More often than not, when I mention that one of our aims at Kailique is to offer a selection of environmentally friendly collections, I can practically see the visions of ill-fitting, itchy burlap bag type smocks in various shades of beige, tan and brown dancing in the listener's head.

Probably not much unlike this stylish number:

Now let's take a step back. WAY back away from the burlap top, because it doesn't come close to what I mean by offering eco-conscious collections. Here's a sneak peek at two collections soon to be available on Kailique Online Boutique: San Francisco's Juleselin Organics and Los Angeles's ecoSkin.

Juleselin Organics, designed by Julia Burnbaum: Juleselin Organic's clothing is 100% designed and manufactured in San Francisco, California, in a fair trade, sweatshop-free work environment, using only organic cotton and bamboo. Juleselin offers stylish yet environmentally friendly trench, swing and pea coat styles using low impact dyes to produce a selection of options from chic black to punchy red. To top it all off, Juleselin has partnered with American Forests, which for every Juleselin purchase made, plants a tree "in the right place for the right reason".

The Elin coat shown above left will be available in September. I can personally vouch for the Elin coat (made of 100% organic cotton) being absolutely cozy yet flattering and ideal for anytime: be it work, travel, weekends or evenings out. (And I'm not the only one: the Elin coat made Splendora's Best Eco Fashion 2010 list)

The Brooke jacket shown on the right is available on Kailique in pewter grey and black. Brooke is comfortable and functional - an easy jacket to throw on for work or weekend.

ecoSkin Collections, designed by Sandy Skinner: ecoSkin is often defined with adjectives such as eco-savvy, eco-sexy and green-chic, and the Blackbird and Ibis knit dresses (available in October) shown certainly fit the bill. For Autumn/Winter, the collection consists of snugly knit sweaterdresses, flattering figure-hugging bamboo tencel knits and versatile tunics, all consisting of environmentally sustainable fabrics that are woven, dyed and sewn in the USA. Skinner's high level of attention to detail sees to it that each of her suppliers and manufacturers adheres to strict environmental and labor standards, ensuring that her products are top quality and environmentally friendly.

In addition, Skinner is constantly evolving the ecoSkin brand, recently incorporating the innovative use of Wholegarment technology which knits the yarn in a way that creates a single, seamless garment with zero textile waste. More info here on Ecouterre.

But why is Eco-Conscious Fashion important? Continue reading to find out more about Sustainable and Ethical Fashion...

Eco-conscious, eco-savvy, sustainable fashion, ethical fashion, eco-fashion - you may hear or read these and similar terms tossed about, but what do they mean? The topic is rife in the fashion, textile and retail industries - especially as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the long-lasting, negative effects clothing manufacturing has on the environment. The global environmental impact is astounding from the beginning to end of a piece of clothing's life cycle, and in my opinion, even more consumers should not only be aware, but also extremely concerned about it. The negative impact doesn't stop there: ethical fashion also takes into account the effect clothing manufacturing has on humanity, as just as detrimental are the alarmingly poor labor conditions inflicted on many workers around the world.

I am always looking for opportunities to further my knowledge in the topic, so recently virtually attended a webinar on Ethical Fashion conducted by Pamela Ravasio, who also collaborates with the Ethical Fashion Network. A taster to this month's 21st Century meetup of the same name (see: Ethical Fashion Meetup), Pamela gave us key takeaways of what ethical fashion is, why we should care and what we can do about it.

So what makes Eco-Conscious, Sustainable, Ethical Fashion?

Products under this umbrella would incorporate the following in their design and manufacture;

1. Environmentally Friendly Design

Designing "with the environment in mind", as many companies like to put it, includes using materials with low or no impact on the environment, such as organic cotton, which is grown without the environment-damaging use of hazardous pesticides prevalent across conventional cotton fields around the world (cotton crops use 25% of the world's pesticides!), or bamboo fibre that is 100% biodegradable with a high growth rate that makes it a sustainable and versatile resource. Eco-conscious designers put thought into the entire life cycle of their clothing - the environmental impact of its materials and production, the quality in design that allows for an extensive lifespan and its reusability or recyclability at the end of life.

2. Fairtrade Labor Conditions

Clothing and footwear manufacturers are notorious for the proliferation of sweatshops that continue to sprout up around the world. Fair trade labor conditions stress human rights such as fair working hours and healthy, safe working environments, as well as foster local traditions and economies. Fair trade obviously does not include child labor, which is still an unfortunate constant in many manufacturing facilities.

3. Low Carbon Footprint

The textile industry is a major contributor to global warming, mainly due to its heavy consumption of resources, especially water and energy, and the amount of transport required within the network of suppliers, designers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Supporting local suppliers and designers is a key step anyone can make towards a lower carbon footprint.

4. No Waste, Landfill, Pollution

I was astonished to learn that the load of textile waste sitting in United Kingdom landfills is the equivalent of 22,000 male elephants. Heaps of fabric and clothing are taking up space in our already overflowing landfill sites, a token of our throwaway society and the amount of textile waste that accumulates in the production phase. In addition, hazardous chemicals that are used to dye clothing have been found to be poisoning the ground water of manufacturing sites - and continue to pollute at consumers' homes as remnants of the dyes end up in local ground water after each wash cycle.

Have I ignited a new passion within yourself to support Sustainable Fashion? Why not expand your knowledge through reading online blogs and e-zines (ECouterre, EcoSalon, GINLady, to name a few), joining the Ethical Fashion Form (if you do, look for my profile and add me!) and visiting eco-fashion exhibitions such as London Fashion Week's ESTHETICA or Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World (Devon)'s Fashion Footprints?