Topping the list is air-dying, which tackles the current problem of material waste in the process of dying textiles. New methods are promising to drastically cut the amount of resources needed to color fabrics:

During the dying process, water is used to apply color, but also to push the fabrics through machines. New machines by companies like Fongs are using air to push the fabrics, thus reducing the amount of water used. With this method, the dying of a t-shirt can go from requiring 200 to using only 50 liters of water (Textile World).

Another, more eco sound, alternative is a system called AirDye, which works with proprietary dyes that are heat-transferred from paper to fabric in a one-step process. This can save between seven and 75 gallons of water in the dying of a pound of fabric, save energy, and produces no harmful by-products.

Along with processes, however, are new and sustainable takes on materials. Cork, PET bottles, stinging nettles, seaweed, banana fibers, and recycled fabrics are all finding new life on the cutting edge of fashion:

[Alternative materials] include, for example, fabrics made with nylon recovered from products like nets and carpets by Mipan. An example of the use of this is the swimwear line Eco Panda.

Some factories are also recycling cotton industrial leftovers, which keeps these scraps from incinerators or landfills and creates new materials. One example is the Italian initiative EcotecProject.

Overall, the verdict is in: the fashion world is on the precipice of some major green changes. The big question is whether they will pass as a fad or catch on permanently. Would you wear recycled materials? Are alternative plant fibers really so radically different from cotton? Let us know!

• Trash bags? WAY CUTE!!! (Now let’s make them biodegradable!) [PSFK]
• Who knew going green could be so fashionable? Oh, sweetie: we did! [La Dolce Vita]
• Apparently Sheryl Crow knows this fact as well. [Ecorazzi]
• Not everyone in Los Angeles is equally jazzed about the impending bag tariff. [Metropolitan News-Enterprise]
• Nor is everyone on the Jersey Shore too enthused about a ban. [Asbury Park Press]
• Every day it amazes me, how worked up some people get over their “plastic bag birthright.” [Gaea Organics]
• Because seriously, there is really no excuse. [Regina Leader-Post]
• Reusable bags are all about selling for profit? Hardly. Some fight cancer. [The Jewish Star]
• Don’t take any wooden nickels, unless it’s for a good cause. [Foo Zoo]

Image via PSFK!

• An eco-friendly party is the best party! (Also, not your grandma’s party.) [Crunchy Domestic Goddess]
• Hawaii is kicking the bag habit. [The Maui News]
• …and so is Portland. [The Oregonian]
• Seattle’s still pretty divided on the issue, though. [King 5]
• New Whole Foods bags: not so great, actually? [Note To Jon]
• Grumpy old men are never satisfied with recycling efforts. [Zip06]
• I AM a (reusable) plastic bag! [PRW]
• Today, a bottle; tomorrow, a… road? [MeriNews]
• Is this guy for real? Hilarious arguments against LIEberal zealots. [The Market Oracle]
• Project Runway’s found-item clothing challenges are always hilarious. Can kids make it work? [This is Wiltshire]
• And speaking of Proj-Run, the last episode was all about green fabrics! What a great show! [Ecorazzi]

Photo via Flickr!

• Ludacris rolls out in a hybrid? Who knew! [LA Diary]
• A kindred spirit expertly shuts down a whole lot of irrational whining about disposable bags and the inconvenience of dog-walking. [Seattle Metblogs]
• That bag monster guy is becoming quite the internet superstar. [Ecopreneurist]
• Prepackaged food is really getting out of control. (Though please don’t take away my pre-cooked beans, I don’t want cooking chili to take days!) [EnviroMom]
• From Oakland to Sac-town, the Bay Area and back down, Cali’s where they put they bags down. Mama’s proud! [American Chronicle]
• Why we don’t use plastic bags. [Conserve Plastic Bags]
• Haute potato sack bags are pretty cute. [Sasaki Bags]
• You have to get creative to reduce your carbon footprint when local agriculture isn’t an option. [The Accidental Scientist]
• “Ben the Bin” gets clever with recycled plastic and a mystifying name. [The Comet]
• Speaking of Ben, I’m such a sucker for a well-placed The Graduate reference. [Packet]
• Just another friendly reminder! [Aostara on Livejournal]

Thanks, Google Image Search!