Boutique seeks green chic

NEW YORK - Specialty-store owners have a lot to think about when they shop to stock.

How many size 2's, 8's, or 16's should they buy? How do they blend funky colors with fledgling designers, while maintaining the store's personality? And when do they buy what may, or may not, be the next fashion craze? (Think skinny cargos or Silly Bandz. Who'd a thunk it?)

Buyers for eco-friendly boutiques have to do all that. But they're also looking for pieces with a low carbon footprint, a win-some-lose-some challenge that demands consideration of a constantly evolving manufacturing landscape.

Enter owner Ali McCloud and assistant buyer Elise Crummie of Philadelphia's Arcadia Boutique. Equipped with BlackBerries for snapping pictures, duffel bags for lugging look books, and flat shoes for three days of walking, the two combed the New York trade shows recently to stock their Northern Liberties boutique and Rittenhouse Square store, scheduled to open next week.

"We try to choose high-fashion pieces," McCloud explained as she perused spring 2011 collections at the Designers & Agents trade show in Chelsea. She had just spent a few extra minutes lingering by Norwegian designer Leila Hafzi's gowns dyed with herbs and crafted from hand-loomed organic cotton.

"These pieces don't have to be any less beautiful or fashionable because they are made in a socially responsible way."

McCloud opened her 1,400-square-foot store three years ago, and in that time the definition of eco-friendly has broadened.

Only a few years ago, McCloud, and the rest of the fashion industry, focused mainly on the sustainability of the fabric. They stocked wools, cottons, jersey knits, silks, and hemps that were harvested without pesticides (what is touted as "organic"). Natural dyes were a plus.

But that pushed polyester and spandex out of the picture, and green pieces were synonymous with sagged and bagged - what is considered the antithesis of fashion.

These days, eco-friendly buyers pay attention not just to what apparel is made of, but also to where it is made and under what conditions. (Pieces get extra points if they are designed and manufactured where they're sold.) And now that recycled polyesters and spandex are available, eco-options have moved beyond paper-bag silhouettes to include body-hugging styles.