A beautiful boutique

by Naomi

I discovered a great ethical find, whilst in the gorgeous city of York (which is really worth a visit!).

I don't think I would have chanced upon it, had I not got completely lost, but I'm glad I did!

Tucked away down a cobbled side street is......

the One Responsibly Gorgeous Ethical Boutique.

It is bursting at the seams with lovely ethical treats. My heart skipped a beat when I spied a stunning cropped bustier by Deborah Lindquist, made from vintage kimono material. It was delicious.

I couldn't find similar online, but the brand does some pretty cool other bits including this sexy Racquel shredded organic cotton t-shirt at $160.

I was also hankering after the jewellery by Kate Hamilton Hunter and Just Trade, and the clothing by Patchouli Fair.

They also have a website here, if you can't get to York anytime soon!

xx

TREND ALERT...Go wild with Navajo eco style!

By Lorna

Dressing 'eco' or 'ethically aware' can sometimes mean we miss key fashion trends - but with our new TREND ALERT posts we will be scouring the eco fashion world to make ECO GODDESS your one-stop site for fashion led product. The key is choosing products that looks cool, will support communities and will last. 
Global Traveller, Go Wild, Navajo Style... whatever the 'catchphrase' this trend is here to stay! It's a buzzword for both Spring/Summer 2012 and Autumn/Winter 2013 (which we are now designing at work) so buying into one of these lush Melie Bianco vegan duffle bags at £75 will see you through...
Enjoy! x


Available here
Facts: Melie Bianco bags at £75, Vegan Duffle Bag, Ethical, Navajo, Eco, WIld, Western

BITCHING AND JUNKFOOD.... x

By Lorna
Apologies, Eco goddesses for my recent hiatus from blogging. I'm blaming it on flat hunting/moving house/ no internet and going to far too many weddings this month to count! But fear not, I am back with a vengeance... bringing you some RIDICULOUSLY cool denim shorts from East London label BITCHING AND JUNKFOOD. If you remember 90s grunge with a fondness or you've ever thought Alice Dellah looked cool... you are going to L-O-V-E these 'remade' bad boys!!!!!!

Alice Dellah - Model

Snakeskin Cross Shorts

Studded Ripped Shorts

Facts: Remade, Vintage, Studded, Denim, Snakeskin, Bitching and Junkfood £80 from Urban Outfitters 

Some delicious autumn classics

by Naomi

With every new collection my love for Stella McCartney's label grows. Today I am going to show you three reasons for that love:



1 - Stella McCartney Dark Grey Charcoal Front Pleated Dress £575.



2 - Stella McCartney Peplum Long Sleeve Top £310.



3 - Stella McCartney Ipsen Patent Pump £445.


Beautiful eco fashion that can be worn in lots of different ways: Stella McCartney = perfection! I also LOVE the sizzling lace Stella McCartney dress that Rihanna wore here. Wow!

x

Facts: Stella McCartney Autumn classics - find out more about the label's eco policies here.

A free underwear Monday treat!

by Naomi

Fancy getting your hands on some funky new underwear? Read on!

We are launching an offer specifically for you Eco Goddesses, courtesy of the lovely peeps at PACT. The first 10 of you to enter the code ecogoddess1 will receive a free - yes FREE - pair of PACT pants! And for those of you that miss out on this, the code ecogoddess2 will get you a cheeky 25% off!

PACT donates 10 per cent of sales to environmental causes including the Sierra Club, Forest Ethics and Oceana. It uses organic cotton and manufactures responsibly. 
Well they do say that change starts at the bottom. Ahem.

Speaking of which, here is a sneak peek at some of the brand's designs for your derrière!

Get your hands some PACT undies here - just enter the code at the checkout!

Facts: PACT underwear, exclusive offer: free pair for first 10 customers and 25% off afterwards, subject to availability. PACT supports environmental causes. Offer does not include P&P.

Vintage Vixens - get your fill at Tasty Vintage!

by Naomi

If you are a lover of all things vintage and ever have the excuse to visit the lovely city of Lincoln, it's well worth making a stop at Tasty Vintage.

I came across this little jewel of a shop last week and spent a considerable amount of time 'ooohing' and 'aaahhhing' at the beautiful collection that its owner, and official Vintage Vixen Harriet has curated.

It is truly a den of fashion delights, with everything from 50s a-line dresses to lacy 80s gowns and a host of accessories that will make you feel giddy (although that could also have something to do with the climb up Steep Hill!). And after indulging your inner vixen, take your pick of the nearby tea rooms and put your feet up for a while!

And if you can't get to Lincoln - fear not! Tasty Vintage is also online here. Hooray!!

Facts: Lincoln vintage boutique, Tasty Vintage on Steep Hill. Owned by Harriet.

Fashionable Animals - Conservations Dirty Secret

By Lorna

Panda are fashionable! Apparently. This is just a quick post to share with you lovely 'ethically minded' friends a massively interesting program which was just on TV. Conservations Dirty Secret by Dispatches looked into the truth behind the worlds largest (and smaller) conservation companies/ NGOS. Whilst you can 'feel' like you are doing a good thing supporting conservation, this program explored first hand in Africa (and beyond) whether the impact they have is ultimately positive to maintaining our world. seriously interesting!!! If you have ever been tempted to 'adopt a fashionable animal' check it out online here 

A holiday must-have Monday treat

by Naomi

So I just got back from an absolutely gorgeous wedding in Sardinia, and wanted to share a little beauty find that has become an essential for holidays...

Being something of a sun-bunny (when I get the chance!) I am always on the look out for good moisturisers to keep my skin peachy on holiday. I do love Body Shop Body Butters - particularly coconut which smells like holidays in a pot! - but sometimes you need something a little lighter as well.

And so on this balmy Monday evening, I bring you Steam Cream!

It is an all-in-one moisturiser that smells yummy, due to the fact that it is made from natural, vegan ingredients like lavender oil, orange flower water, almond oil, rose oil. It is very concentrated - a little goes a long way - but absorbs quickly. It can be used on hands, face and body, and comes in handy 75g reusable tins - which means no more trying to cram loads of different products into your hand luggage allowance!

Oh and did I mention the tins look like this?!

There are also some pretty sexy designer tins by the likes of PPQ and it will only set you back £10 a pot (at time of posting there are some even cheaper on ASOS!).

Stockists include Boots, ASOS, John Lewis, Fenwicks, Selfridges and Oliver Bonas - alternatively a full list of stockists can be found here.

P.S. If you are going abroad on your hols, don't forget there are things you can do to make it a more environmentally-friendly adventure such as offsetting your carbon if you are going somewhere that requires flying.

Have a great week!

x

Facts: Steam Cream: vegan and natural, versatile moisturiser. Designer reusable tins, essential oils.

TOMS launches Eyewear!!

By Lorna

You know TOMS shoes right? They're the espadrille style shoes stocked in Office. When you buy one pair of TOMS, they also give one to a child in need. Shoes protect these kids from tons of diseases and such a simple idea is saving lives globally. Having reached the massive milestone of 1million pairs given out, TOMS have turned their attention to a new way of addressing a global need - EYEWEAR. TOMS is no longer a shoe company it is now a One for One company. You buy one pair of their sunglasses, someone in the world gets their sight back. Its as simple and effective as that. Truly an amazing example of corporate philanthropy! (I wish I had thought of it!) These 'Classics 101' are my fav...

If you want to read more about how this project came about here is Blake's (the genius behind TOMS) blog post explaining in his very own words... enjoy and feel inspired!

FACTS: One for One Company, TOMS, EYEWEAR, SHOES, CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY 

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.

A slightly delayed Monday treat!

by Naomi

Yes...I know....it's been a while. Unfortunately or fortunately the last few Mondays have been super busy and I haven't had the chance to post! But I am here at last!

So today I am posting about what Ecogoddess did on one of the aforementioned Mondays! In our neck of the woods, the first Bank Holiday Monday in May means one thing: Stilton Cheeserolling!

It's not the high adrenalin break-your-neck-and-legs event that those crazy Gloucester folk partake in. It does involve rolling cheese down a hill (well wood painted like cheese), but as what constitutes for a hill in these flat fens is what other people would look at as a gentle slope, it is much more..... laid back! It does however require fancy dress and is part of an all-round huge fete which the entire village and surrounding villages turn out for.

After a hugely successful trial run last year, raising money for the EJF, this year Lorna and I ran our second charity bake sale. This year, it was to raise much needed funds for The Mustard Seed Project, which works to empower the people of a slum community in Mombasa.

We spent the weekend baking and icing and by the time we had finished, we had 180ish cupcakes, three traybakes, one loaf cake, 8 jars of chutney and lots of vanilla cookies and shortbread! We also sold some jewellery made out in Africa.

The pics here were taken after we had sold most of our cakes, but you can get an idea! We dressed the stand in ribbon and kitsch patterned fabric and tablecloths, and put cupcakes on pretty plates and cake stands.

The sun was shining and the fete-goers were loving cake - we sold out by around 2.30pm (which meant we could go and enjoy a nice cider in the sunshine!) After deducting costs, we raised a wonderful £310!

If you are thinking of doing your own charity bake sale, here are a few of our top tips:

• Presentation is everything - there were plenty of other stands selling cake and cupcakes, but our extra effort in dressing the stand and decorating the cakes attracted a lot of customers.
• Mix it up a bit - flavours should offer the classic favourites, but also something a little unusual. We did classics like Maple & Pecan, Coffee & Walnut and Carrot Cupcake, but also Oreo Cupcakes with a cookie at the bottom, Chocolate & Banana Loaf Cake, Lemon Cheesecake with a lemon curd centre, and Strawberry Cream Cupcakes with a jam centre and cream cheese frosting. Make flavours they can't resist!
• Know your audience - we tailored the cakes to appeal to both children, teenagers and adults. Some of the cupcakes were smaller, and so more manageable for children. We also did a rainbow sponge cupcake with bright glitter icing to appeal to kids and big kids! Not everyone likes chocolate or a huge amount of buttercream icing, so we did more grown-up flavours like Mocha, Lemon Drizzle and Orange Drizzle.
• Price it right! We needed to make a good profit over our costs, and knew that visitors would have varying amounts of money to spend. We sold little cookies at 25p each, then smaller cupcakes and slices of traybake at £1, and large deluxe cupcakes at £1.50.

Overall it was a great success and something we hope to repeat. We would love to hear about your bake sale experiences and any fundraising ideas!

Facts: Bank Holiday bake sale for the Mustard Seed Project. Cakes and cupcakes made from organic, fairtrade and free range ingredients.

This Weekend- Ethical Fashion Sample Sale @ Truman Brewery

By Lorna

Definitely worth a trip to the big smoke! I went to this eco sample sale a couple of years ago and it was brilliant! Got lots of lovely eco bargains (for myself and for presents), supported young brands and got to know some great new ones. See you there!!

Facts: 20th-23rd May 2011, Truman Brewery, Ethical Fashion Sample Sale, Howies, Komodo, Kuyichi, Outsider, Julia Smith, Biblico 

Tribal Heaven!

By Lorna


Just a quickie to say I'm totally digging this Tribal print jersey dress from People Tree. £35 Lush!!

You can check it here
Facts: Certified Cotton, Tribal print, Fairtrade, £35, People Tree, Hot!

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