Bags

Greenloop has some gorgeous gifts for your Mom. Whether it’s a fun reusable shopping tote 5 Pack from Envirosax for $37.95 or an eco luxury bowling bag from Vegan Queen for $695, you’ve got Mother’s Day in the bag at Greenloop!

Jewelry

This Lucina matching aquamarine and tagua set is absolutely gorgeous! Not only that, but buying from Lucina supports artist cooperatives in impoverished communities around the world. That’s something both you and she can feel good about.

If your mother loves charms, the recycled silver earth pendant from Annatarian is the perfect gift for her. Annatarian takes used silver, melts it down, and recasts each charm for her PEACE LOVE EARTH line. This is certainly one way to ecourage your Mom to recycle.

Shoes

For the child that knows their Mom’s taste very well, there’s little that touches a woman’s fancy quite like shoes. These Mohop wedges are incredibly comfortable and come with 5 different colored ribbons, so she gets 5 pairs in 1! Each pair is lovingly made by hand in Chicago with Forest Stewardship Certified walnut.

Eco swimwear is not the easiest thing to find. Clearly your most sustainable choice for a bikini is the classic favorite you already own. Next in line comes the vintage piece from your favorite consignment shop. Now, if last year’s favorite is pilled to the point of embarassment and there is no to-die-for 60’s one piece lying dorment at your local vintage store, then guess what? It’s time to go shopping!

Not to be missed this season for all those who do not plan on spending over $100 for the tiniest garment they own-Rogan Gregory the Great will be debuting his organic summer line for Target on May 18th. There will be a few sophisticated suits up for grabs as this big box chain dips its toes into eco fashion.

Urban Outfitters will soon be selling bright patterned bikinis made of 100% recycled plastic by Aaron Chang. Not only are his bikinis eco-fabulous, all of his shorts, tops, and cover-ups are 100% organic cotton. Aaron doesn’t stop at manufacturing when it comes to sustainable business practices-all of his hangtags, catalogs and marketing materials are made of certified recycled paper. Currently, Aaron Chang can be found at Victoria’s Secret…hopefully he’s showing Victoria a thing or two about using recycled paper in her catalogs.

Tropi-Ties has a smokin’ hot bikini made from hemp and cotton, with bamboo ring details. It is their only eco-friendly swimsuit for 2008. Ideally, this sexy suit will be a massive success and inspire Tropi-Ties to expand their sustainable swimwear for ‘09.

This Summer, dudes can get eco board shorts from uber cool skate and surf supplier Volcom. Their V.Co-Logical line is manufactured with sustainablity and style equally in mind. These ‘Hemped Up Mod’ swim trunks are made of hemp and recycled polyester. Sorry girls, no V.Co-Logical for you yet! When it comes to Volcom, the guys (for once), win out on ethical options.

This is truly all we could find for now, but we will of course keep you In The Loop of fresh eco swimwear as the Summer 2008 lines roll out!

Hannah Kubiak and Beth Shissler started Sea Bags back in 1999, on the windswept coast of Portland, Maine. These gorgeous tote bags made of recycled sails smack of the blue-blooded leisure class in a way only tea sandwiches and topsiders are capable. With some K-Swiss, a matching Sea Bag, and a working knowledge of eco-friendly chlorine bleach alternatives, we too can look just as fresh as Kanye West in tennis whites this Summer. Every Sea Bag has sailed around the world before being lovingly handsewn by the (adorable) in-house team in Portland. The design of these unique pieces are inspired by the sail itself, as they all have varying textures and fabrics. A Sea Bag is the perfect tote for the farmer’s market, boutique hopping, or that mid-Summer cruise to Turks and Cacaos.

For ladies it’s all about emphasizing the waist this Spring, either with cinched in retro dresses, up-to-there trousers or shorts pulled tight with impossibly tiny belts. High waists are a sophisticated look and make your gams look a mile long…well almost. Check out these looks by Stella McCartney, Walter, Del Forte Denim, and Ecoskin.

The many R’s of eco manufacturing-reduce, reuse, recycle, reclaim, and repurpose-now get a new addition…record. That’s right, Vling jewelry is turning out uber hot earrings, pins, and necklaces all made from recycled vinyl records. Lord knows we need to do something with all the T. Rex and Burt Bacharach albums floating out there like lost souls in a vinyl purgatory. Vling has managed to turn these one hit wonders into Solid Gold hits!

This chic recycled wool felt laptop bag by Carga is biodegradable, highly durable, and a slammin’ choice for the meetings that matter. These fairly traded bags are designed by Mauro Bianucci and handmade in his native Argentina. They can be found at various shops around the world or online at Refinery 29.

Tom Bihn is into design. In his spare time he’s reading Cradle To Cradle by William McDonough and hiking in the wilderness…these are great signs. Tom’s most sustainable choice for laptops is an ultra sleek and sophisticated case with a molded cork exterior…behold The Archetype. Cork is both biodegradable and an incredible renewable resource, mostly sourced from the cork forests of Portugal. All bags by Tom are crafted by an adorable and skilled group of women at the Tom Bihn factory in Seattle, Washington. Adjustable shoulder straps made of soy in Montana (go American manufacturing!) can be ordered for your cork case or you can just slip The Archetype into your Reware laptop bag-you style magnet, you. (more…)

Well eco fashionistas of the world, it’s true-eco-friendly high heels are still few and far between. Greenloop has pulled together the most gorgeous high heels for Spring…we wish there could be more, but I guess we’ll have to wait for Spring ‘09 for the green wave to take over the women’s shoe industry.

These gorgeous FSC-certified walnut wedges from Mohop are a must for Spring. Annie Mohaupt’s unique design allows you to create totally different looks depending on the way you tie the ribbons. Each handmade pair of platforms comes with 5 sets of ribbons, which allows you to have casual, office, and evening looks all from one pair of shoes. The recycled rubber bottoms makes walking in the platforms much more comfortable and you won’t have to complain about not having shoes to match your outfit this sandal season! (more…)

Malcolm Fontier designs awesome vegan bags for men and tough girls. The bags are so nice and high-end, it makes the fact that they are not made from leather actually a sign of luxury, not cheapness. They are amazingly soft, like leather, but without the whole Silence of the Lambs/nightmare/guilt complex part…And he makes men’s toiletry bags too, so dudes, you can totally clean up your acts.

(via www.thegreenset.com)