An all-white Monday Treat!

by Naomi

This one is short and sweet - a pretty dress that's perfect for the summer. The Pan Dress is fairly traded, with hand-knotted macrame straps a trade union in Gujarat, north east India. It's £69, available from Ascension.

Have a great week! x

Facts: fairly traded Pan Dress from Ascension.

Johari launches on ASOS

by Naomi

Beautiful limited edition summer clothes - sound good? It is!

Johari's philosophy is that fashion should be ethical, stylish and beautiful - we like! And even better, they have just opened an ASOS boutique.

Guest designer Julia Smith has come up with some great versatile designs that are perfect for any summer occasion. What's more, every piece is handmade in Kenya by the brand's very own social enterprise - feelgood fashion at its best!

Now I'm not generally a casual girl (permanently overdressed is my regular get-up) but I have a serious soft spot for these Masai designs.

Green Nzuri T-shirt £18

Johari Neema Dress - £30

 Got a summer of weddings, dinner dates, drinks with the girls and perhaps even a trip to the races? Then look no further - these dresses will help you rock them all! 




Johari Kilele Kimono Dress - £45

Johari Green Ra Ra Dress - £50

 

Check out the Johari ASOS boutique here and see the Johari website here. 

Facts: Johari ASOS Boutique. Pieces handmade in Kenya supporting social enterprise. Made from cotton and polyester.

Wardrobe hero - Go nuts for Monkee Genes!

By Lorna

The old scool theory that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes (Pareto principle 1906) is certainly true in my wardrobe.. I definitely wear 20% of my clothes about 80% of the time!

Of course, it's lovely to have that awesome vintage dress/suit you picked up from that amazing Aladdin's cave shop, for a special party. For normal life however, we all have our Wardrobe Heros! This is the first blog I've written about about a wardrobe hero (there will be more)... I've decided that to qualify for this prestigious title, they must be ethical (obvs), must have been worn for six months, still look great and must be a key item (one of my 20%) This strict set of rules means you can truely trust my tried and tested opinion!

I can honestly say my fav pair of organic cotton black skinny Monkee Genes tick ALL boxes! They look great, still fit really well (despite frequent washing), have not faded in colour (as many high street jeans do) and I wear them to DEATH. Seriously.... I think I have a problem. They look great with tees, with jersey dresses over, with shirts, as leggings, etc etc.. they are my 'go-to' work outfit. I bought them for £50 from Topshop on Oxford Street (London) but they have their own website showcasing lots more lovely basic and fashion forward styles for guys and girls!

Skinnys have been the KEY shape for Denim for a long time now but as the 70s trend continues to grow in strength this summer, bootcut and Flares are getting more and more popular. Luckily the lovely (and ridiculously cool) people at Monkee Genes have got it all under control..

If I was to buy another pair now, I'd probably buy the organic lightweight chino jeans, chinos are big news at the mo, perfect for work and play!


Check out these fab WARDROBE HEROS here

Facts: Monkey Genes, awesome jeans, eco, organic cotton, £50, unisex

A fashion-fabulous health conscious Monday treat!

by Naomi

Wow - what beautiful sunshine this weekend brought us Brits! Everyone was out enjoying the heat and delving back into their summer wardrobes for the first time.

The sunshine always inspires me to try and get fit (try being the operative word!) and be a bit healthier in my lifestyle, so it's quite timely that this week's Monday post is about two new collections supporting some important health campaigns.

H&M's soon-to-launch Fashion Against Aids 2011 collection will be hitting shops on April 26, and is all about the androgynous street style mixed with casual essentials. 

Lots of celebs are supporting the campaign, including Keri Hilson, Selma Blair, Penn Badgley, Akon, Ginnifer Goodwin and the Scissor Sisters, and 25% of the sales are being donated to the charity Designers Against AIDS (DAA) and various other international HIV/AIDS prevention projects.


Ginnifer Goodwin (T-shirt £19.99)

 

Keri Hilson (Jumpsuit - £29.99)

Some of the pieces certainly aren't for the faint of fashion-heart, but that's kind of the way we like it here at Eco Goddess! The great thing about the collection is that it incorporates designs for those that want to wear their heart on their sleeve, and stylish essentials for those that just want fashion that gives to a good cause!

So you can say it loud and proud...

Vest - £6.99

 Or just have a warm glow in your heart knowing you have made a difference and got a lovely item of clothing at the same time...


Trench Coat - £34.99


There are plenty of pieces for the boyshapes and girlshapes as each design has been interpreted into menswear and womenswear.


Penn Badgley (Hooded Jacket £24.99, Scarf £6.99)


The new limited edition Tommy Hilfiger bag, supporting Breast Health International, has also just been launched, with Renée Zellweger as the face of this year's campaign. Made from vegetable-tanned leather, with a soft suede finish, it is the perfect everday bag, and €100 from each sale will be donated to the Fund for Living, supporting those affected by breast cancer.


Plenty of food for thought! -x-

Facts: Fashion - health campaigns; Fashion Against Aids and H&M - available from April 26; Tommy Hilfiger and Breast Health International, limited-edition handbag made from vegetable-tanned leather.

London Fashion Week! Vivienne Westwood sees RED...

By Lorna

If you ask any fashion student/designer (myself included) which designers they are most inspired by and Vivienne Westwood is sure to come pretty high up the list. An extravaganza of colour, volume and textural experimentation is evident but behind the showmanship of the collections lie Westwood's anarchistic punk roots.

Even now, with international acclaim, Westwood uses her skills and notoriety to continually highlight and protest ethical issues. For A/W 2008 a model walked with a placard protesting for the rights of Guantánamo Bay prisoners and Westwood took her bow in a blouse covered in protest badges. Also in the collection was a famous pair of orange pants (reminiscent of the fluorescent orange jumpsuits worn by detainees at the U.S. prison camp) with the slogan 'FAIR TRIAL - MY ARSE' 

For SS/11 Westwood worked with the International Trade Centre's Ethical Fashion Program of the United Nations to make oversized recycled eco tote bags. Handmade in Nairobi, these bags are made from recycled materials by marginalized communities of women. The Ethical Fashion Program supports the work of over 7000 women who live in conditions of extreme poverty but who have a strong desire to improve their lives.

Also for S/S11 Westwood has designed a stunning heart necklace for the charity Reprieve - who use the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay, they provide frontline investigation and legal representation to prisoners held outside the rule of law around the world. 

This week at London Fashion Week is no exception; Westwood has teamed up with Red Nose Day to design a range of 100 per cent Fairtrade organic cotton charity t-shirts to raise money. The t-shirts feature classic prints with bright red noses and are now available at TK Maxx from £9.99. Whilst not all her garments are organic/fairtrade, Westwood is certainly a fiesty woman who stands up for what she believes in and ensures her collections do the same. Bravo Dame Viv!!

Facts: Vivienne Westwood is a legend! 2011 Westwood Red nose organic cotton T-shirts £9.99
Learn more about International Trade Centre's Ethical Fashion Program here
Buy a Westwood Red Nose Tee here 
Buy a Westwood Eco tote or Reprieve necklace here

Monsoon launches L.O.V.E collection at LFW!

by Naomi

Monsoon has just launched a new ethical and sustainable collection, called L.O.V.E at London Fashion Week! The sponsors of LFW's eco/ethical exhibition, Esthetica, Monsoon are already kind of up there on their ethical policy and now they have a dedicated collection!

Featuring recycled materials, Indian crafts and organic fabrics the first collection is boho-tastic, here is a little snippet:





Pradesh Dress, organic cotton, traditional hand-crafted woodblock print, £190. Delhi Top, organic cotton, hand-sewn mother of pearl bib, £150.

These floaty numbers have got me fantasising about summer holidays spent on the beach and those lovely warm evenings spent in the pub!

See the rest of the collection here.

H&M to launch new eco collection!

by Naomi

Just a very quick one to report the super-exciting news that H&M is set to launch a long-term sustainable range. Yippee!

It will be called Conscious Collection (a follow-up to the Garden Collection of last year which Lorna and I loved) and will include materials such as Tencel, recycled polyester and organic cotton. The womenswear range will be romantic, with blouses and tunics, and oodles of Broderie Anglaise and frills, whilst the menswear will feature a preppy look with blazers and collarless shirts. 

Judging by the pics (all courtesy of H&M), it is not a range for those clumsy with the red wine - but then white clothes are just a good excuse to stick to Champagne!

Conscious Collection will be up for grabs in EVERY H&M store from April 14.

H&M head of design Ann-Sofie Johansson commented on the launch:

“It’s not just about organic cotton any more, the possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what’s possible using more sustainable fabrics.”

Looks and sounds HOT. I am excited. And that rarely happens on a Thursday.

 Facts: H&M, new sustainable range 2011, Conscious Collection: Tencel, organic cotton, recycled polyester.

Attention please!

by Naomi.

I would just like to say....

I LOVE this H&M dress! 100% recycled polyester. £14.99. What else needs to be said?

Only one thing left to decide.....

Cornflower blue...

or sunshine yellow?

Decisions decisions....

Facts: H&M summer ruffle dress, 100% recycled polyester £14.99.

Free beauty bible alert!

by Naomi

Cosmetics lovers around the UK - get yourselves down to a branch of Boots! Une cosmetics has teamed up with Beauty Bible to offer a free copy of 'The Green Beauty Bible' when you spend over £15 on the range.

If you aren't familiar with it, Une makes beauty products using natural and organic ingredients and with eco-friendly packaging. Every product in the range of 20 is from at least 98 per cent natural origin and 14 of them are Ecocert certified. Une's ethos is to help make the most of natural beauty, so its shades are quite muted - lots of lovely nudes, browns and pinks!

'The Green Beauty Bible' is written by beauty journalists Josephine Fairley and Sarah Stacey who promise to "tell you everything we know about naturally gorgeous; how to live, feel and look healthy and beautiful in a more sustainable, eco-friendly way." 

This includes: tips, interviews with 'green goddess', Tried & Tested consumer surveys based on the opinions of over 1,050 testers, covering 44 categories from natural ‘miracle’ creams to mascara, shampoo to deodorant, from nearly 100 brands. Hhhmmm - sounds promising!

It has received pretty good reviews on Amazon and I have been wanting to try the Une range for a while, so I will be heading to Boots to get my hands on some goodies this week!

If you have already taken advantage of this offer, let me know what you think of the book (and products!)
xx

Facts: Une Beauty: spend £15 on products and get The Green Beauty Bible free at Boots. Une Beauty: Ecocert, sustainable practices, eco-friendly packaging, natural and organic ingredients.

Bbbrrrrrrr....wrap up this Christmas with gorgeous knitwear

by Naomi

In my opinion sexy boots and scrumptious knitwear are two of the most important fashion saviours in the cold weather, and as Lorna has so wonderfully covered the former below, I am here to bring you a delightful selection of the latter. Warning: you will want to purchase and wrap up in all of these!

There is something eternally girly about bows - I can't get enough of them! 

Hand-Knitted Bow Scarf by Emmadime, £30 from Miki Organic.

Camilla Norrback Trompe L'Oeil Bow Jumper Dress,  £60 from Fashion Conscience.

Alpine prints are really hot...and these will keep you warm! Plus, they can't help but make you feel festive (and want a cameo in Wham's Last Christmas video...or is that just me?!)

Nordic Vintage Tunic by Lowie, £210.

Nordic Vintage Fingerless gloves by Lowie, £38.

Nordic Vintage earmuffs by Lowie, £38.

People Tree Fairisle Fair Trade Cardigan £92.

Last but by no means least, no-one can feel the winter blues whilst wearing a cape - it defies the laws of science...or at least the laws of wonderful knitwear.

Hooded Cable Cape by Lowie, £178.

Faux Fur Collar Cape by Tara Starlet

Facts: gorgeous organic, eco and ethical knitwear by Emmadime, Camilla Norrback, Lowie, People Tree and Tara Starlet. Perfect for winter!

Get rockin in organic cotton...our number 5

by Naomi

From sturdy jeans and classic shirts to soft jersey tops and summer sundresses, nothing offers us wardrobe versatility like cotton; it washes well, wears well and can be layered and layered and layered and, well you get the picture. So at number 5 in our Top 10 Organic Finds is organic cotton.

Yes it is quite a big one, because buying organic cotton is one of the main things we can do as shoppers to help limit our environmental and social impact. Fortunately there are lots of brands making gorgeous organic pieces, which makes it easy peasy!

People Tree is a great go-to for organic cotton - just check these lovelies!

Fab for autumn, the Organic Cotton Jersey Cardigan is down from £30 to a bargainous £18! I am in love with the Organic Cotton Carrot Leg trousers which have just the right amount of draping (you don't want to look like you're wearing a parachute after all). They are down from £50 to £30. Both are available at Asos.com

And you can add to your winter wardrobe with preppy designs from the recently launched Emma Watson A/W 2010 collection:

Top £26, harem trousers £42.

Organic cotton can be found across lots of other things from swimwear, bed linen to cotton wool, so keep an eye out next time you are doing some retail therapy!


Naomi x


Facts: organic cotton: People Tree, ASOS, Emma Watson collection.

Happy Easter! Happy Ascension!

By Lorna

To help us celebrate the Easter hols the lovely people at Ascension have given us 15% off EVERYTHING!!! Awesome! Just treat yourself and your loved ones to a little present and enter the code EASTER15 at the check out. Easy peasy.


Better for you than chocolate eggs!!.... although I will be lying if I am not tempted to tuck into a few Green & Black organic ones! YUM!


Happy Easter from EcoGoddess!  x


www.ascensiononline.com