Eco Comes of Age

Once the fashion industry's awkward outsider, eco-friendly clothing has now become the cool new girl in school. Labels have exchanged scratchy, straw-colored hemp—once de rigueur for eco-friendly style—for sleek bamboo blends and organic denims so soft they even put some cashmeres to shame. But while we've got our pick of super-luxe basics that won't harm the planet, there are still far fewer all-natural clothing lines that exhibit a truly haute sensibility. A handful of new labels and retailers, however, are following in the footsteps of Danish crusaders Noir, placing an emphasis on sleek tailoring and sophisticated embellishment for a style-conscious urban customer.

One of the forerunners of the haute-eco trend is The Battalion, a label helmed by sisters Chrys and Linda Wong. The duo designs for a woman who's grown tired of the designer jeans-and-tee phenomenon and is looking for refined and slightly edgier pieces. The resulting collections, created solely from bamboo and organic cotton, fuse the cerebral elements of Japanese design with LA's signature comfort factor, using metallic and faux-python accents, Edwardian-inspired ruffles and dramatic draping.

Prairie Underground is another label that brings together style and sustainability. Sculptor Davora Lindner and former lingerie designer Camilla Eckersley channel their preoccupation with form and construction into distinctive garments that combine muslin, organic cotton jersey and hemp with zippers, lingerie-inspired topstitching, lace and drawstrings. "Camilla and I became friends in high school, in an era when personal style was all about self-expression and wasn't governed by stylists or the media," says Lindner. "We have an idiosyncratic point of view, and so we try to design nonconformist pieces in lots of different colors."

Sarah Ratty of Ciel also knows that eco-friendly doesn't have to mean colorless; her vivid creations only use 100% Azo-free dyes on recycled or eco-certified fabrics. Ratty's designs—standouts include a metallic-gold party frock and a silk wrap dress hand-printed with a blue flocked pattern—earned her 2007's UK Fashion Export Award for Ethical Fashion, an honor for which she's been nominated again this year.

But perhaps the longest-standing member of the haute-eco brigade is Portland's Anna Cohen, who formerly designed for Max Mara and Guess. Not only is her line infused with a sexy, Mediterranean elegance, it also strives to be as environmentally and socially responsible as possible. With each piece, Cohen considers the entire product life cycle, from using locally-sourced and organic raw materials to relying on wind and solar power wherever possible.

Alongside these pioneering eco-couturiers, there's also a strong contingent of online retailers devoted to showcasing the cool over the crunchy. Nimli.com carries ethical goods in everything from fashion—The Battalion is currently in stock—and beauty to housewares and furniture. Modify is the place to find Prairie Underground dresses and outerwear along with eco-basics from Park Vogel, Sworn Virgins and Loomstate. Elsewhere, Adili.com is staking its claim as the Shopbop.com of ethical fashion, offering flirty, colorful frocks from Ciel and People Tree, while Fashion-Conscience.com features a magazine-style format and trend reports in the vein of Net-a-Porter.

So if the retail world is catching on, why aren't more designers following suit? "Eco-fabrics are more expensive than your standard poly/cotton/rayons, so it's harder to keep prices competitive while also spending money on development," explains Linda Wong. "Another obstacle eco-labels face is that there are only a handful of fabrications to choose from—for example, it's really hard to find organic prints. We have to be really creative when it comes to sourcing other trims and details."

Despite the challenges, Wong and her fellow ecologically-minded designers have proven earth-conscious doesn't have to mean boring—and if they have their way, it'll only be a matter of time before other designers start clamoring to join their clique.

—Erin Magner