Birthday Event Preview: Eco-Friendly Fashion At Clean Spirited

The Jonana Athena Dress I received for review.

Just because I'm turning 30 doesn't mean I have to throw in the fashion towel and trade my cute dresses for a granny cardigan and polyester pants. (According to my 11 year old, 30 is ancient!) I still feel young, though. And while I may not want to wear clothing I wore in my pre-mom days, I still want to show off some curves and enjoy great fashions and soft, supple fabrics.

And now that I'm a mom, I pay much more attention to what goes into the clothing I purchase for myself and my children. 10 years ago, I wouldn't have cared where the clothing came from or how it was made...But now that I am a parent, I am much more socially and environmentally conscious, and I want to instill these values upon my children. I want them to grow up loving and respecting the planet we live on, and to teach them how to help preserve our earth for future generations.  I love all of the organic and sustainable fashion items that are cropping up on the market. Did you know that simply buying products made with bamboo or organically grown cotton can help reduce our carbon footprint, therefore helping our environment? Buying organic products also helps the farmers continue to grow without adding pesticides to the ground and water supply. Even the air quality is improved through producing organically.Even the little things can have a big impact on our lives and planet!


One wonderful place to find simply beautiful,high-quality natural and organic fashions is a fabulous online boutique, Clean Spirited. I LOVE this store and what they stand for. This is a very easy to navigate shop and has a unique "Green-Grading" system, helping you determine just how eco-friendly a product is based on their grading criteria.

Clean Spirited grades products on the following 5 factors:

Natural 

Using organic materials and ingredients to produce clothing, bath and body products and other items has a much lower impact on our environment. Organic goods allow us to purchase what we want without stripping nutrients from the soil and destroying the air quality where these crops are grown. Also, buying organic supports organic farmers with the financial resources necessary to continue growing crops without the use of pesticides that factor largely into pollution. Using organic products is a great way to decrease your carbon footprint. Even the little things can have a big impact on our lives and planet!

Recycled

Recycling and finding ways to reuse materials helps in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and landfilling.  As trash decomposes, it releases harmful gases (including Methane) that are not always prevented from entering the atmosphere and contribute to Global Warming. Rain falling on landfills, creates polluted run off that can damage nearby waters and soil. Also, excessive amounts of plastic are entering our oceans and negatively impacting natural ecosystems in these great waters  Recycling not only reduces damage to our environment, but also re-claims useful resources. It is our responsibility to be accountable for the items we use and help our earth by recycling what we can.  

Local

Buying products made in the Americas (assuming you also live there) is an important way to reduce your carbon footprint.  The amount of carbon dioxide released in to the atmosphere during the production and marketing chain of imported goods is staggering.  Consumers must take in to account the carbon dioxide released during the primary production of these goods along with the storage and freight transport.  Buying goods that have been manufactured locally will greatly lower these emissions, thus reducing your carbon footprint and creating a culture of environmental responsibility.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade is an organized social movement that helps producers in developing countries promote sustainability and form better trading conditions.  It supports healthy and safe workplaces, ethical purchasing and provides fair wages.  Fair Trade’s goal is to change the ways commerce has previously been conducted so that trade can empower developing countries as well as developed countries.  Clean Spirited is  very excited to help out in this endeavor by carrying a variety of Fair Trade products.

Humanitarian

Humanitarian gets the Gold Star and represents when a brand goes above and beyond the norm, as in money from the purchase goes to charity etc....

Therefore

Clean Spirited rates each product on these five points of cleanliness so that you know just how green you're buying.  And they believe that even one point products are worth it! Every little bit counts in keeping our earth, air and seas clean.

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I love this unique grading system because it's a simple, visual way to keep track of which items are the most eco-friendly! What a wonderful tool to use when shopping online with your kids! I can definitely anticipate many teachable moments while browsing Clean Spirited with my 11 year old. I will be able to show him what difference purchasing eco-friendly goods can do, as well as open his eyes to all the wonderful things that can be done with bamboo, as well as recycled items most wouldn't glace twice at! Have you even seen a clutch style handbag made entirely out of recycled juice box remnants? Keep reading, and you will!

Before I get into my review of the products I received, I'd love to show you some of my other favorites at Clean Spirited!

I love this look! Comfy and edgy at the same time!

This dress would be perfect for a night out!

Cute and casual

If only I had some good boob-tape!

I LOVE this set!

What a fun look for summer!

I received 2 great items to review. The first is the Jonano Red Athena Dress, and the other is the Urthbags Silver Recycled Juice Box Clutch. What a great combination! I want to tell you about this dress first. Oh. My. Goodness. I am in love with this dress! When I received my package from Clean Spirited, I was immediately struck by the soft, luxurious feel of the fabric this beautiful dress is made of. I looked at the label, and I was quite impressed to find that this dress is made of an Organic Bamboo/Spandex Blend. I have never owned a clothing garment made from Bamboo before, so this was a treat! I have several cloth diapers with bamboo inserts, and I have had great success with the material. It never occurred to me that I could find high-fashion clothing made of this sustainable material as well! And who knew it would be so incredibly soft? This dress also has a fair amount of stretch to it, which is helpful to those of us who have more up top. (Like me!)

The Jonano Athena Dress  features an adjustable shoulder knot that allows you to seamlessly go from day to night. It also has a ruched empire waistline that flows into a fun, flirty skirt. This dress is supposed to hit right above the knee. I am measuring in at a statuesque 5' 4" and this hit a couple of inches below my knees. So this description is probably accurate for a woman of 5' 6" or taller. Not a big deal, though. I liked the length, and it didn't deter from the attractiveness of the garment one bit.

Here is a photo of yours truly in this awesome dress. I think I don't do the dress justice, but my husband loves it on me! I just wish I had the body of the model shown in the photo at the top of the page. Having 3 kids will do that to you, though! So please don't snicker and laugh at the way I look,lol...I love this dress, and feel it is flattering for pretty much any body-type!

This is the coolest thing EVER! And totally recycled, too!

The other item I received is this truly creative little clutch by the artists at Urthbags! This little gem of a bag is a definite conversation starter! Why? Because this super-trendy looking clutch is made entirely out of the sliver inner lining from juice boxes! My son keeps raving over how cool it looks, and that he doesn't understand why it "doesn't even smell like juice"!

This bag is very high-quality, too. It is sturdily made and woven beautifully to bring this ultra-modern look. It also has a strong magnetic closure and offers a very roomy interior, with an attractive Urthbags label applied inside. I was able to fit my wallet, 2 pacifiers, a hairbrush and my sunglasses inside! Product's Dimensions are: 8"L x 2"W x 3"H. So this is a decent sized clutch bag that would be perfect for a party or a night out dancing. You can store the essentials in style! You'll be the envy of the room, too, since this is super-unique and attention grabbing!
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I love the weaving in this cute silver clutch!

Features strong, durable magnetic closure to keep items secured.

Interior with awesome Urthbags label!

I love the high-quality eco-friendly goods available at Clean Spirited! Not only do they have awesome women's items, you'll want to make sure to check out the selection in their men's and kids' section, too! I like knowing where my purchases came from, and it makes me feel good to know if an item is socially and environmentally sound. I am more willing to spend my money doing business with companies that actually care.  Clean Spirited is committed to bringing you items from brands with a heart that care about the world we live in and its global citizens. Trust Clean Spirited to bring you cleaner alternatives to the things you already buy! I should also mention that for every purchase, $1.00 is donated to environmental causes.

So do you like what you see? I'm sure you do! You might want to sit down for this....Okay, ready? Clean Spirited is VERY generously offering one of my lucky followers a $150.00 gift certificate to their shop! Pick your jaws up off of the ground now....This will be yet another fantastic addition to my "For Mommy" prize package when the Birthday Bash begins on June 1st! How ridiculously awesome is that?!

In the meantime, go show Clean Spirited some MAJOR love!

HOW TO CONNECT:

You can see these and other great items on the Clean Spirited website.

Learn more about their vision on their blog.

You can also follow them on Facebook and on twitter to stay on top of new products and promotions. FYI: Doing so NOW will put you ahead of the game when the giveaways start on June 1st!

***Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***