In our ongoing series, Green Your Closet 2008, we’ve explored how to lessen the environmental impact of your wardrobe by recycling clothing, laundering your garments properly, and finding affordable eco fashion. In this installment, we’re gonna show you how you can save your soles and accept a cobbler as your personal friend and savior. Yes, it is nearly a religious experience to resurrect your favorite pair of McCartneys, Miu Mius, or Merrells at your local shoe repair shop. You can transform shoes so beaten down by years of abuse they could be lost to a landfill, into fresh, clean kicks ready for another three years of blissful wear. Heavenly, I tell you.

So, where to begin? Your closet, of course. Do you any boots that could use a resoling or side zippers that need to be replaced? Maybe a strap has popped out of the sole of your favorite sandals and needs to be reanchored, or a dingy pair of Adidas needs a fresh pair of shoelaces to make them wearable again. Be aware that some fine, service-oriented companies like Mohop, may repair them for you. If you think your shoes fall into the Mom-And-Pop, luxury, or handmade categories, check their website to see if they’ll do the repairs in-house. Otherwise, you’ll need to find a quality cobbler near you. Use the Shoe Service Institute of America’s shoe repair shop locator. Just enter your zipcode and SSIA will serve you up a list of experienced solesavers in your neck of the woods.

It’s true there’s no more virtuous choice, environmentally-speaking, than making good with what you’ve already got. The second best option is to get high quality shoes on consignment. Consignment shops like Couture USA and Rodeo Drive Resale offer lightly used, designer goods at a fraction of the price. Jimmy Choo, here we come! Thankfully, there’s more and more high-quality sustainable shoe manufacturers coming online each season. Green Toe by Simple, Terra Plana, and Charmone are all companies dedicated to seeking out the most sustainable materials and manufacturing methods possible, while still managing to serve up up a healthy dose of style. Now if you only buy used or eco fabulous shoes from now on, be kind to them, and repair them for years to come, you may just make it into heaven after all for being so good!

Note how attending Catholic school for only one year in pre-school has affected my take on the eco fashion world. Curious. I could probably use a few Hail Manolos, I mean, Marys. (Darn it.)

Cradle-to-cradle describes a method of manufacturing that is extremely efficient and virtually waste-free. This phrase was coined in the 1970’s by Walter R. Stahel, and popularized in 2002 by McDonough and Braungart, authors of the book, Cradle To Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things. Cradle to cradle manufacturing is the natural evolution of cradle to grave manufacturing; cradle to grave holds companies responsible for disposing of the waste created by their products after they are no longer in use. Cradle to cradle certified production goes one huge step further and creates quality products that can be used, and then either reused or disassembled and recycled or with ease and without creating any waste.

Another level of cradle to cradle production is manufacturing items that are biodegradable and kept free of toxic dyes or materials. This is exactly how the wool for Helen Riegle’s Rain Bag is produced. In 2007, Chris Riegle, Helen’s husband and business partner, heard about a Cradle To Cradle-certified wool flannel made without toxic dyes. He sourced it from the mills of world-reknowned wool producer Pemberton. Helen took the C2C-certified wool and cascaded nickel studs down the strap and gusset, lined it with organic cotton, and trimmed it with PVC-free vegan leather trim to create the Rain Bag. Inside this spacious hobo, she put a zippered pocket, cell phone pocket, and a swivel key clip. The Rain Bag reflects the beautiful synthesis of fashion, function, and sustainable design prevalent in all of Helen Riegle’s collections.

When it comes to sustainable materials, Helen has also experimented with organic cotton, recycled polyester, hemp, recycled leather and micro-suede, which Chris has painstakingly sourced for the line. What’s next for HER? They will soon be incorporating a new Cradle To Cradle-certified material dubbed “eco-intelligent polyester” for the upcoming 2008 Holiday season. Chris explains, “It has been designed to be safely and perpetually used, reclaimed, and reused in high-quality products… not just downcycled into something less…For Spring/Summer 09, we plan to incorporate recycled cotton into several of our signature styles.” HER Design has consistently led the handbag industry in conscious design and remains a shining example of their credo: “Challenge conventions, live responsibly, embrace style.” Sustainability most definitely reigns at Helen Riegle.

I was just enjoying my weekly newsletter installment from the superstars over at White Apricot. Editor Carrie Pollare expressed a thought I’ve been having for the past twelve months or so, she said, “I don’t know about you, but the phrase ‘Green is the New Black’ is getting a little old for me. Sure, I love the sentiment, that eco friendly clothes are becoming as important as black is to all of our wardrobes, but it’s becoming a bit cliché.”

I myself don’t normally spend editorial time ranting about things, but I’m going to take the liberty to second that emotion with the following:

Fashion is about two things: trends of the moment and timeless classics. A trend of the moment must indeed be current, edgy, fresh. A timeless classic is an 80’s hit by Prince, a Gaudi building, or a Chanel handbag-it is so well constructed and so genius, that one never tires of it. The phrase “Green Is The New Black” falls under neither category. It was actually quite bold in 2006 when Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair bravely devoted an entire issue of their magazine to environmental topics and titled his Letter From The Editor “Green is the New Black.” That was 28 long months ago. Since then, we’ve seen numerous articles, books, t-shirts, fashion shows, and tote bags galore trumpeting this duel of hues. “Green Is The New Black” is tired, played out, and stale like Christmas ornaments dangling in the hot July sun. My fashion phenomes, spread the word. Green is fresh, it is vibrant, it is versatile-it is the new classic. Black is black and beautiful and itself. Please free these colors from their identity crisis. Ecologically responsible practices are not a trend, they are a necessity of our times. Green Is The New Sane. Period.

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.