Natural fabrics will be the rage all across the country in 2008, so get ready to embrace pure luxury. Feel pretty and delicate as a butterfly in soft organic cotton lawn. Get sexy in clingy silk. Get Zen in woven linen or bamboo. Find your inner urbanite with an edgy utility bag made from hemp, canvas or even recycled billboard. Going "green" has never been more fashionable or more comfortable. Natural fibers breathe so they will keep you cooler and they're actually more effective at controlling the sweat factor. In this petroleum world, the use of natural fibers signifies the highest quality. Your cotton, silk, linen and hemp wardrobe will help you look great year after year.

As for accessories this season, there are several must haves including hats and sun protection, artesian goods, aluminum water bottles, reusable canvas shopping bags, vintage jewelry and "Tiffin" boxes.

Recent research has linked chemical sunscreens with increased cancer risk. So stock up on mineral make-up, and look for sunscreen containing zinc or titanium dioxide. Hats that cover your face and neck are other great options as well as chic Asian-style parasols.

Due to the scares concerning imported goods last Christmas, regional artesian and craft goods will be huge across the country this summer. Look for the very best in one-of-a-kind goods at your local summer festivals, farmer's markets and fair trade outlets. These wares not only provide you with toxin-free goods, but give small entrepreneurs a chance to succeed. If options are scarce in your area, look for artisans and crafters online.

When gold fever strikes, avoid shopping mall clones: think vintage. Look for gold, silver platinum and titanium jewelry set at antique malls, and garage sales. Cleaned, refitted and retrofit jewelry you already have. This way everything you wear this season will be one of a kind and uniquely you.

Aluminum water bottles will save you hundreds of dollars in bottled water and thousands in calories by steering you away from soft drinks, fake juice drinks and sweet tea. Decorate yours with stickers, handwritten poetry or purchase one already illustrated by a famous artist. These bottles also make a great conversation starter because everyone wants one.

Reusable canvas shopping bags will also be a huge in this year because plastic grocery bags flatter no one, least of all trees, where they have an uncanny propensity to get stuck. Look for hand made bags made of brightly colored cotton canvas or hemp in kitchy, young fifties-era prints with wide handles that you can loop on you shoulder as you sashay easy and less encumbered from shop to shop. Extra points if you can fold them up and shove them in your purse.

Stainless steel stackable Thai lunch boxes or "Tiffin" boxes will be a huge novelty for dedicated lunch packers. These boxes will help you avoid "baggy syndrome", streamline your lunch and shun plasticy tasting sandwiches.

Go natural in 2008. It's worth its weight in money, calories and sunburns. You'll even smell better.

Learn more about this author, J.T. Nowen.
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