You might have heard of Puma’s Clever Little Bag.  It turns this innovative and sustainable packaging will be one of many eco-friendly projects from this clothing giant. The next step? Recyclable and even compostable shoes.

CEO Franz Koch announced that he is “confident that in the near future we will be able to bring the first shoes, T-shirts and bags, that are either compostable or recyclable, to the market.”  He claims that he envisions Puma making products that can either be entirely recyclable or able to be shredded and disposed of in your own backyard.

Puma has made great strides in sustainability in the past.  Their Clever Little Bag uses 65% less paper and thus allowed them to reduce their water, energy and diesel consumption by 60% in the past year.

Source: Guardian 

Refuse Paper and Plastic fuel (RPF for short) is derived from paper and plastic waste, and is slowly becoming an strong alternative to fossil fuels. It has a similar combustion power as coal, though it releases much less carbon dioxide. It also releases much less dioxin and other impurities into the water during the conversion process. Bras are also normally difficult to recycle because of their construction.

Triumph International provides women with plastic bags to discretely dispose for their bras at the company’s stores. Several other stores have begun to imitate Triumph and even began offering coupons as an incentive.

Beginning in 2009, Triumph has collected around 200,000 bras, all of which has been turned into 14 tons of RPF fuel. Triumph International Ltd. prides itself in relieving the anxieties of consumers in more ways than one.

Source: Japan Times

An auction for these shoes will begin on December 1st, 2011 at 9pm EST on eBay.  The proceeds of the auction will be going to WaterAid, a charity dedicated to providing clean water to the poorest countries.

Source: Timberland and WaterAid

The artists, UNICEF, and BBH NY are collaborating together to produce a line of tees, that when purchased, will fund relief efforts in Africa. A cute, cartoon representation of what your donation will be spent on will be printed on the t-shirt that you buy.

http://media.threadless.com//imgs/products/3287/636x460shirt_girls_01.jpg A shirt that will be spent on measles vaccines.

This “Cargo Drop” shirt is currently competing for the spot of “most expensive t-shirt” in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Watch their video here.

Need more fashionable, morally-gratifying clothes?

A team of European scientists at SINTEF has made the first step towards self-repairing rain wear.  They thought of weaving microcapsules filled with liquid polyurethane into raincoats that if scratched, will leak out the repairing glue that will mend the wear.  This breakthrough was intended to meet the demanding work lives of professional fishermen but has plenty of other applications, such as extending the life of plastic anti-corrosive coating around metal structures.

Unfortunately at their current stage, the microcapsules could only repair cuts that are around a millimeter long.  The team is currently attempting to expand their effectiveness by experimenting with different mixtures.

Only time will tell when we will be able to have this technology in our raincoats.

Source: Alpha Galileo

5. Fashion a laptop bag out of a hoodie

Source: Conceptual Devices

4. Turn a Necktie into a Camera Strap

With an old tie, some ribbon, key chain rings, a few well-placed snips you can convert it into a fairly fashionable camera strap.  This isn’t recommended for expensive cameras with heavier high-quality lenses.

Source: Ecoterre

3. De-pill Sweaters with a Disposable Razor

Some fabrics like cashmere have a tendency to let out little clumps.  You can straighten them out by running a disposable razor over and away from the fabric.

Source: Lifehacker

2. Make Re-washable Swiffer Pads out of Men’s Socks

All you need is a pair of men’s calf-height tube socks and a scissor.  With a couple of cuts, you’re free from buying the expensive, dedicated cleaning pads.  Toss them in the wash when you’re done.

Source: Instructables

1. Sharpen old razor blades with a pair of jeans

If you shave, chances are you use disposable razors made by companies such as Gillette.   Because a four pack of razor blades can easily be used up in a month, shaving regularly can cost us around $170 per year.

You can easily extend a single razor’s life tenfold by running the razor up and down the length of an old pair of jeans.  Doing so would straighten out the deformations that occur from regular shaving.

Check out the video instructions here.  Go buy a pair of Reco Jeans with the money saved.

Fortunately for you, there is an business that does tailoring, repairs holes and tears, replaces zippers and buttons, re-dyes your jeans. They don’t just patch up the holes, they are sure to match the color, weight and wear of the cotton.

Luckily for you, it is all online.  You drop your packaged jeans into the mailbox as you would your Netflix DVDs. When you get them back you’re ready to put them on and resume your regular life of partying, climbing fences and escaping fans.

Back in August, the people at Denim Therapy did a Q&A with our very own Melissa Santos, check the article out here:

That’s where clothing swaps come in, and there are these meet ups all over New York.  You can trade your unwanted clothing with other swappers and get to bring back clothes that are more fitting for your wardrobe.

Of course you need to abide by certain common-sense rules:

1. Bring only your new, almost new or gently used clothes.
2. They must be clean/freshly laundered.
3. Must all be intact, no rips, stains or moth holes.

Meet people.  Reduce waste.  Look great.

Find a group online today.