Eco-Friendly Fashion Made Easy with World of Green

Here on Everything She Wants, I like to champion products that will make readers look and feel good.  So World of Green, a one-stop web shop featuring eco-friendly and fair trade beauty and fashion items, is a natural fit.  


To help with your holiday shopping, through December 16th you can enter win during World of Green's "30 Days of Free Eco-Friendly Holiday Gifts." I chatted with World of Green founder Roberta Modena about her company and her passion for sustainable style.

Roberta Modena

Everything She Wants: What inspired you to start World of Green? 

Roberta: I was inspired by all the eco-friendly, unique products I was finding.  But it was also frustrating to try and remember all the different sites.  I really wanted to simplify the process because my friends and family would ask me about certain products that I owned, and I always had to get back to them with the company names or URLs. I decided I wanted to create a memorable destination that even the most novice person could find and remember and knew World of Green would be perfect.

ESW: What were you doing before you started World of Green?

Roberta: I actually started Eco Shoppe out of my garage a few years ago and created a website where people could buy a core set of green products, which I personally shipped out every day, sometimes twice a day. We sold biodegradable trash bags, stainless drinking bottles, non-toxic cleaning and some fair trade gifts. We eventually sold that business to Vitamin Shoppe.  I stayed on as a consultant with Vitamin Shoppe for two more years and helped them open and merchandise two beautiful Eco Shoppe retail stores in Austin, TX and Walnut Creek, CA.  If you’re ever in those areas, you have to visit the store. It’s breath-taking and has all organic and natural products and fixtures.

ESW: How do you select the brands and items you sell?

Roberta: Because I owned Eco Shoppe, I know many of the brands and owners personally.  I’ve been attending all of the major Green Expos and Green Festivals for some time now and I know the green product industry very well. I’m always meeting new green enthusiasts and I study their products and websites to ensure they are either non-toxic, organic, naturally made, fair trade, etc. Being green can even mean being a minimalist and many of the merchants using regenerated cotton to offset chemical dying and carbon emissions.

Naturally Knotty wrap

ESW: In your opinion, why is it important to support eco-friendly beauty and fashion brands?

Roberta: The world is changing and unfortunately many of our natural resources are suffering due to our over-consumption. We have to give back and reverse the decline.  The best way to do that is to think about your purchase decisions and the impact it has on our environment.

Looking good isn’t as important as “feeling good.”  When you buy something recycled, organic, and especially fair trade, it makes you feel good knowing you’re not exasperating our environmental challenges.  Plus, eco-fashions have come a long way and if you consider yourself a “fashionista”, you’ll want to invest in these sustainable eco-chic designs.

ESW: What's the bestselling item on the site this month?

Roberta: Because buying trends change with the season, it’s always something different.  With the cooler weather, the Bamboo Pashmina Wrap from Naturally Knotty ($39) is a very popular item.  It’s unbelievably soft, affordably priced, and it comes in a reusable bamboo tube with a raffia ribbon so it actually doesn’t need to be wrapped if given as a gift.  Also, Moms have been emailing us about our Green Toys made from recycled milk jugs.  They’re impressed that they're so safe since the toys don't contain BPA, phthalates, or lead.  So non-toxic toys are on parents minds this holiday season.

Photos courtesy of World of Green