By Alison Abbey

For the AJC

Atlanta designers are at the forefront of a sustainable trend.

For some, words “eco-friendly fashion” are more likely to conjure up images of hippies and hemp than haute couture. But with a growing national interest in going green, a slew of Atlanta’s most fashionable designers are sending sustainable pieces down the runways.

Take for instance, Indie Peace. This super-chic line of organic T-shirts was founded locally by Lawton Ursrey and John Van De Wiel in 2007, and has quickly become a staple in the wardrobes of fashionable Atlantans looking to decrease their carbon footprint. Utilizing local certified organic cotton, recycled polyester, low-impact dyes and water-based prints, Indie Peace has been an eco-responsible line from day one.

“There are mounds of scientific evidence about what our choices as humans have done to this planet,” says Ursrey. “With all of that information, how can one not want to go green? We are simply choosing to be part of the cure verses part of the disease.”

Indie Peace, which is available nationally at Nordstrom and locally at Bill Hallman (for location information, visit www.indiepeace.com), plans to offer more products for men and women in the coming months. “Each day, there is an opportunity to be more green and support this movement,” says Ursrey. “Our goal is to move into all types of products and become an eco-brand that represents this lifestyle.”

Also taking the environmental high road are Atlanta-based jewelry designers Mark Edge and Kathleen Plate.

For his Ecovintage collection, Edge transforms found items, such as wood, chain and vintage charms, into works of wearable art. Edge says using recycled materials is not only great for the environment, but influences the vintage-feel of his pieces.

“It feels good and authentic to recycle something...to keep a few things from going to the dump,” he says, adding, “[each] item influences the direction I go with the design.”

Edge’s work, which is available locally at boutiques like The Mercantile in Brookhaven, Sandpiper in Vinings, Peridot in Buckhead, and on his own Web site www.markedge.com, has become so popular that he plans to launch a men’s line for the fall.

Thirteen years ago when Plate started her Smart Glass line, which utilizes recycled glass bottles, she wasn’t looking to save the world. “I started using bottles not necessarily to be eco, but because they were pretty and plentiful,” she says. “I think it’s important to do what you do with the greatest good always in mind: I like to make beautiful jewelry, and I like it even more that it adds to the greater good rather than subtracts from it.”

But Plate, whose designs are available at www.smartglassjewelry.com and have been featured at LA’s Fashion Week, says going green isn’t always easy. “My palette is limited by what bottles I can find,” she explains. “Sometimes people don’t realize that eco-friendly products often have a long process of creation.”

Ursrey agrees that sustainable design has its pitfalls.

“Because of the ‘green factor,’ we have a more constrained palette to work from — it’s a more challenging puzzle — but for us, it’s the only way.”

Nationally, earth-conscious designers struggle with similar roadblocks. But Deidre O’Boyle, one half of eco-chic designing duo She-bible (www.shebible.com), says those roadblocks can be inspiring.

“As far as design limitations, sometimes those barriers are good because they narrow our focus,” she explains. “Think of a Project Runway assignment: Sometimes when the sky is the limit it’s more paralyzing.”

For O’Boyle and her business partner Stacy Rodgers, designing for an eco-savvy customer was born out of their shared interest in helping others. O’Boyle previously worked for an organization called Sweatshop Watch, which monitors the garment industry’s labor practices. The experience made O’Boyle a stickler when it came to her own line.

“I was very focused on fair labor standards when we began production,” she says. “Once we established relationships with great factories, we realized we should be pursuing organic materials because of conventional cotton’s impact on the environment. We encouraged [the mills] to test out organic yarns and we took the plunge together.” An Atlanta native and a veteran of eco-conscious design, high fashion designer Linda Loudermilk has been creating sustainable collections for six years. Her passion for the earth and her eye for beauty have made her an authority on green fashions—not to mention, a favorite of eco-activist Laura Turner Seydel.

Loudermilk’s collections, however, were not always eco-friendly. Though an international success on the runways, Loudermilk felt guilty about producing fashions, as she puts it, “without soul,” so she threw herself into researching a way to make clothing that was both beautiful and sustainable. “I’ve spent over $10 million on research and development,” she says. “I’ve tried my best to take risks.”

It’s the risk, she believes, that keeps other high fashion designers from following her lead.

“As inevitable as change is, it still freaks most of us out,” Loudermilk says. “A lot of people don’t want to believe this movement is mandatory. The risk feels high to them.”

For Loudermilk, and eco-conscious designers like her, those risks are worth it.

“Any artist’s dreams are met by fear. It manifests itself differently in us all and it’s what sets people apart from contributing and making change. From living dreams. It’s a stormy give and take that creates a product authentically unique.”

Buy Green

These eco-chic boutiques are helping Atlanta shoppers save the world...one purchase at a time.

ecoEMPORIUM

A one stop shop for earth-friendly, organic and non-toxic products.

1000 Marietta St. NW #114, Atlanta; 404-875-5224; www.theecoemporium.com

Green Pomegranate

Adorable fashions for girls from newborn to eight years old, each piece is hand-tailored from recycled cottons, vintage linens and antique materials.

1002 Virginia Ave. Atlanta; 404-885-9511; www.agreenpomegranate.com

Beehive Co-Op

This mix-and-match shop offers local designers the chance to showcase their designs and foster community amongst themselves. A number of those designers employ eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

1831 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta; 404-351-1166; www.beehiveco-op.com

Evolve Boutique

This Emory Village shop offers tons of great eco-conscious duds and sustainable threads.

1581 North Decatur Road, Atlanta; 404-474-3244; www.evolve-boutique.com