Fashion For A Cause

While cruising eco-conscious site ecouterre, I immediately shared their obsession for some bright belts handwoven by Ecuadorean artisans. Minutes later on the Andean Collection site, I had a shopping cart full of bold ethnic accessories, all under $100. Visions of my two favorite resort collections — Proenza and Tory Burch — danced in my head. Wrap one of these belts around a little white dress, add some bold earrings or a beaded necklace, and you'll be one exotic beauty come Spring. And with every purchase, you can feel good knowing that you've helped provide living wages to women artisans in Ecuador.

Add to your wristwear collection while doing some good! These Feed 2 bracelets ($5) — exclusively for Forever 21 in partnership with the United Nations World Food Program — are cute, colorful, and available in stores starting today. Feed 2 bracelets are handmade in Guatemala, and by snapping up a particular color, you'll be sending two school meals to children in one of six countries: Swaziland, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Haiti, and Pakistan. I'm planning to add the sparkly gold to my current bangle repertoire.

By now, you're probably familiar with Mondo Guerra, the charismatic Project Runway season eight finalist. Mondo announced his HIV-positive status on the show and is using his newfound celebrity to gain awareness for AIDS research. So, he's designed two super-stylish, limited-edition tees ($50) for Piperlime that are available today — World AIDS Day. The designs infuse Mondo's bold style and energetic graphics, and for every tee sold, Piperlime will donate $20 to amfAR. There are only 300 of them, so what are you waiting for? Head over to Piperlime now to grab a tee and do your part.

Last night we attended Lanvin for H&M's haute couture show in NYC — more exciting details to come on that later! And yes, you heard correctly, the house has created one-of-a-kind couture versions of the less expensive H&M pieces. And it's all for a good cause; bid on one of the high-end looks, including this one supported by yours truly, and proceeds will go to UNICEF, as part of H&M's "All For Children" project. Peruse all 25 pieces, supported by various bloggers, and splurge for style . . . and a cause.

British beauty Emma Watson's already caught our eye stepping out for the premiere of the seventh installment of the Harry Potter film phenomenon. But, as it turns out, the actress has more than just an affinity for wearing gorgeous designs — she's also teamed up with Alberta Ferretti to create a line of eco-chic, "organic clothing." On the heels of her eco-friendly People Tree collection, Ferretti tapped Emma for a collaboration. While details, like a name for the line, are being kept a secret, we can expect a "classic, '60's Jane Birkin" vibe and a post-Christmas debut. And since Emma's already "put it out there that [she] will work for anyone for free if they are prepared to make their clothing fair trade organic," we may be seeing lots more from the young talent.

Lauren Bush has been creating philanthropic FEED totes for some time now, but she recently teamed up with Gap for new bags and a new cause: improving the quality of food served at schools in the US. The three totes — the denim style seen here on Lauren — will go on sale, from $29 to $39, at Gap locations starting mid-September. For those who can't wait, the bags are already being sold at the Marina District store in San Francisco, the 1969 Robertson Blvd. store in Los Angeles, and in New York at the White Space concept store on 680 Fifth Ave. For every bag that you purchase, Gap will donate $5 to the worthy cause.

Photo by Drew Altizer

Check out this awesome news from OnSugar Blog A Fashion Affair.

Actress Kristen Bell is the latest in celebrity designers. She teamed up with Shoe Dazzle's shoe designer Mark Linn Pozo and visited the Shiners Hospital in LA to talk to patients to get the perfect shoe. The creation was a gladiator style platform. The shoe will be available August 9th and retail for $39.95; proceeds will go directly to The Art Of Elysium, a nonprofit organization that encourages artists and performers to donate time and talent to children suffering from serious illnesses. The platform is badass! Tell me what you think.

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We're all about fashion for a cause. Always on the lookout for cool brands that give back. PACT underwear believes change starts with your underwear. Bold, but possible. PACT undies, for men and women, are great-fitting and made from sustainably grown, premium organic cotton. As well, each print is a collaboration between a leading artist and a nonprofit designed to promote and support a cause. Like the Oceana prints by fuseproject support Oceana, a global organization that protects oceans and marine life; PACT donates 10 percent of each sale to these causes.Each pair is also shipped in a compostable envelope, which I've already reused for carrying random little things like jewelry from an impromptu overnight. Women's styles come in bikini, thong, boyshort, and gift sets — and the boy's styles are pretty fun if you're feeling generous. Change is good.

To see some of my favorite styles, read more

What does love have to do with jewelry? For Ojai, CA-based Love Heals, a whole lot. The team consisting of mother (Adriana), son (Gunnar), and daughter (Elisa) makes sure its jewels not only look good but are good. For every piece sold, they plant 10 trees in Africa and the US; so far, they've planted over 347,881. If that's not reason enough to support Love Heals, their pieces are incredibly unique and make a quiet but bold statement. Yet another cool component to their business is their Design Studio — custom-make your own jewelry and have it shipped to you within a week or two!

See more impressive Love Heals jewels.

I'm the first to admit I love the sun. But I'm also the first to bust out the sunscreen. On top of that, hats offer double protection and added cuteness. Swimwear designer Brette Sandler has expanded into beach accessories.On a mission to inspire more women to be responsible in the sun, 25 percent of proceeds from the floppy hats benefit The Skin Cancer Foundation. The hat comes in two colorways and sells for $95 exclusively at brettesandler.com. Added bonus: Brette designed these cool lanyard-meets-friendship bracelets ($30) in juicy fruit colors. Yummy.