LA-based designer Deborah Lindquist has been a fixture on the green fashion scene since, well, before there was one. A queen of green fashion, she was repurposing and recycling vintage items while some of her A list clientele – Gwen Stefani, Jessica Simpson, and Paris Hilton were still in elementary school . Her designs are as figure flattering as they are ethically aware. Both couture and ready to wear, and completely environmentally fabricated, some of her signature items include recycled cashmere sweaters, scarves, fingerless gloves and other accessories, as well as beautifully crafted green wedding dresses.

Her first ever creation was a belt made from recycled leather, which was quite a surprise in an era that celebrated conspicuous consumption.

Lindquist’s current collection features “a few pre-loved fabrics that have become staples in her collection such as: cashmere, kimono, sari, scarf, wool, leather, and lace”. She is also experimenting with some new textiles such as “hemp blends, organic cotton, peace silk, modal blends, and soy chiffon”. When asked about the “greenness” of some of these fabrics, Lindquist is surprisingly blunt. Soy, for example, has its downside. Although the fiber is spun from waste generated by tofu manufacturing, soy is often genetically modified and requires pesticides and herbicides. This is a particularly sensitive issue for Lindquist, whose father almost lost his leg to pesticides after a mishap on their farm in her childhood. Other fibers debuting in her current collection are “peace silks”. Any other silk is made by “boiling the intact cocoons and unwinding the single silk strand onto reels”, but peace silks allow the moth “to emerge from their cocoons and to live out their full life cycle”.

Self dubbed environmentalists may wince at even the suggestion of animal fibers, however Lindquist is surprisingly philosophical about them. As long as the animals are well treated, de-hairing a goat for cashmere or shearing a sheep for wool is about as natural as it gets. We couldn’t agree more.

So what’s next you ask? Simply said: Spring 2009. But after that she’ll turn attention expanding her wedding line, children’s line and dog line.

Coffee grounds. Seaweed. Soda bottles. X-Rays. Pineapples. Seem like they have nothing in common? Well, y0u’re wrong. In fact, this little list of items happens to be the exact list of newly discovered recyclables that are being used to create clothing. No joke, these objects are being recycled and turned into fabric.

The fabric created using pineapple is appropriately called Pina Fiber. The threads are derived from the leaves of the pineapple plant, usually grown in the Philippines. The process of handcrafting this fabric is shown above, as it is often created as such in the Philippines and Indonesia. The textile produced is described as soft and luxurious and is being used by fashion designers across the globe.

The next item on the list is surprisingly, x-rays. Yes, the same X-rays that confirm your broken bones are now being worn as the latest fashion statement. Playback Clothing is launching a line of x-ray recycled t-shirts that are made by mixing the x-rays with recycled cotton material resulting in an array of colors. Playback also recycles old soda bottles to make hoodies and t-shirts. However, what differentiates this company from others is the use of dye is completely eliminated in the process, using the original colors from the soda bottles. Thus, hues such as “Beer Bottle Brown” are featured in the line. Now you can have your beer and wear it too!

Another odd resource being put to new use, is coffee grounds. “S Cafe” is a fabric being created in the Taiwan based company Singtex Industries by using waste coffee grounds. That old cup of joe you drink every morning can yield as much as two shirts.

Seacell is, yes, you guessed it, fabric made from seaweed. Seacell is made by combining cellulose with a small percentage of seaweed. The fabric has even been claimed to have therapeutic assets as well, however, that rumor is yet to be proven. Nonetheless, this kelpy innovation is still more than welcome in the textile industry.

Altogether it looks like cotton might be getting a little competition with these alternatives. We’re just excited to see what’s next.