10 COOL, ECO-FASHION BRANDS YOU CAN ACTUALLY SWEAT IN

from GOODLOOKS
by LISA ELAINE HELD

NoMiNoU was born from a maternal motivation—literally. Named after founder Julianna Smith’s mother, Naomi, and the phrase “know me, know you”, the brand known for its leggings, incorporates Smith’s “hippie” mother’s original art printed on every piece of fabric.

While every pair is made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material, including water bottles and bamboo, Smith didn’t want her mother’s artistic addition to lessen the ecological benefits, which is why the founder uses sublimation when printing: “Sublimation uses a process much like a photocopier that prints the art straight onto the fabric, versus screen-printing, which uses a bath of ink to create the art—thus wasting considerably more ink,” Smith explains.

No stranger to the importance of a well thought-out plan, the brand also uses a 100 percent natural anti-bacterial and anti-wicking finish on the fabrics that is made up from—wait for it—crab and shrimp shells. (Allergic to shellfish? Don’t worry, Smith promises that the protein that causes allergies is no longer present in the finished product—phew!)