since we live in the valley, we’re going to call this our “beta test” of our second round of products. i know we’ve been silent for a while, but that’s only because we’ve been working behind-the-scenes to hammer out our likes, dislikes, ideas and dreams for this next batch of products as well as our future plans.

our wonderful seamstress has taken our favorite pictures, ramblings, and attempted descriptions, worked her magic, and given us a couple of prototypes. we’d LOVE to have your feedback and opinions on what you like/dislike about these new styles, what you’d like to see in our next round of eco-wear for your pooch, and anything else you’d like to add!

the green shirt is designed to be a simple t-shirt - but made with repurposed t-shirt fabric. some thoughts are to add our logo, or incorporate eco-friendly sayings.

the hooded jackets are made out of more recycled kimono fabric, though we plan on experimenting with a number of different organic fabrics and playing around with this design, too. we have had a lot of people ask us if we planned to do a hooded jacket - so this is our answer! you’ll notice that our seamstress made this jacket with a fabric-covered elastic band around the waist for even more sizing versatility.

again, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions!

*alexis (for the team)

Getting the EBF name out there has been a crazy journey - one that has led us to an amazing number of helpful, dog-loving friends like Paris at DogTipper.com who did a great write-up for us. They’re also offering the sample we sent them to review as a give-away item, so head over to the post to find out how you could win this jacket.

If you don’t win, fear not! The holidays are coming and it’s a perfect time to outfit your pup in some stylish eco-friendly apparel!

*alexis

I’ve been hounding fellow eco-business/blog/website owners and bribing them with samples of our product (and links of course) in exchange for a write up or contest or give-away (or anything) on their site!

GreenEarthJourney was among the first to respond and she ran a contest for one of our jackets last week.  I’ll be mailing the requested jacket to the winner and reader of her site this week!

We’re working on getting the word spread in time for the holidays so if you - or someone you know - would be interested in running a blog, article or give-away (or have any other ideas!) we’d love to hear from you: alexis @ earthsbestfriend.com.

And if you want to carry our jackets, we’d - of course - be thrilled to hear from you as well!

Happy (eco) holiday shopping!

*alexis

How do those two go together? They are both great for fall, of course! Our new walking coats and kimono coats are just what your dog needs to stay eco-friendly and fashionable as the weather starts to cool down.

And as for pumpkin cream cheese, my friend Nicole at Pinch My Salt was obliging enough to take my idea for this delish fall spread and turn it into a recipe on her yummy food blog. She gave us quite a shout out in her post so I wanted to say thanks and send her some love as well. Sites like TheKitchn are already picking up the blog and recipe, so hopefully we both get a little free publicity out of it! Thanks Nicole!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Junior League Home Tour marketplace this weekend. (I’m a Junior League member, so we really appreciate the people who participate in these events as it’s a large part of what enables us to do what we do!) We had a great time talking to potential customers, getting feedback on our products, saying “hi” to cute and cuddly dogs, and meeting other dog lovers (like Alice Howard Koesterich who wrote an adorable children’s book based on the life of her dog, Opus).

We had a lot of interest in our kimono jackets, and I’m not surprised! They’re individually sewn, one-of-a-kind, beautiful prints, and made from authentic Japanese kimono fabric. I’m in the process of getting the different sizes and styles added to the site, and also put onto our store on Etsy. We have the three colors/patterns below, in various sizes. In the mean time, if you’re interested in a kimono jacket, please feel free to get in touch!

I mentioned in an early post that we’d taken some custom jacket orders - namely, one for a darling dog, Shasta, to wear when she’s the ring-bearer in her mom’s upcoming wedding.

The fabric arrived for our seamstress and she was nice enough to take a picture of the color combinations. The bride’s color is orange, so we found something colorful and cheerful to use as the collar. We’d wanted to incorporate a solid orange into the body of the jacket as well, but the only orange we could find from our organic and eco-friendly fabric suppliers didn’t end up matching as well as we’d hoped, so we’ll be using our beige canvas instead. I still think the color combo is adorable - though it would’ve been nice to get that perfect orange pairing! Hopefully as eco-fabric gets more popular and common, we’ll have more selection and colors to choose from.

Until then, Shasta will look darling in her custom made outfit, and we’ll post pictures as soon as we have them!

*alexis

p.s.: as always, if you have a custom order or specialized idea, we’d love to tackle it! Feel free to get in touch at info at earthsbestfriend dot com!

Our buddy Lucy over at LucyAndFriends wrote an amazing review of our jacket, The Bailey. We sent Lucy a jacket last week so she could do a thorough review of the product, and I have to say, she looks absolutely adorable in it!

We make a special size (our S/M) specifically for smaller, more “round” dogs like Lucy - boston terriers, pugs, french bulldogs, etc. - and we think she’s wearing it quite well!

Thanks for the review, Lucy!

*alexis

ps - if you’re interested in doing a review for us, or selling our products on your site drop us a line

Wanted to share a few links of places that have reviewed our jackets.

EcoShopper.net did a little write-up bringing up the point that fall and winter are just around the corner and what better way to warm up your pooch than with an eco-friendly jacket?!

Mackenzie over at Barkability took a look at The Bailey and reminded us that it’s great to be pretty in (organic) pink!

Meanwhile, even Lucy at LucyAndFriends - who admits she doesn’t usually like to wear clothing - is preparing to write a review about our jacket, which I sent to her for a trial run. Stay tuned for her full-length review!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and great reviews! And as always, let us know if you have any questions.

*alexis

My mom and one of my childhood friends came up with the great idea of using re-purposed and vintage fabrics for some of our designs (after all, what’s more eco-friendly than material that already exists and doesn’t require any manufacturing?!) namely, using recycled kimonos for the fabrics for our doggie jackets. This is a wonderful suggestion, not only because kimono fabric is typically intricate and beautiful, but also because my parents currently live in Tokyo and my mom has access to a virtually endless supply of used and vintage kimonos.

My mom sent three kimonos for us to try in limited edition, and the fabric is now with our seamstress who is going to work her magic and no doubt produce another adorable creation. Right now, we’ll be using a similar pattern to our original jacket, but in the future, we’re planning on coming up with a design that resembles an actual kimono.

We’re not sure how many jackets we’ll be able to get out of three kimonos, but we’re first going to try selling the finished product at the street fair we’ll be at on September 20th.

So, would you prefer a kimono-themed jacket for your pup, or a design that is more like a traditional kimono? Feel free to leave any and all feedback, and we’ll continue to update as we progress.

p.s. - we’ve also taken on a couple custom-designed eco-jacket projects so let me know if you’re interested in a specific design or color for your pooch for a specific occasion!

*alexis

Seamus the dog over at AlternativeConsumer.com was kind enough to write about our eco-friendly organic and hemp dog jackets, the Pete and the Bailey. Since he commented that we opted for the wonderfully behaved and easy-to-train stuffed dog models over the real thing, I felt compelled to include this pic of my dear beagle puppy, Bianca, who was desperately trying to break into doggie modeling world, but just didn’t provide quite the same view of the product.

Of course, as her mom, I think she (or her bro, Barkley) would be the best models EVER, but I’m not sure our customers would feel the same. Hopefully this will be more realistic when they get a bit older and a bit more well-trained. Until then, guess we’ll have to settle for our lovely stuffed models, who can currently be seen in their eco-friendly garb, gracing the windows over at Jeffrey’s Natural Pet Food in the North Beach district of San Francisco. If you’re a local, stop on by!

*alexis