Say good-bye to potato-sack dresses: Eco-friendly shoes and apparel just got a lot more stylish. | By Annie Daly

Designers all over the world are coming up with fresh and fun ways to go green—without sacrificing on style. Find a green get-up that you love: Here are four great clothing companies who are helping the planet and your summer wardrobe. Doing good has never looked so good.

LEAVE YOUR ECO-PRINT
Print dress • Amira
$140 • amirawear.com
This is so not your average all-natural neutral-toned hemp dress. Wear this, and you’ll be the party’s next wild child (in a mild, earth-friendly way). Covered in patterns and animal prints, this Indian dress has major pizzazz. And it’s comfortable, too! Put it on for a stroll around town, or for a night out with friends—your call. Who knew eco-fashion could be so exotic?

Amira is all about fair trade. Their pieces are made from organic cotton, and produced from surplus textiles that were fairly traded and sourced by hand from India. Each article of clothing is tailored by hand in a small workshop in Delhi, India, so you know they’re not harming the earth in a big-industry way.

PUT YOUR GREEN FOOT FORWARD
Gold rubber flip-flops • Melissa Shoes
$40 • thegreenloop.com
The thought of rubber shoes makes most of us of think of jellies—you know, those hideous plastic slides that we sported when we were kids. But these gold flips are no flop! They’re comfy yet sexy, they don’t squeeze your toes, and they have a thick sole (so you can wear ‘em around while you run your Saturday errands). Bonus: They’re sweat-proof, so you don’t have to worry about stinky feet during sweltering summer days.

Behold the power of plastic! Brazilian brand Melissa Shoes has been around for nearly three decades—but they’re just now designing more stylish shoes. Their mantra? Sustainability. Their shoes are made from a recycled plastic called Melflex. Plus, 100% of their materials are used in production, so nothing goes to waste (they’ve recycled 99.9% of their factory trash since their inception in 1971). This rubber company definitely rubs us the right way.

ROCK ON
Knit Woven Henley Tee • Stewart & Brown
$40 • stewartbrown.com
Summertime is tunic time! This so-soft white sheath is made from 100% organic cotton. We like it because it’s so versatile: Wear it during the day as a casual beachtime cover-up, or belt it and add leggings and flashy earrings for a sparkle-plenty girls’ night on the town.
Stewart & Brown could very well be called Stewart & Green. Their products are all made from biodegradable, all-natural fibers that are cultivated without any herbicides or pesticides. Stewart & Brown is also wild for wool: The company raises special free-range sheep in the Southern Alps of New Zealand (an annually renewable free-range resource) and makes sure their sheep graze on natural grass and drink only the finest spring water. Wow: That’s un-baaaaa-lievable!

BRANCHING OUT
Women’s Vitaliti Skirt • Patagonia
$60 • patagonia.com

Comfy and durable, this wear-anywhere purple skirt is an instant wardrobe classic. It’s stitched with Patagonia’s signature organic cotton, so it’s super-soft—and stretchy, too. Try pairing it with a printed top for some extra style points.

As the pioneers of the green fashion movement, Patagonia has been committed to sustainable clothing long before it became trendy. Environmental consciousness is the foundation of their mission statement: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” And they do just that: Patagonia uses one of four earth-friendly materials—organic cotton, hemp, chlorine-free wool, and recycled and recyclable polyester—in all of their products. What’s more, Patagonia offers the Common Threads Garment Recycling Program, which uses old Capilene baselayers to make new ones (you can drop your oldies off at your nearest store). If that isn’t enough, get this: The company is even in the process of creating their own park—the Patagonia National Park—to protect the wildland ecosystems in Chile and Argentina. We give them two green thumbs up.
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