This is your last chance to win an adorable free bathing suit and summer dress from Aventura! If you’re interested, leave a comment here telling us one thing you like about Aventura’s sustainability efforts. If you are a blogger or a Twitter member (Twitterer? Tweeter? What’s the correct terminology for one who uses Twitter?), you can blog or tweet about the contest and leave us a link in the comments below, and that will give you one more chance to win the contest.

One comment per reader per post. Comments that appear to be spam will not be included. On Monday, June 15, we’ll draw a name using a Random Number Generator, and the person whose comment corresponds to the winning number will receive a bathing suit and dress from Aventura. 

I can personally attest to the quality and comfort of Aventura’s clothing. Trust me, it’s good stuff! Good luck!
CONTEST CLOSED

Remember the adorable eco-friendly clothes Courtney tried out for Aventura? Well, the great crew at Aventura is giving away a bathing suit and a summer dress to one lucky Allie’s Answers reader.

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And the winner of the $100 IVEE Gift Certificate is . . .

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Mia Li from Ivee is absolutely lovely.  She was so kind to take the time to answer some questions about Ivee for us.  After you’re done reading, visit the IVEE website.  Come back and leave a comment below, telling us about  your favorite Ivee design, and get a second entry in the Ivee $100 gift certificate contest.  And, be sure to follow IVEE on Facebook and Twitter!

When did you start Ivee? What was your inspiration?

IVEE was started to fill the void in fashion forward yet environmentally friendly sportswear. We are a runway inspired clothing line designed for the busy contemporary woman, allowing someone to move easily from yoga, pilates, dance or the gym to coffee or lunch with effortless yet polished style. Our first collection was launched in 2008 in made available at leading boutiques, high-end gyms and spas.
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IVEE one of the vendors in my affiliate program, is generously offering a $100 gift certificate to one lucky Allie’s Answers reader. Read more…

The hubs got me the Combover Bag from Simple for my birthday a few months ago and I am deeply in love with it.  It’s too big to use as a purse, but the perfect size for my laptop, assorted cables, a couple of books, a water bottle, a sweater, and my cell phone. Read more…

Help!  I need a new purse.  I have a great tote bag, and a wonderful collection of reusable shopping bags, but I need a casual purse.  I was planning to splurge and buy Simple’s Blottoe Bag (that beautiful, beautiful bag pictured above), because it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a purse (and I’ve been drooling over it for more than a year).  I love the casual style, the eco-friendly materials, and the company it comes from.  The problem?  It’s huge!  When I checked the dimensions, I realized that it’s not a purse, but more of a school/work/weekend bag.

I’ve looked high and low, but I can’t seem to find the combo of features I’m looking for: Read more…

Sub_Urban Riot is having a 50% off sale.  Seriously, 50% off. And a lot of their stuff is on sale right now to begin with.

I like Sub_Urban Riot because they’re big on sustainable materials and practices, and they give back 1% of all profits to environmental causes.

I bought this organic cotton jumper, which is originally $68, for $19.50 with the sale price and 50% discount, and this organic cotton hoodie for $30. And unlike all my other clothes, neither of them are brown.

If you pass on buying organic cotton clothes because you feel like they are well out of your price range, this sale might help you replace the worn out items in your wardrobe with more sustainable clothes.

I had the opportunity to ask Tom Larsen from Act 2 - Green Smart a few questions about his business, thoughts on the environment, and even college sports.  His answers are really interesting.

1. What inspired you to start making bags out of recycled plastic? What kind of research/learning process did you have to go through to go from the idea stage to making it happen?

My wife and business partner was the inspiration. In December of 2005 she asked me whether or not I thought there was yet developed a supply for “green materials” for bags that was parallel to the developments that she was seeing in the apparel markets through her readings of Yoga magazines and such.

As a result of my research and efforts, I found an emerging supplier in Taiwan that was far ahead of the U.S. or other Asian suppliers of rPET polyester. Of course, to determine that, I had to get myself a quick education on the state of the art of fabric making and raw material sourcing, etc. It was interesting. Most bags any of us buy at the store only have a material specification, not a selected vendor. They are designed somewhere and then handed to a Chinese supplier (well over 90% of ALL bags are made in China, now), which then shops their traditional fabric suppliers for the best price on say “nylon” or “neoprene”. The quality of the fabrics is so high now that the fabrics are often just commodities allowing suppliers to simply shop their known sources. Read more…

Shopping for back to school clothes can be a major event. Here are a few tips to green your child’s wardrobe and your own: Read more…