Dresses That Transform People and Fashion

This eco friendly world I am part of never ceases to amaze me! In searching for the perfect dress for the Indiana Green Business Awards dinner, I checked out my favorite haunt, Leslie Jane’s, and found not only the perfect dress but discovered another green spirited designer with so much talent.

Liz Alig creates fashion forward dresses that are eco-friendly and give back to the community…in the case of Liz, a much larger community.

She studied clothing and textiles at Lipscomb University in Nashville Tennessee, but her wandering nature brought her to thrift stores, Africa, Asia and Honduras. This combination of travels and Liz’s need to give back has inspired her 2010 Spring Vintage Collection. For this collection she partnered with Mi Esperanza, a nonprofit who provide skills training and assistance to the women of Honduras. The Village Collection was sewn by women who have graduated from this program and 10% of the sales from my dress will go back to Mi Esperanza which furthers opportunities for these women.

The dress I purchased is one-of-a-kind made from thrift store dresses repurposed by women in Honduras. I love my dress for more reasons than it just looks good….it does good.

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Trading, Swapping, Contests, and Winnings!

Getting what you want without using money is a very green technique and so cool. Kami from Illinois who entered the Props and Pans blog spot contest and won one of our “All Nighter” Dirt Candles! Congrats Kami!

How about trading services with a friend? Don’t pay for a babysitter. Bring your kids to a friend’s house and offer to watch her kids next time she goes out. Or how about asking your electrician neighbor to fix that light switch in the basement that never worked and you, being a dentist, clean all his kids teeth in exchange….okay, something like that anyway.

A green economy is a community of people meeting each others’ needs---and there are many creative ways to connect and prosper without using money. Personal connections are made…and the bargaining begins! How about swapping books, toys, clothes…. Remember the days of grandma’s classic recipe exchange?! This concept has been around for a long time.
Check out http://www.freecycle.org/ for more information on swaps.



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