Last month, my partner gave me a Fjällräven Kanken rucksack for my 30th birthday, and I have to tell you about it, as this is a classic amongst the eco-designs nowadays. I first spotted these slightly odd-looking bags in London many years ago, and learnt that they are a Swedish product, designed to last forever.

(all photos NewMerino)

For well over 100 years Australia's prosperity was inextricably lined to the export of wool, and in particular, Merino wool. We even had phrase for it: "Riding on the Sheep's Back." But in the '60s wool's economic dominance was displaced by the likes of coal and iron ore. Years of drought have also taken their toll.

Source 4 Style, screenshot of development site.

Credit: Rickshaw Bagworks

San-Francisco based Rickshaw Bagworks, known for their Zero Messenger bag, has a new look for their line of travel accessories, a bright new Herringbone pattern called Rickshaw Performance Tweed.

When I'm a grown up I'm going to donate my fleeces to Finisterre. All photos: Finisterre

As we've noted before, Finisterre is a fiercely independent crew of surfers, out of Cornwall, making highly functional, and award winning, outdoor clothing with a deep ethical and ecological bent.

Of recent note is a). their new Anabatic II rain shell, made of recycled and recyclable polyester, b).

'Portable Pelt' 2009 by Tara Baoth Mooney, one of the curators of CCANW's Fashion Footprints exhibition.

Photos: Weitzner Limited

From papier mache beads to your own homemade kitty litter, there's reams of clever ways to reuse that huge pile of old newspapers, but what about wallpaper?

Organic cotton towels from the Sufi (left) and Gazel lines. Images via Gazel.

The hamam, or Turkish bath, is famous worldwide, offering the opportunity to luxuriate in a hot, sauna-like environment, interspersed by cooling splashes of water and topped off by a vigorous massage -- and/or being scrubbed to within an inch of your life, depending on the bath.

TRAIDremade's Vintage Floral Golightly Pump. Image courtesy of TRAIDremade

We recently mentioned that one of the largest textile recycling initiatives in the US will launch in New York City in September.

Bio Bomber Jacket, grown from a vat of green tea. Image courtesy of Suzanna Lee.

Is it possible to "grow a frock from a vat of liquid" using cellulose-spinning bacteria? This is exactly what fashion designer Suzanna Lee asked before she began BioCouture, a research project based at Central Saint Martin's College in London.