Diane Kennedy Serene Pant

Amy DuFault has been writing about fashion and design for ten years at such publications as Boston Magazine, Coastal Living and Bluefly.com as well as appearing on ABC’s Emmy award-winning Boston news magazine Chronicle and NBC’s Style File as a fashion expert.

Currently she works as lead fashion writer for ecosalon where she writes about trends, news and designers who continue to amaze her.

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I’ve been working in women’s retail for years and because I work with higher-end brands I always get the question, “Why don’t they design for larger women?”

To which I can only shrug my shoulders, uncertain myself.

Thankfully, some sustainable fashion designers are taking the lead and doing it with some great styling as one of the biggest complaints about plus-size clothing is that they always make it frumpy. Maternity moms might be tempted to say the same, but the eco-industry has treated them much better than plus-sized women when it comes to styling, affordability and access.

Designers like Diane Kennedy, Lundstrom and Spun have found the right recipe to flatter even the fullest figure with ruching, bias cuts, wraps dresses and smart layers – looks anyone would want.

A few styling tricks, while you’re here: never cover with more material than you need and once you do find a great line, start building a staple wardrobe with pieces you love and rid yourself of all the frump you don’t.

For more great eco-designers, online shopping sites and venues for plus-sized women, check out a great list at greengrechen.

Its hard to believe summer is almost halfway over!  Here is some good information to help get you though the dog days of summer.

Guide To Finding Safe, Eco-Friendly Sunscreen by David | The Good Human offers a great deal of information about sunscreen and sun protection.  David outlines what a higher SPF really means, UVA verses UVB and some of the chemicals used in these products.  There is also a list of the top five sunscreen recommendations rated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and top five of the least effective sunscreens with a higher health hazard rating.
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Making The Most Out Of Farmer’s Markets by Low Impact Living is a great guide on shopping at your local farmers market.  Farmers markets is one of my favorite places to shop due to the fact that its usually outdoors and the vendors tend to be very passionate about what they have to offer.  Between the coffee kiosk that offers locally roasted, fair trade organic coffee, the oyster booth, and all of the beautiful  local produce, I’m in heaven.
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Organic Food: The Raw Debate Over Benefits of Organic. Is it really beneficial to buy organic food (particularly produce?) Nathalie with Raw Foods Witch gives a balanced overview of organic food complete with the upsides and downsides.  She also offers great tips in case you cannot buy organic produce due to cost or availability.
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Say No To Bottled Water by Green and Clean Mom and Bottled Water Problem: Its not just the bottle by Fake Plastic Fish speaks about the  problems with bottled water that goes beyond the bottle and the waste it causes. You will read that there isn’t a bottled water standard for DEHP, which is a hormone-disrupting phthalate. You will also learn more about the energy it takes to manufacture water in a bottle.
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Eco-Friendly Friday Tips Volume Fifty Five – Dry Cleaning by Focus Organic gives you the scoop on what organic, eco, green or chemical-free dry cleaning really means.  There is also a link to help you find a dry cleaners that uses methods that’s healthier for you and for the environment.
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10 Questions to Help You Declutter by Simple Nest should be your first stop if you need tips on decluttering your home.

Have a great week everyone!

I would like to thank everyone who entered, subscribed, commented, browsed the Naturally Trendy website, Tweeted, blogged, and/or Stumbled.

Please check back for more giveaways in the very near future!

During our short lived gas crisis in the spring of 2008, many people had to put the breaks on driving. Taking public transportation when possible, carpooling to work, telecommuting, reduced work weeks, and so on started to become the norm in many areas. The motivation for these changes were mostly financial. Once gas prices started to come down a bit (I admit, I was very glad) people started to resume their old, familiar habits.

This makes me wonder, when the economy recovers, will cars miraculously grow as they did in the late ‘90s early 2000 with the super sized SUVs?  Will McMansions continue to be the norm in new home building projects?    The accumulation of things (paralytically cheap, disposable items) have started to slow down in  the name of saving money and not running up credit card debt, but will this trend last? When our electronic equipment breaks and its more cost effective to chuck it and buy a new one than it is to fix it, what will we do?

“Americans constitute 5% of the world’s population but consume 24% of the world’s energy” – Mindfully.org

Is it possible to be financially prosperous and live a less wasteful, polluting lifestyle? What could influence change for the long haul?

Organic Soap
Was: $8.00
Now: $6.40

Organic Body Oil
Was: $20.00
Now: $16.00

Organic Bath Salts
Was: $31.00
Now: $24.00

Shop SkinnySinny at Green and Chic

Its about time I spread more love in the blogosphere!

Green Jobs: Where are they? by Low Impact Living offers a large list of  resources to help you find your dream “green job”.  Pass it on to anyone who is looking for work.

How To Compost Without Raising a Stink If you need step-by-step instructions on how to compost without creating a huge barrow of slime (like I did), this post is definitely a good start.

Ever since I found out about the  Pacific Gyre Plastic Trash Island, it frightens me every time see photos or graphs of it. This is a “trash island”  located in the Pacific that’s twice the size of Texas and 30 feet deep.  The Chic Ecologist goes in to how this happened, the problems that its causing and possible clean-up solutions.

Would you like a drink? Gettin’ Crafty in the Kitchen: Infused Vodka gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make delicious vodka infusions. Try it with vanilla bean, basil, cucumber or even garlic! Its simple, creative, inexpensive and delicious!

Are You More Frugal or Green?: Balancing Multiple Goals Which camp do you fall into?  Tyler goes into the trap of being too frugal or cheap at the risk of neglecting green-oriented goals.  He also states that  “…as noble as it may seem to shirk financial gain in favor of saving the world at all cost (forgive the pun), how many people can really sustain such a life?” The question is, how can you strike a balance?

Mountains of the Moon Giveaway by Green Grechen is another fabulous eco-fashion blog giveaway. The contest ends June 28th so hurry!

Inspiring Vertical Gardens for Small Spaces I am a huge fan of unconventional gardens and growing wherever you can.  This post gives you an idea of where and how you can have a garden when you have very little space to work with.

How To Stop Receiving Paper Junk Mail and Save Trees by Money Blue Book gives you a list of resources and websites on how to stop paper junk mail from making its way to your mailbox.

Stay tuned for more giveaways and a Green and Chic price reduction announcement in the weeks ahead.

If you vote, you can chose more than one answer. Please share with us what you are doing, especially if you chose “other”.

At a local green living expo over a year ago, I came across the Eco Touch, Waterless Car Wash booth (also called Eco Touch, Conscious Care Care). My curiosity got the best of me so I made my way over to see what they were offering.

You may or may not have seen this product at your local stores, but this is a 100% waterless car wash.  I was curious as to how it works. On the bottle, it says:

* One step spray & wash cleaning

* No hose or bucket required

* Cleans up to six cars

Its also non-toxic and biodegradable.

Sounds good huh?  I wanted to try it for myself. At the time we had two cars (just sold one of them!) and feel bad about using water to keep them clean, especially since California is in a drought.  We try to be as efficient as we can, but we are still using water!

Because I didn’t “trust” this product straight away, I wanted to try it a small surface before using it on the entire car.  According to the directions, you have to use this away from direct sunlight and with microfiber towels (which we have plenty of).  You basically use it to clean one area at a time using one cloth to apply it and pick up grime and another to shine.

I must say the Eco Touch Waterless Car Wash did a great job!  No streaks, scratching or a hazy finish.   I also didn’t recall any scents or toxic smells.  Though I don’t think I would use it on the entire car every single time it needs to be washed, it does have a place in our household.

This product is great if you:

* Don’t want to use water to wash your car, especially if you live in a region that’s has voluntary or required water rationing.

* Live in a building that doesn’t give you easy access to water.

* Would like to keep your car somewhat clean during road trips.

* Need to save money on your water bill.

* Feel the need to occasionally spot clean your car without the song and dance of doing a full wash.

This product is definably on our repurchase list when the time comes.

ecotouch.net

Naturally Trendy an eco-friendly baby boutique that has everything from organic baby clothes, non-toxic toys, nursing supplies to organic furniture is giving away a pair of Cale Organic baby booties (0-3 months) to one lucky Green and Chic reader.

From Naturally Trendy:

“Oh so cute! The vegan baby booties are stylish, super soft, and ultra eco-friendly, made from designer organic fabric. One of celebrities’ favorites, Mia Joie baby booties are handmade in USA and there is no other like it. Because of this, not every detail is perfect, but it is perfectly unique. These organic, vegan baby booties come gift packaged in an eco-friendly and reusable fabric bag.”

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Here’s how to enter:

Leave a brief comment below telling me which product(s) you are interested in from the Naturally Trendy website and how you would use it (gift, for yourself, etc).  This is your first entry.

To earn more points, you can do each of the following (separate comment for each entry):

1. Blog about the giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the link in case I dont get a pingback.

2. Sign up for my email updates or RSS feed. Leave a comment below telling me that you have signed up. You will also get an entry if you already subscribe — make sure to leave a comment!

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. To make it easier, you can use the “retweet” button at the top left hand side of this post.  Leave a comment telling me that you followed & tweeted.

4. Email 5 friends about the giveaway. Leave a comment below telling me that you did.

5. Stumble this post and leave a comment telling me that you did.

You can do one or all of the above. The more you do, the better your chance of winning. The contest will end on Monday, July 6th 12:00PM PST. The winner will be selected via Random.org and will be notified via email and will also be announced in a future post.

Grechen’s Closet (aka Green Grechen) has teamed up with stefanibags.com and is giving away another beautiful handbag.  Stefani Bags is offering this  Takumi bag in grey made from “vegan leather”, 100% recycled grey faux suede lining, antique brass and copper hardware.

Go to Grechen’s Closet to find out how to enter.

Contest ends June 15.

Related post: Enter to Win an eco-friendly Beth Springer Handbag on Green Grechen!