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NYC's 6 Best Eco-Friendly Clothing Shops

First: do no harm (to the planet, that is). Second: always look fabulous. If you live by this mantra, we can help you effortlessly green your look without surrendering either your love of style or your conscience. The merchants below share an eco-friendly sensibility and a fascination with beauty. Sounds a lot like you, doesn't it?

Related: NYC's Best Farm-To-Table Restaurants

Shopping & Style Eco Friendly, Clothing
Photo Credit: Thinkstock.com

New York-based husband and wife team Cathrine Wessel and Stian Tolnaes are innovators, driven by a love of fashion and desire to obtain the lowest-overall environmental impact possible. Inspired by the Norwegian fabrics of their childhood, the duo designed a line of gossamer-soft, all-year-round eco-friendly wool products that sit so comfortably on the skin they seem to disappear. Clothes for men and women have a downtown sensibility and are soft, light, comfortable and natural.

Organic Clothing

The folks at Teich have a simple ideology: keep it local. Source out jewelry, handbags and whimsical children's playthings from artisans who prefer to work with materials more organic in nature than chemical. Use natural or vintage fabrics that evoke mood and beauty. Feature hand-made accessories that are never mass produced at both downtown locations, and always meld whimsy, form and function into eco-friendly gems both modern and classic.

Kaight
Photo Credit: Kaight

Kaight features up-and-coming designers who are fashion-forward yet environmentally conscious. This is the place to find cutting-edge silhouettes constructed from organic and sustainable textiles as well as vintage jewelry, bold-modern handbags and other accessories.

Love, Adorned
(credit: Love, Adorned)

This lifestyle-concept store features jewelry and other items fashioned from brass, shell, deerskin, feathers and semi-precious stones such as garnet and turquoise. Styling at Love, Adorned ranges from delicate to bold with an edge. Silver and gold lovers alike will find bracelets, necklaces and earrings that are eco-friendly and unique. An antidote to throw-away culture, Love, Adorned is a haven of innovative, simple beauty.

Rainbow Sandals
(credit: Rainbow Sandals)

If you're the casual type, this store is calling your name. Cotton caps, crews and tees as well as boots, loafers and sandals in eco-friendly hemp and leather are created by hand and meant to last a very long time. Rainbow is the place to go for beautifully made, comfortable footwear for him and her.

Cloth
Photo Credit: Cloth

This Brooklyn boutique is strikingly lacking in that air of superiority that often comes with boutique shopping. Staff are friendly, and knowledgeable, and the fashion is forward without being "too trendy." Stock isn't 100 percent organic in nature, but they do tend to lean toward more sustainable designers in their fashion and accessory lines.

Corey Whelan is a freelance writer in New York. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
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