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When it comes to sustainability, Midwesterners have a special slant. We're thrifty. Of course, we're also thoughtful, hard-working and practical — all of which add to our down-to-earth perspective on the eco movement. But the thriftiness in particular is what makes us inherently good stewards of the things around us, in all aspects of life.

Naturally, a lot of local fashion embodies that stewardship, which has been amplified by the recent momentum of green design across the country. Some local highlights have risen to the top, including sandals that empower Ugandan women, accessories with prairie inspirations and underwear that is both sexy and sentimental. Even better, it's affordable.

Sseko

Transformative sandals benefiting Ugandan women

In the past year, Sseko Designs founder Liz Bohannon has sold more than a thousand pairs of sandals to customers around the world. The sandals are transformative, meaning that they can be styled in multiple ways with multiple strap patterns, and each pair is handmade by a group of young women in Uganda who are paid full-time salaries that allow them to go to college in a country where women often don't make it to university.

Bohannon first visited Uganda in 2008, and she was inspired to create the concept for Sseko Designs in a matter of weeks. She visited again this winter to train a second round of Sseko women. Her passion for the endeavor stemmed from the need she saw first-hand for women to be enabled to make it to college, as well as from her graduate studies in corporate social responsibility at the University of Missouri.

"My belief is that business is the most powerful tool that we have," Bohannon said. The inspiration behind Sseko was, "Let's take this problem that would traditionally be addressed by a nonprofit, or by the social sector, and build an entire business model around helping contribute to, or solve, this social issue."

Since its small beginnings in December 2008, Sseko has sent its first three Ugandan employees to university, and seven more women are currently on their way.

Early Jewelry

Handcrafted one-of-a-kind accessories

Kylie Earlene Grater grew up on a small Kansas farm, but rather than leave those roots once and for all when she moved to Lawrence in 2001, she translates her rural upbringing into the aesthetic that defines Early Jewelry: "Capturing the spirit of pasture and prairie, and the excitement of old made new again." Grater's eco-friendly nature is reflected in her minimalist lifestyle and design aesthetic, she says.

Grater's designs are made from recycled metals and vintage and natural materials, from one-of-a-kind buttons and cuff links to feathers and bone. She handcrafts each individual ear wire and necklace clasp, which underscores the handmade origins of each piece. Occasional interns and part-time employees help with basic production steps, like trimming wires, but Grater does all the finishing herself. "Quality control," she says.

Grater's skill set comes from a degree in sculpture from the University of Kansas, including a year spent studying craft-making in England through an exchange program. She has now been building Early Jewelry full-time for three years and has worked with several major distributors, including a 6,000-piece order for Urban Outfitters in 2007 and a Free People order that just shipped out this week.

Early Jewelry is available at boutiques and shows across the country, including most First Fridays, and online at EarlyJewelry.com.

solojones

Handmade undies

Photo Gallery

Eco Fashion

Eco-friendly clothing and accessories: Ugandan sandals from Sseko, Early Jewelry by Kylie Grater, and panties by solojones.

Founder and seamstress Sunny Dawn Summers may be living in New Orleans at the moment, but solojones is no doubt a born-and-bred Kansas City brand. Known for high-quality, hand-sewn boy shorts available at Birdies — opaque on the front and transparent on the back — solojones has been in business since 2003.

"It's some of our sturdiest, prettiest stuff," says Birdies owner Peregrine Honig. "They're womanly, not cutesy, and somehow flattering on everyone."

Summers worked in a corporate job and stumbled upon underwear design through a friend-of-a-friend connection with Birdies. She created a pattern that was a hit and sold about 400 pieces of her first run, while also working weekends at the shop. "I'd take my sewing machine down there and sew panties on the counter," she says. "Inevitably people would buy whatever was coming hot off the presses."

Though she's never formally studied fashion, Summers sews each pair herself. Unlike something that comes off an industrial line, every stitch of Summers work is overseen by someone who knows how to make a lasting garment, Summers said. Classic jones are made of stretch silk charmeuse, a strong natural fabric that can last forever when cared for correctly. But salvaged jones are one of the most memorable parts of the brand. For $30, Summers will turn an old t-shirt into your new favorite pair of underwear. "It gives another life to something, in a secretive sort of way," she said.

Classic solojones are available at Birdies (birdiespanties.com), and salvaged jones are available for order through solojones.com.

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