Upscale couture is going green. Why should we care about earth-friendly fashion? Because fashion is supposed to make us feel good! Yet conventional textile and garment industries use hazardous chemicals and dyes, create water pollution, fill up landfills, and add to greenhouse gasses with their smokestacks. Happily, there is an alternative. Chic earth-friendly duds that use less polluting technologies, low-toxicity processes, and sweatshop-free factories are becoming the rage. You can find green couture everywhere these days: small specialty boutiques, online stores and upscale department stores.

• Buy clothes made with natural fabrics – Today’s eco-friendly fashions convey health, wealth, and happiness—not bulk, beige, and itchiness. Ask your clothier to provide you with clothes made from soy, hemp, silk, tencel and wool. Organic cotton jeans are all the rage! Check out Loom State Ethos jeans or Edun’s line of jean made by U2’s Bono and wife.

• Choose organic cotton or silk for intimates – I insist: all clothing next to my skin must be made out of organic cotton or silk. Non-organic cotton is one of the most pesticide-intensive crops grown. Organic cotton is raised without toxins or synthetic fertilizers. So it’s better for the land, water supply and softer for you.

• Accessorize with grandma in mind – Need a little bling? Vintage shops and your grandmother’s old jewelry box are your best bets. You can rescue good costume jewelry from a trashy afterlife and feel good about the emotional connection to a dearly departed relative.

www.birchclothing.com - Twin Cities green couture retail boutique

www.saksfifthavenue.com - U2’s lead singer Bono’s clothing designs available at Saks 5 th Avenue .