Watch Tommy Shaw of Styx “purge” (that sounds very LA) his closet with Closet Control author Barbra Horowitz. Highlights include him painting on an orange jumpsuit from his touring days and getting repeated spankings by his very involved wife.

This is what you need to say to those sexy relics from the past, tucked way down deep in the back of your closet. By the way, we’re talking clothes here, people, not skeletons. (We’re just not that deep on In The Loop.) Ahem. In our continued coverage of tips for optimizing your wardrobe, celebrity stylist Barbra Horowitz shows you what to do with those gorgeous-yet-dated garments lying dorment in your closet. She also shares eye-opening info on what’s hiding in those plastic garment bags from the dry cleaners (again, not skeletons, folks.). Take a look.

Enter Greenloop’s ReShirt Cutting Contest to win a 30 minute virtual consultation with Barbra along with her recently published style bible, Closet Control.

Celebrity stylist Barbra Horowitz, co-sponsor of Greenloop’s 1st Annual ReShirt Cutting Contest and the author of style bible Closet Control, is in the business of teaching people how to dress themselves. Having learned the tricks of the trade from her fashionista mother, Barbra teaches people how to invest wisely in wardrobe and how to nurture those assets once they’ve been acquired.

One of her many lessons is how to transform garments from old & tired to fresh & fabulous by taking underused clothes you’re attached to- that family reunion t-shirt, cherished 80’s prom dress, or the oversized vintage couture piece- and cutting, dyeing, or tailoring them back to greatness. The woman is a closet alchemist.

In this video, Barbra shows you how to take a stained garment you’re on the verge of throwing away and dye it into something you’ll always want to keep. And it’s easy! Seriously, the whole video clip is so quick and painless, you might have to watch it again to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Check it out…

Calling all eco-fashionistas, aspiring sustainable designers and DIY gurus, here’s your time to shine! (And get free clothes.) Greenloop, together with Barbra Horowitz, present to you the 1st Annual ReShirt Cutting Contest. You know all those t-shirts in your closet that might not make it to next season? Is it too big, too wide, the neck is tight, or the style is all wrong…well, get out your scissors and get to snippin!’

Barbra Horowitz, author of Closet Control, is an LA-based style guru. In her book and attached DVD, Barbra shows you how to rework and revamp what you already own to get the wardrobe you really want. She also explains how investing in high end style and reselling it is beneficial for your wardrobe, the planet and your pocketbook.

Now it’s time to show Barbra Horowitz, the brains behind the original Tee Party, and Aysia, the woman behind the premier online eco-fashion retailer Greenloop, how you can rock a fresh t-shirt design armed with only a pair of scissors and your own personal design savvy. (more…)

WhoWhatWearDaily.com has put together this entertaining little video clip on what to wear…Eco-style. They pull from a couple of dedicated eco-designers like EcoSkin and Linda Loudermilk, but the majority of their picks come from mainstream, conventional designers offering a few eco-options mixed with conventional (read: non-green) items. Being completely submerged in the world of eco-apparel and accessories, to me, it seems just silly to pull anything but dedicated brands for a piece like this. That said, I have to realize that the average shopper may need to be eased in to the world of sustainable style, and this is not a bad way to do it….mix the familiar with the unfamiliar. Add to that the fact that eco-brands are not always easy to find (Hint: Shop ONLINE!) it makes their approach a little easier to understand. While I prefer to support designers that are green from the ground up, I do have to applaud at least token efforts to green up the operations of traditionally un-green collections. Now lets just hope those small steps inspire them to embrace sustainable design all the way around.

Year Founded: 2006
Administrative Headquarters: Oakland, CA/Hong Kong
Production Headquarters: Hong Kong
Number of Staff: 5
Design Inspirations: nature, recycling systems, landfills, the materials we use

The other day, I filled in at my friends’ eco-boutique in Los Angeles. The clothes there are made of recycled cashmere, organic cotton, Tencel, and hemp. The shelves, tables, and chairs are bamboo. Even the sales counter is some compressed, repurposed something or other. Everything there is on the sustainable tip- except the hangers. They’re fake black velvet things from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Bummer. I thought to myself, “Well, eventually someone will get around to greening the hanger industry…” As fate would have it, only hours later, I was given…a hanger.

Ditto Hangers are super sturdy, 100% recycled and recycleable, and look pretty cool, as far as hangers go. Ditto already won the 2007 International Design Award in their very first year of production. Apparently the hangers are the first project by the sustainable industrial design team GreenHeart Global. I got so excited about their innovation, that I called CEO Gary Barker…

Why hangers?

It’s a neglected and ignored product. No one sees them, but the waste is astounding. We estimated that 8 billion hangers are landfilled every year. That’s enough to fill all 102 floors of the Empire State Building 4.6 times…every year. We estimate that 85% of the hangers produced are landfilled.

Where do you source your recycled paper and plastic?

Our paper is sourced in China (where most US paper is sent for recycling). The content is certified to contain no heavy metals and no chlorine. Our PET plastic is produced in Tennessee. Our recycled PET is from the factory where we make the hangers.

Why have you chosen to use recycled petroleum-based plastic over biodegradable corn plastic?

Corn plastic is only bio-degradable in municipal composting facilities, very few of which exist nationwide. It can foul entire batches of oil-based plastic recycling if it gets in the batch. That means in most parts of the country the only place for bio-plastics are landfills, where in an anaerobic environment make them as stable as oil-based plastics, lasting over 1000 years. We estimated that 85-90% of our hangers would end up in landfills if we made our products out of bio-plastic. (more…)

Photo by Ralph Hockens

For 2008, I made a resolution to bring eco-consciousness to my wardrobe and take readers of Greenloop with me. Our January installment of Green Your Closet introduced the Clothing Swap, a party combining the noble task of reusing your old garments by acquiring new ones from your nearest and dearest stylish friends. For our Valentine’s Day installment, we are showing you how to love your wardrobe and the planet…by taking good care of the clothing you already have. If you keep just a few simple tips in mind, you can make your “personal classics” last a lifetime. If you take care of the clothes that aren’t your favorites, you can happily pass them on to another lucky person to wear for years more. By lengthening the life of your clothes, you lessen the environmental impact of the clothing manufacturing business, which makes for cleaner water, air, and soil for you and yours. Who knew buying less could have such a big effect on the world beyond our bank accounts? We also show share a few great tips on green washing (the good kind.)

Keep ‘Em Cold
Wash your darks and brights in cold water to keep colors true and save on hot water. And keep any garments that may bleed color far from whites…there’s nothing like one random red sock to ruin a whole load of whites.

Green Your Clean
The bulk from most laundry detergents is made up of water. The concentrated versions are good for just as many loads, use much less plastic for packaging, and require less petroleum to transport. The non-toxic powder versions packaged in recycled cardboard are my personal favorite. (more…)

Photo: Darwin Bell

For years now I’ve found myself, a diehard environmentalist, fascinated by fashion. At first I shoved this frivolous fascination to the archives of my mind, thinking of it as a superfluous pursuit that would distract me from all the “important” work that needs to be done in this ailing world. Now and again, I’d sheepishly ponder my profound interest in online eco-fashion hubs like Eco-Chick and Greenloop (who I now blog for-yay), and finally realized why fashion really matters. Fashion is our second skin. It is our most intimate possession. Let’s face it, not even our closest romantic partner has (most likely) spent twelve hours straight attached to our pelvis the way a pair of undies does. A favorite warm sweater can be our greatest comfort on a grey, frigid day. And, unlike the bodies we’re born into, clothing gives us the opportunity to choose our hue, texture, and even our shape to some extent; all these choices directly affect how our fellow humans interact with us on a daily basis.

(more…)