Holiday Spotlight: Gifts with Double Giving

It's lovely when you know you're giving a gift that won't just sit in a closet or worse, be passed along in the next donation drive. Gifts that have meaning ordinarily also have function.

Then there are the gifts that not only are beautiful, meaningful, and functional, but also give back to causes you and your loved ones believe in. At Fashion Ethic, we strive to stock the shop with several choices of gifts and garb you can really feel good about. Here are just a few:



SPUN Organics A line of affordable and accessible 100% Certified Organic clothing for women. Each piece is a basic wardrobe necessity, but done with a little panache. The Wrap Dress and Cowl Neck Dress both feature 3/4 sleeves and skim the body. The Deep V-Tee, Scoop Neck, Rib Tank, and Boat Neck Top are layering essentials, while the Cowl Neck Top and Cardigan from SPUN both have flattering, long silhouettes. Not only is this line designed and manufactured with US fair labor, but the company also gives back through 1% For the Planet.



Sustainable Kids This is a fantastic line not only devoted to keeping the earth green and safe from pesticides, but also attempting to making that very world a better place. Sustainable Kids clothing is made with organic or sustainable fabrics and uses low-impact dyes, but the story doesn't end there. The company has partnered with the Hands and Feet Project, with $1.50 of each purchase supporting orphanges in Haiti. Not only that, but each item sold comes with a small postage-paid box so that the child receiving the garment can send a small toy, book, or toiletry item to the kids in need at the orphanages. Teaching the children of tomorrow to value their planet and fellow people - how cool is that?



Kee-Ka Organics We've been talking a lot about Kee-Ka as of late. This company makes adorable baby and toddler clothes and accessories using organic cotton and low-impact dyes AND gives product and other donations to St. Jude's and other Children's Hopitals in the process.



SIGG Everyone on your list deserves safe drinking water. SIGG is the leading PBA-free water bottle on the market and has become a hot commodity ever since Julia Roberts proclaimed "Everyone needs a SIGG" Oprah's 'Favorite Green Things' show. Fashion Ethic stocks the adult-sized sport bottles, kids' sized bottles, and accessories. SIGG is another member of 1% For the Planet, giving 1% of sales back to this organization that funds environmental causes.

SHOP the SPUN line of Organic Clothing HERE

SHOP the SUSTAINABLE KIDS and KEE-KA lines HERE

SHOP for SIGG and accessories HERE

LEARN more about 1% For the Planet HERE

LEARN more about the Hands and Feet Project HERE

For the Kids - Our Favorite R: REUSE

By nature, kids move through clothing, toys, and gear at a rapid rate. So keep their consumption rate as low as possible by reusing what others have grown out of. Check out your nearest consignment shops for the best deals on gently used kids clothing, toys, and baby gear. You'll be getting a great deal as well as reusing what has already been made - saving the energy and resources spent processing new products!

If you're in the Seattle area, check out The Kid's Sale at Issaquah's Pickering Barn and a second location during this weekend's Salmon Days Festival. Hundreds of parents have sent in their items to be reused by those with younger kids, and the selection of toys, baby gear, furniture, and clothing from newborn to age 12 is staggering, while the prices are equally jawdropping...in a good way :). So get out to Issaquah to grab a deal and keep those items in the R-R-R Loop!

CLICK on the Kids' Sale Website HERE

Happy "Fashionably Responsible" Birthday!

Today is the 7th birthday of the youngest Fashion Ethic fan...Candice's daughter Emerson. To celebrate, we decided to highlight the best in ethical kids' wear and treats today.

First let us say that it is extremely difficult to locate eco-friendly and socially-conscious lines in KID sizes (6 and up). Likewise with toys for school-age kids. We know because we've been looking for the best to carry here at Fashion Ethic. Here are some that stretch their sizes/appeal to at least age 8 and we hope will extend size to big kids - because really, at what age does it become okay to have pesticides on your clothes?

Kate Quinn Organics is a line out of Seattle with tremendous style and liberal use of organic cottons. Shapes are simple, but somehow different and the colors reach beyond the typical organic pallette of beige, grey, and off-white - you'll find peacock, pomegranate, and sunshine too! Sizes from 0-3m to 8y in a few styles.

The selection from Fig Kids runs to more basics with cute animal silhouette prints. Emerson adores the teal hoodie with sparrows. Fig is from the designers who brought you Twice Shy and made of certified organic cotton. Sizes from newborn to 8y. (Tip - on this website, try clicking twice if things aren't opening for you.)

Sweets and kids go hand in hand. We've got the organic lollipops and candies from Yummy Earth on our scouting list for products to bring to Fashion Ethic soon. With no artifical flavors, chemical colors, or high fructose corn syrup and awesome flavors like grapefruit and blood orange, how can you say no to these sweet treats? And here's a new one - the company was founded by two dads. Does that make 'dadpreneur' the new 'mompreneur'?

A great toy shop near us, Planet Happy Toys, also has a website offering toys that meet a "higher standard," of sustainability, similar to what we do for apparel here at Fashion Ethic. You can shop by age, find out where toys are made, and shop with confidence, knowing that the toys are safe.

Another fantastic online toy shop is Magellans Toy Shop, bringing you "Learning and Fun from Around the World". Raising socially-conscious kids means introducing them to other cultures and languages, which is simple to do at Magellan's, with their selection of toys, books, and games in languages from Spanish and French to Greek and Russian. At Fashion Ethic, we're sort of partial to the "What the World Wears" placemat. Emerson also approves.

We are looking forward to seeing the Bindi International kidswear line from Bindi Irwin next month when we go "buying". Until then, if you have favorite organic, recycled, or otherwise sustainable and Fashionably Responsible KIDS' clothing lines, send them our way! And Happy 7th Emerson!