By Lisa Neff

Contributing writer

Fair trade and organic fabric are woven into Fair Indigo’s collection of denim for the fall.

“Customers who care about the people who make their clothing are the same people who care about the impact of consumption on our planet,” says Elizabeth Ragone, a Fair Indigo co-founder and the firm’s style director. “We see organic and fair trade as a natural pairing.”

Consumer demand for organic cotton has grown exponentially in recent years, with the ramped up interest in greener living and growing demand for eco-friendly fabrics. The Organic Exchange expects the organic cotton industry’s sales to triple from this year to the next.

The denim pieces are made for Fair Indigo in a fair trade factory in Costa Rica using organic cotton grown in the United States and woven in North Carolina.

The machine wash denims are durable and classic true blue style—straight-legged, stonewashed and soft. www.fairindigo.com

Red tab, green theme: Levi’s also makes jeans from 100-percent organic cotton, including the beloved Red Tab styles. Look for Levi’s Eco trademark—a lowercase “e” inside the front pocket and on the bottom right leg of each jean—along with other more familiar Levi’s brandings.

“As the inventor of the jeans category, it is critical for us to continue to innovate with our products and within the category itself in order to drive positive change,” says Levi’s U.S. brand president Robert Hanson. “With Levi’s Eco, consumers who seek to minimize their personal impact on the environment can choose jeans that demand less from the environment without forfeiting the style or quality they’ve come to expect from the Levi’s brand.” www.levi.com

Risers: Old Navy, which staged its upsurge in the 1990s by going retro, offers three new jean fits this year—the Diva, the Flirt and the Sweetheart. The Diva features a low-rise waist and a body-hugging fit. The Flirt features a classic fit with a medium rise and the Sweetheart, as you can imagine, is a higher-rise fit to cover any curves.

Also, watch Old Navy for new designs from Todd Oldham, the brand’s new creative director effective Oct. 1. The openly gay designer plans to develop and launch a line of merchandise to be sold exclusively at Old Navy.

“I’m thrilled to be working with the Old Navy team and am so looking forward to help guide the creative direction of such an esteemed brand that means so much to literally millions of customers each week,” Oldham says. “It is very exciting for me to step back into fashion with such a far reaching and forward-leaning company as Old Navy.” www.oldnavy.com

Rough riders: From the designer who made the trucker hat a fashion statement comes this fall’s coolest denims—think of them not as jeans but as canvas containing art.

Designer Christian Audigier began his career at age fifteen in his native Avignon, France. In over three decades, he has designed and influenced Levi’s, Naf-Naf, Diesel, Fiorucci, Guess, Bisou Bisou, Bebe, and American Eagle Outfitters, among many others. In 2001, he joined Von Dutch as head designer, and his vision made it one of the most prolific brands in recent history. It was at Von Dutch that Audigier directed his attention toward a simple, and somewhat surprising accessory: the trucker hat. He transformed this headwear into a hot accessory that defied mere trendiness.

The French-born phenomenon then decided to strike out independently. Being a lifelong admirer of tattoos, he sensed a new trend and asked tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy to collaborate with him, together creating an even bigger fashion sensation. Ed Hardy clothing appeals to those who crave designer tattoos—but the only pain might be the price.

The success inspired the creation of the Christian Audigier brand in 2005, clothing with the same Ed Hardy vitality, but with more luxurious fabrics and stunning designs that steadily entice Gucci, Prada and D+G clientele looking for a bit more. In the words of designer Tommy Hilfiger, “The stuff is brilliant, just amazing!”

Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier denims include the “Tiger Premium Embroided Jean,” a baggy, low-riding straight leg trouser with roaring tigers tattooed on the back pockets and the “Love Kills Slowly” jeans jacket, a to the hips dark wash blue denim jacket with a skull and crossbones on the back. www.edhardyshop.com