You may associate the term "eco-fashion" with space-age fabrics made out of recycled bottles, or with actress Natalie Portman's line of "vegan" footwear, but stylish, comfortable, and environmentally responsible clothing is becoming more popular and more widely available than ever before. Here are a few ways to get a little green into your closet:

  1. Use what you've got. There's no need to ditch all your old clothes for new ones made with organic fabrics. Recycling (or revamping) the clothes you already have is one eco-friendly way to "green" your closet. Check to see whether you have items that can be mended: Fallen hems, missing buttons, and loose stitches can all be easily fixed. If you want to update the style of a sweater, top, skirt, or jeans, consider whether the item could benefit from an inexpensive makeover. Add a new trim, change the buttons, or cover a hole or a stain with a strategically placed appliqué. Books like Elissa Mayrich's Rip It: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams can show you how to transform your clothes into entirely new creations. If you're set on clearing out your closet, consider donating your items instead of trashing them. Organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army can save your clothes from the landfill and give them a second life.
  2. Make someone else's trash your treasure. While you're donating your old clothes at your local thrift store, why not have a look around? Before you buy a new designer sweater, consider trying to find a secondhand sweater that's cuter, more interesting, or of a higher quality. (You might even find that same designer sweater at a tenth of the price!) A more fashionable (and admittedly, more expensive) way to add recycled clothes to your wardrobe is through reconstructed or "repurposed" vintage clothes. Available mostly in boutiques, repurposed items are usually created from a single vintage piece of clothing that's been altered to update, tweak, or completely change its look. William Good is one high-profile line that, in partnership with Goodwill, offers one-of-a-kind pieces created from thrift store items.
  3. Choose greener fibers. While clothes made from synthetic fabrics such as nylon, rayon, acrylic, and polyester are inexpensive and widely available, synthetics are bad news for the environment because they're made from — or treated with — various chemicals. Nylon and polyester, for example, are derived from oil, a nonrenewable resource that is not biodegradable. When it comes to fabric, look beyond the department store racks of mass-produced synthetic garments. Fabric made from bamboo fiber, for example, is durable and has a decidedly luxurious texture, comparable to that of silk. Bamboo is not only a completely renewable resource but it's biodegradable and can be grown with very little impact on the environment. Most of the world's bamboo fabric is produced in China, but a few American manufacturers, including South Carolina–based Bamboosa, import the fiber and make their own durable and soft bamboo fiber products, including baby clothes, socks, and tank tops. Another high-quality fabric with a low environmental impact is derived from soy. Soy clothing makes use of by-products of tofu production that would otherwise go to waste.
  4. Shop smart. When you do shop for new clothes, look for products made by companies with a commitment to bettering the environment. The T-shirt specialist American Apparel already produces a line of organic cotton clothing under its Sustainable Edition label. The company has also pledged to produce the rest of its clothing line using more organic cotton. Similarly, the Gap now carries a line of T-shirts made from 100 percent organic cotton — grown without synthetic pesticides and not chemically dyed or bleached. Other brands with organic cotton collections include H&M and Levi's.
  5. Look at the label. Even if your favorite chain doesn't carry a dedicated "eco-line," you're likely to find USDA Certified Organic labels on a growing number of clothing items. You're most likely to see this label on cotton clothing, but it can also appear on any garment made from natural fibers that were grown without the use of conventional pesticides or synthetic fertilizers on a farm that was inspected by government officials. Keep in mind that there are different categories of organic certification. There's a label for items that are 100 percent organic, one for clothing made with organic ingredients, and even a label for items made with less than 70 percent organic ingredients. For more information on the USDA's certification guidelines, visit its Web site (