Once in a while you see one of those tops that you know you’d wear all season long – like the Organic Cotton Smock Top from Organic Keiki.

This top is so darn simple, but has little touches that make it totally cute, like the beautiful blue tree screen print and the sweet little buttons. Made with 95% SKAL certified organic cotton and 5% lycra. There’s ice blue details at the top of this smock, and the straps are adjustable. I REALLY need this top.

In other adorable casual clothing news I’m way into the Organic Paisley Sun Dress you see above. This organic cotton halter dress available at Burning Torch has beautiful paisley eyelet detail, an exposed back and is knee length. I’m not a fan of the Chili color but it also comes in black and a cool bermuda blue. It’s a little pricey, but it could be the best causal organic dress you buy all summer – you’d get a lot of wear out of it.

There are some pretty slick new tees at Greenloop. My favorite is maybe the Tree of Life tee above, but all of them are pretty cute. Casual, but still pretty enough to over-rule total casual. Andira’s tees are all 100% certified organic cotton and handmade in Peru. Tees are dyed with eco friendly inks and dyes at family owned Fair Trade factories where workers are paid 25% above average wages.


Best of all, for every tee sold a child living in endangered rain forest land receives a tree to plant including teachings about how they can protect their forests. A neat deal on some well-priced organic tees.

• Andira ‘Logo’ Rain Tee
• Andira ‘Tree of Life’ Rain Tee
• Andira ‘Rain Forest’ Rain Tee

+ Greenloop

SO cute. These two Clare Bare pieces, both 100% organic, are sticky sweet enough to cause cavities – or maybe some just some lust (obviously better).

Organic Cotton Bloomers stats: Made out of 100% organic cotton and light pink thread. Serged, raw edges create a cute color accent. The bottoms are double lined with organic cotton and the back is cinched.

Organic Side Tie Bralette stats: Made from 100% organic cotton and light pink/purple thread. Like the bloomers, the serged edges are left raw for color accent. Stitched with lilac elastic, with bust darts, and adjustable organic twill ties sit on your shoulders.

Also, Clare Bare’s organic fabric is purchased from a small, sustainable farm in Texas and each piece is made to order. I’m going to have to say that these two piece are some of the most adorable and subtly sexy under items I’ve seen in organic cotton. Wish list additions for sure. PLUS, and I know this seems unbelievable, but the prices on these come in at under $30 each (I KNOW!).

+ The Oko Box

A guys product! Here?!

Well… here’s the deal. I reviewed these tees and while the company makes both girls and guys tees, in my personal opinion, I think they’re more of a guy friendly product. However, they’re also so super soft and comfortable that any girl will want to snag one to be casual in.

The basics:

The Revenge Is… t-shirts come in two flavors. One version is made with recycled plastic bottles and the other version you can get is a 100% organic cotton  Revenge Is… notes that the bottle shirts are made with recycled plastic bottles that have been melted down to become a fine yarn which is then blended with organic cotton.

NOTE: I reviewed the recycled bottle shirts.

Packaging:

Shirts are packed in recycled content brown paper and the shirts I received to review were packed super tight in a tiny box, which is way eco-friendly. The company prints on FSC certified paper using soy ink – and when they must use new boxes to ship, they are made from recycled material. Although, they note that “Frequently, your purchase will come in a reused box.” Mine came in an old box, which was cool.

Design:

Revenge Is… tees showcase a simple, no fuss design. T-shirts are available with various text imprinted, each with a socially responsible message -  Taking Back Our Country, Energy Independence (with OPEC X’d out in the lower corner) or Main Street At Work (with Wall Street X’d out in the lower corner). Colors available include black or charcoal.

Fit:

The men’s t-shirt fit nicely on a guy or girl. You know how most guys shirts are big and boxy on your female frame?  Well, Revenge Is… shirts are not at all boxy and hang nicely on you, even if you’re female, if you snag a small enough size.

The female shirts are very streamlined and fit tightly (see below).

What I think:

Pros:

• These shirts are so soft and smooth that they feel like second skin. I didn’t want to take mine off (eventually I had to shower, but you know). VERY comfortable. Absolutely some of the softest shirts I’ve ever reviewed or owned.
• They’re tagless which rocks and I like the simple design.
• The charcoal color is really nice. The perfect shade of gray. Not too light or dark.
• I’ve washed one of the shirts about five times now. As recommended by Revenge Is… I washed on cold and hung the shirt to dry (I would have done that anyhow). The shirt didn’t shrink at all, and only lost the most minor of that silky soft feeling – but not enough to notice unless like me, you were looking.

Cons:

• I think guys will dig on the color choices, but being a girly girl, I would love to see these shirts in different colors. I don’t wear black tees, and while I like the gray, I’d be more inclined to buy blue, natural white, or a nice olive green.
• I thought the girl size fit a little too tightly. My size large fit fine. I’m an averaged size girl (i.e weigh what I should for my height according to current standards) BUT if I had a bigger chest or tummy, it would have been too tight a fit. For example, my sis and best friend are rather well stacked, and these shirts (in female) would not work out for them.
• Lastly, I didn’t love how the little logo on the back of the shirt lines right up on your bum. It draws too much attention to your butt, which could be a good thing in the proper situation, but not all.

Overall score:

Four out of five pretty little trees. They lose a point because the girl sizes run small and because they lack color choices. Based purely on eco-features and comfort they would have got a six though. My advice; get your guy a shirt or two, and then frequently steal and wear said shirt on a casual dress day. Got no guy? Right now I’m tempted to say you’re better off (yup)  – buy a medium sized guy shirt and keep it all to yourself.

Revenge Is… also offers some pretty cool eco-gear, like a HUGE reusable bag and a hybrid mug that’s designed very nicely with a cool logo.

$38 – Revenge Is… t-shirts

+ Revenge Is...

In Seven Fabulous Eco-Etsy Bags I noted that I had found six more cool bags to share – that would be happening now…

First up, in total tweed bliss is the Little William bag from Mandinka Designs. Mandinka makes the Little William, and all their other bags, from reclaimed and recycled men’s suit coats. Each bag is a unique combination of jacket parts including sleeves, collars, pockets and even labels. I adore how creative this bag is.

Jennifer Joy Creative has so many bags to adore; it’s really hard to narrow down which ones you might choose. I had to pick two from her shop. Above is the adorable Springtime Bird Coin pouch. Jennifer has so many cute little coin bags, that picking just one was almost impossible. However, when in doubt, going with pink and brown spring bird items can’t be wrong. This coin purse is made with hemp and certified organic cotton and hand-dyed a lovely warm brown with silhouette of a pink bird on a cherry blossom branch.

Also from Jennifer Joy is a Sakura Cherry Blossoms Eco conscious Hemp Purse. At first I was thinking this bag was a little too pink for me, but the more I look at it, the more I adore it. The metallic bronze ink sakura branches really mellow out the color. Made with light weight hemp and organic cotton canvas that’s been hand-dyed the pretty salmon color. Bonus, it closes with some cool vintage buttons. There are two pockets inside, one with a zipper and one that closes with velcro plus a small d-ring for keys. I love the casual shape of this bag.

Two of the things I love best; coffee and butterflies are combined in this beautiful large Shaggy Coffee Tote from Shaggy Baggy. Made with a recycled burlap coffee sack, with heavy outdoor fabric lining the interior. Two interior pockets and a key hook are included.

The Organic hemp canvas Handbag Madison above is very sleek; made with organic hemp canvas, dyed with organic vegetable based dyes and a vegan leather handle. This and other eco-bags available at Taska & Edi.

Lastly, in “let this be an Etsy lesson to you” news, one of the totes I was previously drooling over sold out. Etsy rocks for sure, but you have to be quick or your fave gear sells out. That said, I’m still going to share, not to bum you out, but to show you how adorable Shecological bags are. Above is the now sadly sold out, Corduroy Kokeshi and Japanese Floral Print Bag. Tears…

In good news, Shecological has plenty more where this came from. One other bag I like is the From Russia With Love tote seen above. Me liking this bag is actually odd, because I’ve had this bizarre issue with matryoshka dolls since I was a kid. I saw some animated ones on Sesame Street once and they totally wigged me out. However, they’re pretty safe on a bag. Especially a bag made of 100% organic cotton.

Visit Team EcoEtsy to find more earth-friendly bags, plus other luscious goodies.