FACES & PLACES
GREEN LIVING
APRIL 2010

Earth Day 2010
by Hope Blaythorne

Earth Day 2010- Spring into Clothes!

As we spring arrives and we celebrate mother earth on Earth day, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight the best form of “recycling” and that is to re-use or even recycle, versus throwing away.  We put so many clothes  into landfills these days,  I want to show how some local business people are working hard to not only keep clothing items out of the landfill, but to make them “valuable” and absolutely gorgeous once again. In springtime we have the renewal into summer, and this Earth Day we can do the same with our wardrobe!

One local company helping to recycle t-shirts is Pantaluna, an eco-friendly clothing company started by local artist Illia Barger.  Pantaluna takes old t-shirts and makes very cool pants, skirts, aprons and even dog bones, re-using up to 95% of the t-shirts in the process.  Illia started the company because she saw that there could be some great design elements that might evolve out of mass produced t-shirts, which are filling up landfills by the millions. You can find the Pantaluna Factory Store up in Frenchtown, where they are open on the weekends.

Speaking of spring clothes, nothing is better than re-using garments versus sending them to a landfill. We are fortunate to have three “vintage” and consignment type stores in our area. Love Saves the Day in New Hope, also saves the landfill from many older but cool fashions. They work very hard to find awesome vintage pieces and display them so creatively in their store window.  Greene Street Consignment In Lambertville takes the “Green” approach and offers good quality woman’s clothing on consignment doing an excellent job of offering casual as well as dress garments that are more “current”.   Then for the little one’s there is Riverkidz located in Lambertville, which offers not only children’s clothing but also baby items and toys in good condition.

A New Hope store, Dominique Daniela is taking a new spin on re-using eveningwear.   While the store offers custom made bridal and evening wear, that is runway gorgeous, they have also expanded the bridal investment by working in conjunction with Type “B” the cool tie dye store in New Hope.

Dominique “up-cycle’s” wedding gowns; coloring/ tie dying them to be prom dresses or evening gowns. These dresses are NOT a Grateful Dead version, but a creative hombre, one of a kind dress that is absolutely stunning to see.  How many brides can re-use their dress in such a fashion?  These dresses can be shortened to be a cocktail version and who would be the wiser? They will also re-design dresses that are passed down from mother to daughter, creating a most cherished memory for all.

The store also offers eco-friendly accessories such as handbags from Dede handbags that are made from recycled leather and are very fashion forward.  Their bestselling “Green” item that they carry in the store is vintage scarf’s that are made into tunics, these are stunning to see! They also offer Nashelle jewelry, which is made from recycled metals and handmade in Oregon. Check out these great eco-friendly items.

Speaking of tie dye, Type “B” will take your old ties and sashes and clothing and recycle them into a whole “new” colorful piece of clothing.   Located on Main Street in New Hope, you can bring in an old dress and add a touch of color to create a “new” look. This look is quite trendy right now with hombre shirts and dresses walking down the runway. Might transform that old cocktail dress into something weekend casual, or even vice versa!