Make The Look Your Own: Many reasons why green is colour of the year

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: PRELOVED.CA
Preloved’s Starr dress is made of recycled khaki pants.

There are lots of good reasons to go green. For 2013, emerald green is Pantone's colour of the year, and many fashion and cosmetics brands are embracing the trend. This spring, Sephora and Pantone are doing a huge collaboration of green makeup products. However, going green doesn't just mean a pop of colour in your outfit and makeup choices, it can also mean choosing eco-friendly and sustainable fashions.

Eco-friendly fashions are trendy and hip, but going green doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your style or your budget. There are many wallet-friendly and eyecatching ways to incorporate recycled and environmentally conscious pieces into your wardrobe.

The first brand I'd like to highlight is a Montreal-based low- to medium-price range brand called Matt & Nat. Whether you consider it or not, accessories are typically the place that leather and fur, as well as chemically produced fibers, are used. Matt & Nat offers an eco-friendly alternative with their 100 per cent vegan line of handbags, iPad and laptop cases, wallets and more. The best part about this green label is that you'd never be able to tell! Simple, chic and utilitarian, these pieces are a great way to do your part. Check out their gorgeous DI wallet in shocking tangerine, at a reasonable $60, to cross off bright colour and eco-friendly on your spring trend to-do list.

If you simply can't do faux leather, and appreciate the touch and quality of the real deal, Erin Templeton's recycled leather bags are a sustainable way to indulge your leather needs. The Vancouverite transforms found leather items (coats, pants, etc.) into totes, clutches and wallets. Her simple and beautiful pieces are all handmade locally. My spring pick is the lovely Half-Moon recycled leather clutch in blood red for $165 (but remember, you're paying for real quality leather and a craftsman's touch).

A huge trend right now in eco-friendly fashion is reclaimed fabrics. This means that talented designers and tailors work together to transform existing fabrics (like old t-shirts, sweaters and blankets) into new and trendy clothing items. This fashion version of recycling cuts down on waste, pollution from manufacturing, and doesn't involve third-world labour.

Preloved is a Toronto-based company founded by Julia Grieve with a storefront on Queen Street West. You can also shop from their website, preloved.ca. The quaint shop's great finds include patchwork tops, sweaters, dresses, pillowcases, blankets and more. They recently found a way to become even more environmentally conscious when they started a children's line, called me*me, that was able to utilize the leftover fabrics from their Fall 2010 collection! That is impressive! To get Preloved's downtown cool look, my pick is the Starr dress, which is made from four pairs of recycled khaki pants, but looks elegant and sophisticated, and in the coveted black-and-white trend for spring!