GREEN HOLIDAYS AT BARNEYS

And you have! It's time to look at the year behind you and give yourself a big old pat on the back, open that champagne and take a moment to look at what you've accomplished!

What? Who? You don't remember doing anything special?… I'm not so sure about that! Think real hard, did you do at least one of these things this year: Feel the thrill of vintage shopping? Buy a gift in a fair-trade shop? Choose some organic cotton underwear instead of some made from conventional cotton? Carry a reusable bag for your shopping? Said no to fur? Cleaned out your closet and gave your unwanted items to a charity shop?

If your answer is yes to any of those questions, then you are part of the progress made during 2008 on the eco-fashion frontier!

Maybe you were inspired by one of the celebrities who came out of their green closet this year: whether it's Natalie Portman waving the vegan flag and creating the cutest shoes you've ever seen on an activist or Chloe Sevigny admitting to her fashion thriftiness in the pages of new eco glam mag EcoStilletto. Maybe you thought of going vintage after reading the glamorous Thandie Newton's interview in USA Today, or decided to do like Jennifer Hudson and rent instead of buying that designer bag after seeing the Sex and the City Movie. It could also have something to do with the slew of celebrities that took to wearing their hearts (and their politics) on their organic sleeves. Even Oprah is a fan of Sophie Uliano, the author of this year's New York Times best seller Gorgeously Green, one of two new books on the subject to hit the shelves in 2008 (the other being the excellent and more academic Eco Chic: The Fashion Paradox.)

MARIE CLAIRE'S ECO ISSUE

Not a celebrity gawker? Then it could be that you fell in love with some hot eco jeans in one of your favorite fashion mags, there isn't a glossy worth its stripes that didn't have its dedicated green issue this year. Some were so good in fact, that they won prizes for it, that was the case for Marie-Claire's Fashion with Heart issue, which received the Re:Fashion Awards' Consumer Awareness Award.

Meanwhile, the growing interest in eco design has finally sprouted the first Green Style paper mags, the UK now has Nu, the Dutch have Green 2 , Australians have Peppermint while the American have Boho as well as Green Planet a brand new television channel completely dedicated to sustainability issues! Their most style oriented show Alter Eco is hosted by beautiful greenies supermodel Angela Lindvall and Entourage star Adrian Grenier.

NATALIE PORTMAN AT CANNES 2008

But by far the most significant development this year has been the giant leap in the offer of organic and fair-trade options in the shops of our "high-streets" and malls. Stores like H&M and Marks&Spencers have already been in the ethical game for a few years, but this year many others have joined their ranks such as Nike with its Considered line, Levis and The Gap who now both carry organic cotton jeans, Target who was so happy with its collaboration with Loomstate in 2008 that they're planning a new Loomstate for Target Collection to launch on April 19th 2009. Other high profile – and high volume – partnerships include People Tree for Target and Summer Rayne Oakes for Payless Shoes.

And with the increase in demand for green products, the industry is adapting. Already last year, an ethical designer – Rogan Gregory – had won a CFDA award and another one is nominated this year: John Patrick Organic. Stella McCartney won not one but two awards this year, both as Designer of the Year from the British Fashion Council and as Green Designer of the Year from the Accessories Council.

Fashion Weeks are across the globe are also starting to feature eco designers on the runway, from Noir at Copenhagen Fashion Week to the Eco Chic launch of NY Fashion Week , of course sustainable style was very present at the London and LA Fashion Weeks. In Portland, the whole fashion week is sustainable while further north in Vancouver, this concept has made its catwalk debut this year. What about Paris? Well, despite not having many eco designers showing at the Prêt-à-porter and Couture events Paris has one of the biggest eco fashion events of the year with the Ethical Fashion Show.

Also in Paris, we can start our tour of the infiltration of green corners at all the major buyer tradeshows, those are the places where the retail accessibility of eco choices is decided! So Ethic at Prêt-à-Porter Paris was not in its first year but it was a first time for Green Living at Premium in Berlin and for Ecollection at Magic in Las Vegas. As for Designers&Agents, they found that their green corner had gained such amplitude, that it deserved its own show, and so they launched their Green Market this year. And since green design often starts with fabulous green fabric, there was also an increased array of choices at international fabric fair Premiere Vision.

STELLA MCCARTNEY

This increased demand for sustainable products also creates a need for increased certification standards, and there too, several associations and companies are working hard to provide solutions to designers and textile manufacturers who want to improve their supply chain, amongst them Control Union, Blue Design, Eco Label, OkoTex and Global Standard are some of the most respected names in the industry. Also expect to hear more from Organic Exchange who is bringing green solutions to such mainstream giants as Walmart and Nike.

To wrap it up, and in a fancy package too, we look to one of the world's meccas of style, Barney's NY, who has also decided to finish 2008 on the theme of Peace and Love, celebrating the eco-fashion revolution with hundreds of organic options.

So yes, this is the year that all our little drops of efforts have started to make a big collective difference, so go ahead and celebrate, but don't stop there, to finish in the words of Bono "Celebrate but Accelerate."

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