STYLE : FASHION : World-Wise

Style is becoming as much about function as fad, which is why the environment and ways to save it are foremost in the minds of designers and retailers.

“We not only consider the importance of natural fabrics and dyes, but how merchandise is shipped and sold,” says Michael Segal, who runs father Fred Segal’s new environmentally conscious store in Santa Monica. All items and store policies are designed to be ecologically sound. “We wrap purchases with twine instead of a plastic or paper bag, and we specify that manufacturers ship merchandise without the wasteful, harmful packing materials. It’s a retraining on all levels,” Segal says.

Other stores (Cottonwares in Santa Monica, Tender Treasures in Montrose and Cotton Rainbow in Beverly Hills, for example) have been specializing in all-cotton apparel for some time, but Fred Segal for a Better Ecology is one of the first retailers to embrace “natural” as a way of life. It sells everything from clothing and bed linens to cosmetics and home-renovation materials such as paint and floor coverings.

To become world-wise, fashion-wise, look for unbleached natural fibers, organic dyes and recycled fabrics. And to save landfill space, skip the fancy packaging.

Hair and makeup: Kathleen McGarry/ Cloutier; models: Piera/ IT Models, Claude Gautier/ OMAR’s Men, Raquel Prunali and Skyler Gordy/ IT Kids