It’s about time.  I can’t tell you the number of suggestions, comments, inquiries, and occasionally ravings we hear about why there is not sustainable fashion for the full figured woman.   It seems that until recently, most eco designers have focused on the contemporary fit market, with typical size runs ranging from 0-12, with the occasional 14 or 16 in there.  Now, even if 14 or 16 sounds like it might accommodate curves, they tend to run on the small size, sending many a beautiful woman away empty handed and feeling poorly about herself.  But good news, some eco designers are embracing  full figures, as fashion writer Amy Dufault reports on Green +Chic. (Image from Green+Chic – features the Diane Kennedy ‘Serene’ Pant)

Ever curious to know just how green your wardrobe is?  Well, here’s a start.  Colour Connections Ltd has an online calculator which allows consumers to take a look at the environmental impact of their clothing purchase, care and disposal decisions.

The “Household Textile Environmental Impact Calculator” asks the user to answer a series or questions, using drop-down menus, to gather data on the purchase, disposal and care habits of the user. The user is asked to choose from a list of common clothing and household textile items, inputting how many of each item they buy and how they are disposed of in a twelve month period.  Finally, the users are asked how these items are washed, dried and ironed in a typical week. Push the magic button and Badda Bing, your score, or EDU’s (Environmental Damage Units)-a complex, mathematical environmental measure based on water and energy use, the use of non-renewable resources and the resulting pollution-is calculated. The overall EDU’s for each item of clothing depends on each individual consumer’s buying preferences, how they care for their garments and ultimately how they dispose of them.

The EDU scores range from the aptly named “Fashionably Obese, for those scoring 1500 EDU’s annually, to the less aptly named “Fashionably Unfashionable” (rest assured, its is in fact quite fashionable to have a minimal environmental impact), for those scoring 200 EDU’s or less. While educational, and sort of fun, the calculator is a little under inclusive, focusing on conventional textiles and their care and disposal without including more sustainable textile options.

For example, it compares cotton, wool, linen and silk items to polyester, nylon, and acrylic.  While linen, wool, silk and certain viscose fibers are often environmentally superior to synthetics, the calculator does offer organic cotton as opposed to conventional cotton, or organic wool as oppsed to conventional wool, as options, nor does it list other sustainable textiles such as hemp, soy, recycled fibers and the like.  Including these latter options would strengthen the tool’s advocacy appeal and educational value by allowing consumers to see how much impact they can have by making a few simple changes in their clothing purchases.

Despite the lack of sustainable fiber options (yes, there are a few in there, linen for one), the tool is a useful demonstration in how each of our choices can have a positive impact.  “You may be surprised at how much impact your personal or family clothing preferences have on the environment,” said Phil Patterson, managing director of Colour Connections. “Doing one fewer tumble drying cycle per week saves 170 EDU’s, which is enough to make the fabric for 50 pairs of underpants.”  That’s a lot of skivvies!

Source: Ecotextile News

Perfectly Imperfect

You know how you have a few pairs of skivvies that are your absolute favorites-the ones that always get worn first after laundry day? Well, my organic cotton Perfectly Imperfect boy shorts are the number one pick in my underwear drawer. Incredibly comfortable (as in they totally cover my entire bootylicious backside) and super sexy. PI also has fabulous panties and thongs. Dress em up, dress em down-Perfectly Imperfect underwear by designer Jadie Kadletz are good every day-and night-of the week.

Enamore

Now, ordering underwear from all the way from Brighton, England is not necessary, nor is it particularly sustainable. But, if it is absolutely essential that you have the sexiest lingerie on the planet, Enamore is worth the splurge. Their hemp, silk, and organic garters, camisoles, panties, and “shorties” are truly mindblowing. (I will refrain from making an inappropriate joke here.)

Urban Fox

Urban Fox Lingerie by Doki Doki Designs is for the youthful, fun fashionista set. Bright colored garter and panty sets are made from a bamboo and cotton blend and range from XS to XL. Thank goodness there’s eco lingerie for the more voluptuous goddesses out there!

She And Me

Made in the USA out of modal, with silk trim and just a touch of spandex for stretch, these sexy boy shorts by Shirin Azad and Mitra Sanai of sheandme are hot, hot, hot. Modal is 100% biodegradable material made from beech trees. sheandme also donate a portion of sales to Tahirih Justice Center, which provides free legal services to female immigrants and refugees fleeing human rights abuses in their home countries.

Bueno Style

If you gotta have some saucy message on your panties to sass your boudoir buddies (fyi: risque commentary is appropriate for articles on underwear), then these little lowriders are for you! Bueno Style has created a simple message about health and sustainable agriculture to plaster across your pelvis: Eat Organic. We all should really.

American Apparel Sustainable Edition

American Apparel boy briefs are for girls, too. These unisex-y underwear are made in LA, are totally sweatshop free, and come in a rainbow of fruit flavors. And you can trade em back and forth with your mate…or not. They also have thongs and panties for the ladies. (Clarification: these styles are not unisex.)

Stripes are what it’s all about for summer 2008. This striped tunic by California Rising is the perfect beach cover-up. A lightweight organic cotton hoodie with a cozy front pocket pouch is just the thing to fend off the evening chill after a long day in the sun. Beyond style and comfort, California Rising produce all their garments with a focus on sustainable fabrics and low-impact dyes. Their entire line is lovingly made in the USA.

If you haven’t already heard the beautiful story of Toms Shoes yet, they donate one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair you buy…Not that any extra motivation is needed whatsoever to grab yourself a pair of these cute and comfy canvas slip-ons. They’re the ultimate summer shoe for the boardwalk or the boardroom, the nightclub or the yacht club.

These nautical pieces smack of the French Riviera, making a statement that is both bold and absolutely classic. Make sure to earn your stripes before the summer’s over.

Just when we were getting used to “soy silk” being something we drink, now soy sellers have switched it up on us again. This versatile staple of Asian and American diets is now something we can wear. Yes, soy has joined hemp, bamboo, tencel, organic cotton and the like in the ever-growing list of eco-friendlier fabrics on the market.

Soy fabric, often called “soy silk” for its super smooth texture, is made by liquefying soy protein and shaping it into long, continuous fibers which are then spun into thread. Many compare the feel of the finished product to that of cashmere. Besides being biodegradable, soy fabric is a greener choice because its made from the recycled leftovers from soybean oil and tofu manufacturing. Eco designers like Anna Cohen, Linda Loudermilk, and Nina Valenti of Nature Vs. Future have been utilizing this fabric for years in sexy garments that make you look just about good enough to eat…Over rice with some veggies.

Loomstate (the Great) has turned out a new addition for summer: organic cotton boardshorts. These boardshorts are bright, fun and functional…and a far cry from the organic jeans for which they’re famous. Scott Hahn, the brain behind the brand, did grow up surfing on Fire Island, so perhaps board shorts by Loomstate are simply a natural progression. If you’re in the Hamptons for Summer 2008, these boardshorts are the au courant choice of the season.

Now, if I was dressing my man in spendy sustainable swimwear, I think I’d choose a different look than the clunky Vans that are weighing this Loomstate model down. He is deeply in need of some eco flip flops like the recycled car tire sandals from Splaff or the hemp and bamboo flip flops in Simple’s Green Toe collection. These sustainable summer footwear choices will keep any man cooler-in more ways than one.