorous effect with super fine razor fringe draping provocatively down the front of an otherwise casual top or slinking down just one side of a black evening dress. (One of my favorite examples of this was the Luxe vest which looked a bit like angel wings.)

L’Atelier De Danse remained true to a Kirov Ballet rehearsal palette: black, white, amaranth pink, heather grey, and some renegade navy. Unusually subtle for spring, but refreshing in its unpredictability.

The Wong sisters describe their season with impeccable self-awareness. “Spring 2010 is about fluidity, transparency, and movement. We imagine dancers in a naturally lit atelier, dressed up in various costumes that are made of tulle, fringe, and paper thin jersey. If women are going back to basics in the coming seasons, we want their clothes to be simple but sincere. We want their wardrobe staples to be wearable, but dreamy. We want them to dance, dream, and fall in love like the dancers who have inspired this collection.”

Well, this dancer simply can’t wait to dance, dream, and fall in love…in her new Battalion threads.

Andira Rain Tees was founded by Beth Doane in 2005. The word “Andira” describes a tall tree that grows in the Brazilian Amazon and has been been used medicinally for centuries by indigenous people. Due to logging and deforestation, the species is rapidly disappearing.

Andira Rain Tees are 100% organic cotton and designed by youth living in endangered rainforests across Central and South America. The illustrations are what they see around them and each Rain Tee features their name and thoughts about what’s happening.

For every Rain tee sold, the non-profit Kids Saving the Rain Forest will receive a tree they can plant to replace one that has been destroyed. Though a sapling is by no means an equal to a tree hundreds of years old, it is a small start.

World Rainforest Week is October 12th-18th. Take a moment this week to learn more about what’s happening in the rainforests around the world and what you can do to make a positive difference.

The designs of Paloma Soledad perfectly embody the steampunk aesthetic of the Portland underground. The materials for Soledad’s custom corsets and animé-inspired costumery seem to harken from a hundred years ago: lambskin, velvet, silk taffeta, steel spiral boning. Her expert construction of whimsically macabre costumes have earned her design positions with avante garde dance companies and the set of the meticulously-styled film Coraline.

Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian recently gave the rundown on Paloma’s ideas on bloodthirsty pin-up girls and her early suspicions of nice people in the land of milk and honey…

Paloma Soledad
Age: 31
Hometown: Los Angeles; the family moved to Oahu, Hawaii, when she was 4

Experience: Graduated from the California Institute of the Arts; designed costumes for the movies “Cabin Fever” and “Hostel”; did costumes for the Portland dance troupe tEEth; worked in the costume department on the stop-motion animated feature “Coraline.”

Design visions: Soledad’s mother was a seamstress. “She would have me thread the elastic through her waistbands when I was little.” Youthful discovery of “Conan the Barbarian” and Alberto Vargas glamour-girl illustrations also formed her aesthetic. “It’s like a 1940s pin-up dancer — she’s going to dance on the table, and then jump down and slit your throat. We all have the power to be as sexy as we want to be.”

Signature pieces: Custom-made corsets, mixing sumptuous silks and velvets with leather and metal details, for a mix of masculine and feminine influences. “The boning is flexible, so you can eat in it, you can dance in it. It’s like a piece of art.”

Why Portland? “I was living in L.A., and the energy there’s so manic, it just makes you really crazy. My mom lives in Northern California, and she said, ‘You should check out Oregon.’ I moved here in 2006. When I first got here and people were nice to me, I thought, ‘What do you want from me?’ This is the land of milk and honey.”

Read more of Local Designers Take Over The Catwalk at OregonLive.com…

Simple Shoes has been quietly making the most sustainable footwear in the US for the past few years, while also making some serious loot. Apparently hippies have more money than one would think, or, eco shoes aren’t just for hippies anymore. Either way, Damian Joseph of BusinessWeek.com dove deep into the company’s BIO-D collection only to discover the formula for crafting a greener shoe line is actually super Simple…

Simple Shoes (DECK) has always been against something. When the company made its debut in 1991, it was against gaudy, futuristic sneakers and coveted logos. In 2005, it came out against using materials that trash the Earth. Both moves paid off handsomely, lifting sales. Now the subsidiary of Deckers Outdoors is turning against stuff that lasts longer than people do, with a line of biodegradable shoes set for next spring.

Rubber can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Simple is cutting its lifespan to 20 years with its new EcoPure technology. Licensed from Bio-Tec Environmental, an Albuquerque, N.M., company, EcoPure is an organic compound with tiny microbes that eat away at the bonds that hold rubber, plastic, and EVA (a vinyl/rubber-like material) together. It works only under the hot and humid conditions of typical landfills and leaves behind nothing but dirt.

Simple is adding EcoPure to the soles of most of its shoes and flip flops, starting with a new line that highlights the technology: BIO-D. The company has plenty of reasons to think this will boost revenue. Its last green line—Earth-friendly shoes called Planet Walkers, which came out in 2008—helped push Simple’s sales up by 27.4% last year, to $17.2 million, from $13.5 million in 2007.

shipping boots to big retailers

National Sales Manager Brad Little hardly thinks Simple’s eco-concern is the company’s only reason for success. He says only 10% to 15% of its customers are green buyers. More important, he says, is designing shoes that are sufficiently good-looking that customers will pull them off a store shelf to begin with. “You have to compete on the same playing field as other companies—with materials and functions,” he says. “If you’re not on that level, sustainability isn’t going to get you there.”

Continue reading Simple Shoes Leaps Forward by Damian Joseph at BusinessWeek.com…

For years, the crème de la crème of American foodies have feasted on locally-raised dishes presented by “farm-to-table” restaurants around the country. These leaders in gastro-sustainability have cut out the middlemen and gone straight to the farmer for the best selection and pricing on organic local produce and meat. The Farm-To-Table movement has bolstered the number of American family farms while ensuring the highest quality product for culinary connoisseurs. In 2009, this trend is actually spreading from a culinary circles to catwalks.

At the upcoming Portland Fashion Week, eco fashion eminence Anna Cohen will be presenting an entirely new concept for both the worlds of fashion and sustainability: Ranch-To-Runway. Through her visionary partnership with the Imperial Stock Ranch in Shaniko, Oregon, Anna Cohen is bringing the highest quality sustainable wool to her fashion-forward clientele while enriching the lives of ecologically sound local ranchers.

Though fashionistas and farmers make a unique juxtaposition, both stand to benefit grandly if Anna’s concept catches fire. Perhaps we’re right around the corner from Cavalli cattle ranches and Comme des Garçons cotton farms. If not, we’re at least that much closer to being right around the corner from where our clothes come from, thanks to Anna Cohen.

The Imperial Collection by Anna Cohen will premiere Sunday, October 11th at 8pm at the Vigor Industrial Shipyard; arrive at 6 for the pre-party.

If you’re interested in experiencing your own version of Ranch-To-Runway, take a gorgeous 2-hour drive through the Oregon countryside for a stunning tour of the Imperial Stock Ranch before hitting Anna’s show on Sunday night.