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When a fire burned down Teresa Smed’s house and reduced her worldly possessions to ashes, it also snuffed out the designer’s flair for crafting clothing and purses from reclaimed fabrics.

Years later, Smed’s creative side was reignited when the glimmer of vintage crystals in an antique shop caught her eye. She bought the shop’s entire stock of vintage jewelry and her newest eco-endeavour, Dotted Loop, was born.

“I was inspired to work with the antique materials,” says Smed. “I’ve always believed in reusing materials that were already there.” Smed deconstructs vintage chains with antique crystals, pearls and other embellishments and gives them a rebirth as trendy bracelets, earrings and necklaces.

Smed describes her newest collection – Glam Vintage Remix – as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s meets Cyndi Lauper.” Elements with an aura of elegance are connected to ones with a bit of attitude, resulting in a versatile piece of jewelry.

“The whole idea behind the line is it’s something you can wear with a T-shirt and jeans or an evening gown,” says Smed, who says she started Dotted Loop committed to the principle of creating jewelry without damaging the environment. “Buying eco-friendly is like voting for a change.”

Before she was even out of the nest, a young Marlene Bryce had already taught herself to sew, so it was no surprise that she soon embarked on a career in fashion design.

After stints working in Vancouver and Berlin, and the launch of a successful clothing line, Bryce branched out with a greener fashion focus.

“I started looking into eco textiles when I thought of creating a handbag line, since I started to become more environmentally conscious in my own life,” says the Victoria-based designer.

The idea took flight and soon Bryce’s bevy of cute and cheery bags, handmade locally from 100-per-cent organic cotton twill and hemp, were on the arms of the well-heeled. What’s better, these bags are never made with any animal products – no fur, feathers, wool or leather.

And Bryce’s eco-ethics don’t stop there: the bags’ bottoms are lined with recycled Tetra Pak boxes, which give them extra shape.

If you need a little nudge to get your eco-ethics in line, Nicole Bridger Design’s latest socially conscious collection, Unconditional Love, promises to be your moral compass.

Soft pieces, such as the Hope dress, Faith skirt and Belief tunic, are lovingly fashioned from certified organic cotton that’s tinted with low- impact dyes.

Before she created her eponymous line, Bridger interned under Brit-punk fashion pioneer Vivienne Westwood. “She was really about her anarchist movement and making a change for the people, and that really resonated with me,” says Bridger, who launched Oqoqo’s first eco-friendly fashions, and later struck out on her own.

“Each collection is about a life lesson I’m going through. That’s where I get my inspiration from,” says Bridger, whose most recent partnership ‒ marriage ‒ influenced the Unconditional Love line. Bridger is devoted to this new collection of wearable foundation pieces with unfussy stripes and muted hues designed to reflect the casual West Coast ethos.

But there’s a hint of romance, too: unexpected gathers of fabric give the pieces movement, marrying comfort with design. The clothes are easy on the eyes and the fabrics are gentle on the planet. Who wouldn’t love these pieces – unconditionally?