Natalie Portman's eco-friendly ring

Images: Getty Images/ WireImage.

With the weekly bombardment of celebrity engagement news, there's one eco-friendly story that's stayed in the headlines.

Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman received a ring studded with antique, conflict-free diamonds surrounded by recycled platinum metal from her fiancé and Black Swan co-star Benjamin Millepied.

'Antique' and 'recycled' are key terms in our eco-vocabulary, but conflict-free diamonds are a major issue as countries deal with wars centered around bankable natural resources. Remember fair trade is an important asset in making sure the world goes round peacefully. 

My post on conflict-free diamonds and other valuable ecojewelry terms. 

This season's eco-fashion pieces @ H+M

As the spring/summer fashion season approaches us, H+M revealed their advertisements for its eco-fashion line.

From organic cotton sweaters to recycled fabric dresses, H+M prides itself in being one of the only major apparel corporations to offer eco-fashion choices to the masses. 

The sustainable clothing line below will be offered at all stores worldwide. 

Emma Watson's People Tree collection debut

Taking the eco-fashion arena by the reins, actress Emma Watson has already produced two collections with the U.K.-based People Tree, a sustainable, fair trade, and organic fashion company.

Her third collection for the spring/summer season debuted today online. A lot of black, a lot of white, but those are the pieces that remain timeless. 

Organic, fair trade cotton is the dominant fabric in the collection. Check out some pieces below.

Becky Harems, ~$66, peopletree.co.uk.

Sophie Dot Skirt, ~$108, peopletree.co.uk.

Sasha Drape Dress, ~$76, peopletree.co.uk.

Green beauty school

With fashion schools developing curriculums surrounding eco-fashion, beauty schools may also be following suit.

The Green Beauty School offers celebrity-inspired makeup styling skills with the use of natural cosmetics.

Natural cosmetics promote healthier and clearer skin since chemicals in makeup can irritate the pores. Some eco-friendly ingredients include fruit oils, carnauba wax, shea butter, and vitamins.

Eco-spotlight: Andira Raintees

Eco-fashion and charity is a double dose of goodness, and lucky for us, there are several companies that give back. Andira Raintees is one of them. 

In 2007, Beth Doane started the company to spread of eco-fashion awareness and save the Amazon rain forests from destruction. 

Showcasing colorful designs with nature in mind, the tees will be fun to wear with the warmer weather sweeping in.

Faux fur vs. real fur: the greener choice

Is fur a green fashion source?

Eco-fashion is rising to become an important aspect in an industry where it's difficult to use ethical resources. Conventional cotton uses pesticides, so we prefer organic cotton. But when it comes to animals, things change.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We have ahimsa or peace silk that's taken after a silkworm finishes its life cycle. We have organic wool that's taken from sheep, alpaca, goats, and other animals that were not exposed to pesticides. But for fur, the ecological choice is faux fur. But is this the right choice?


Usually made from various petrochemicals, faux fur is made up of synthetic fibers. Most synthetic materials are made from chemicals, yet still considered to be better eco-choices because they're fake. 


Real fur comes from animals without their permission, going against the odds of ethical fashion. Do we have the right to take this creature's fur? No, but we do. Real fur may be eco-friendlier than faux fur since it's naturally occurring and sustainable as in we use the resources available to us.

It's a technical debate as in many topics within eco-fashion that falls under the umbrella of ethical fashion. Things depend on what's considered to be ethical and who makes these considerations. 



Fur is Green is a pro-website for fur as an eco-fashion material. It also explores the separate debate of killing and using the furs of invasive species whose populations grew too large to the point the environment is suffering.


Do we still have the right to decimate a certain population because it's messing up the water resource in an area? Or do we just send the invasive species back to the homeland and hope they can re-adapt there? Though this practice seems to be sound now, it could lead to the foreign, overpopulated communities turning into endangered species.

As two major clothing materials, fur and leather falls in the middle of the dispute whether they're eco-fashion or their chemically-created faux counterparts are.

Golden Globes 2011 best fashion

After viewing the many slideshows focused on the fashion worn at last night's award shows, I noticed discrepancies with the best dressed and the worst dressed lists. 

Truthfully, the night was filled with a lot of misses. Plunging necklines with unflattering cleavages, dress color matching the skin tone and/or hair color slightly too much, and the overdone sparkle of retro-looking dresses were all crimes committed last night. 

I had to put my own little thing together. Here's a list of the more acceptable clothing though you might notice there were very few colors considered red carpet hot this season.

Images: Getty/AP

ECO-FASHION SIDE: Colin Firth, who won Best Actor for "The King's Speech", attended the ceremony with his wife, Livia. She wore an ahimsa or peace silk dress designed by Prophetik. Ahimsa or peace silk comes from silkworms who finished their life cycles.

With the dresses above, those were the best, and some other actresses wore similar gowns while most fell completely short. So now it's all about finding the eco-fashionable versions of these dresses when the knockoffs come to a department store near us soon. Or maybe there's vintage lookalikes hanging in some consignment shop window.

Cute vegan ballet flats @ Forever 21

For those days when your heels need a rest, ballet flats are the best companions. They fit around your foot flawlessly and remain comfortable throughout the day. 

Ethnic Print Flats, $20.80, forever21.com

 Though it's cold outside, the weather's not too bad to wear some flats with transparent knee-highs or ankle socks. Forever 21 had some of the more unique patterned choices available this season at a reasonable price. 

Cute Satin Flats, $22.80, forever21.com

I have a very similar pair of leopard-print flats that I bought from their competitor, Charlotte Russe, that's still in great condition after five years, and I wear them a little too often. So these flats will definitely be durable and stylish all year round.

Studded Velvet Flats, $19.80, forever21.com

Eco-spotlight: eco-artware.com

For an extensive collection of unique eco-friendly jewelry, check out eco-artware.com. 

The gallery showcases one-of-a-kind pieces that give life to forgotten beads and recycled paper and other materials you wouldn't think to refashion into eco-fashion. 

Totes and furniture are some of the other features the virtual gallery offers. 

Eco-fashion eye candy #5

Zip-up sweater jackets create the comfort zone for wintry days spent inside. 

This organic cotton hoodie from BTC Elements shines from the bright forest green hue to the trendy zipper design.  

My wonderful post on eco-friendly zip-up sweater jackets.

Goodwill hunting #4

After a relaxing holiday break, I'm still trying to get back on my regular schedule. But while hanging around home last weekend, I found time to venture the local thrift shops.

J.Crew Yellow City Fit Pants, $4

This pair of hot yellow short pants is perfect for the warm spring and summer days that will hopefully appear sooner than later. And the 'city fit' title actually makes me imagine myself sashaying in these pants on the glamorous city sidewalks.

Banana Republic Martin Beige Slacks, $4

Beige business slacks match pretty much with everything, so having a trendy pair in the closet is a plus. The multi-lined waistband sticks out since the detail is fun and classy at the same time. Cute back pockets do matter.

Vintage Purple Bead Bracelet, $3

Purple is my power color, so when I peered at this number in the glass case, I had to have it. The light purple beads from large to small definitely made the piece look timelessly dramatic. It's a stretch band, making the bracelet conveniently stick to the wrist.

Stone Charm Bracelet, $3

I love real stones as much as the next girl, and this piece may look cheap from the wire, but the coldness of the stones awakened my interest. I'm thinking of removing the tiger eye and garnet stones off the chain and maybe place them in a bracelet or necklace or a pair of earrings. Creating new masterpieces with old pieces keeps your style stay original.

Vintage Butterfly Earrings, $2.50

There's something about butterflies. These vintage earrings seemed like a fun piece of jewelry that could go with any outfit. In fact, I debuted them today. The gold wire, pearl-like beads, and detailed butterfly charms give the earrings a nice old-fashioned yet current flair.

Rummaging for good deals is not always concentrated on the search for clothes and accessories. A retro eco-activism book is still technically in style. Rik Scarce's 'Eco-Warriors: Understanding the Radical Environmental Movement' from 1990 is now on my never-ending list of must-reads.