Living Well, Living Green: Eco-Luxury Guilt-Free Pleasure

By RachelSarnoffGuest Blogger(view all posts by RachelSarnoff)
at 8:45AM Sunday February 14, 2010
under Shop Smarter

When Linda Loudermilk trademarked the term "luxury eco" in 2002, luxury was all about couture-branded labels; eco meant wearing Birkenstocks and bad hemp.

Eight years later, Linda's personal crusade to fill closets with gorgeous clothes that are as sustainable as they are luxurious has inspired a whole host of designers. Some emerged from the navel-gazing world of haute couture where fur is still in fashion; some came up as treehuggers and realized there had to be more to eco-fabric than bamboo jersey. We're not sure which camp spawned Leanne Marshall, who won "Project Runway" last year with a collection of organic pieces, but she now sells couture skirts at her Etsy shop for $2,500.

And legendary designer Deborah Lindquist, who pioneered the use of recycled fabrics in sustainable fashion, recently introduced spidery, recycled-alpaca, thigh-high tights that retail for $275.

Luxury, indeed.

**You can get Deborah Lindquist thigh-high tights in the EcoStiletto Shop where every purchase donates to charity.

But unlike big-brand couture, eco-luxury doesn't mean expensive for the sake of expense alone. When you buy an eco-luxury product, you're buying something that's typically sewn by hand rather than on an assembly line, crafted from high-quality and eco-friendly materials, designed with the intention of supporting sustainable manufacturing, resources and traditions, and made to last for generations.

You're buying into a concept, not a label.

Case in point: Casey Larkin, whose Mr. Larkin debut collection caught the eye of Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway last year. Casey crafted her newest collection--all triangulated shoulders and sexy, plunging necklines at Shopflick this spring--in sustainable fabrics that she hand dyes with Japanese maple leaves collected near her home in Berkeley, CA. Talk about labor intensive.

**During the week of 4/19, EcoStiletto members can win $100 good towards any purchase in the Mr. Larkin Shopflick store.**

Or Leila Hafzi, a designer based in Norway who created a fair trade project in Nepal to manufacture ridiculously gorgeous silk cocktail and evening gowns hand-painted with environmentally friendly dyes, which are finally—finally!—available stateside at EcoCitizen. We previewed Leila's Fall 2009 collection at the EcoStiletto One-Year Anniversary Party last year, where eco-celebs like Josie Maran, Sarah Jane Morris, Rachelle Carson-Begley and Anna Getty wore her designs on the green carpet.

**During the week of 4/19, EcoStiletto members can win $100 good towards any purchase in the Leila Hafzi EcoCitizen store.**

Can't afford to invest? DIY your eco-luxury! Alabama Chanin's local artisans use organic and recycled materials to reverse-appliqué, visible stitch and embroider gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, heritage-quality t-shirts that retail for $250, but for $49, buy you can make your own with a DIY Kit or follow the instructions in the Alabama Stitch Book (Alabama Studio Style will debut in March).

**During the week of 4/19, Two EcoStiletto members will an Alabama Chanin DIY Eagle T-Shirt kit and signed Alabama Studio Style book valued at $84.**

Of course, nothing says luxury like jewels. But once you know about the cyanide used to mine gold and the child labor employed to source gems, it becomes astoundingly clear that luxury jewelry production is nobody's best friend. That's why the most exciting developments in jewelry design are small manufacturers who use recycled metals and fair-trade gems to create gorgeous pieces that can go toe to sustainably-stiletto'd toe with any luxury brand on the red carpet.

**During the week of 5/3, EcoStiletto members can win Christine Mighion Pink Peruvian Opal Drop Earrings worth $90.**

In the past, we've written about Alkemie and Melissa Joy Manning--both of whom produce collections that regularly make us drool—but we're equally excited about new discoveries like the uber-feminine Lustre collection from Christine Mighion and the nature-meets-modern interpretations of okomido. Both designers work exclusively in recycled metals and sustainably sourced stones, which deliver all the luxury you can handle--without the guilt.

**During the week of 5/10, EcoStiletto members can win okomido recycled silver vineyard stacking ring worth $130.**

P.S. Living the eco-luxe life? Our new EcoStiletto SHOP features Areaware show-worthy sustainable wood flashlights, carbon negative Vers Audio's AM/FM/iPod alarm clock and Luxe Essentials organic spa products that bring the eco-luxury concept into every room of your house.

**From 2/8-3/8, get 20% off Versaudio when you use the code "stiletto" at checkout. And during the week of 5/3, two EcoStiletto members will an $80 Areaware flashlight and the week of 5/10, one member will win $100 worth of Luxe Essential Spa Products.**

Savings.com Green Guru Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is a writer, producer and marketing consultant who focuses on sustainable fashion, beauty, lifestyle and parenting--and the creator of EcoStiletto.com, an online magazine which explains, in real-girl terms, how eco-friendly choices can help turn your carbon footprint from a ginormous Ugg into an oh-so-slender Manolo.