If you love shopping but really want to make green purchases, several areas stores and a local jewelry designer have a lot to offer you.

Marie Parie, an Evanston boutique, carries tops, skirts, dresses and pants created by Hannelore Lott that are made with recycled fabrics, and features sustainable jewelery from designer Kristen Althoff of Postcard. The store also features Chaser t-shirts, a remarkably soft line made from recycled plastic. "I wanted to make an effort to recycle, and not waste so much," said owner Heidi Giammarese.

A little further north in Winnetka, Randoons, carries purses by Inherited that are made by hand using cast-off leather pieces found in thrift shops and flea markets. "I personally like the way they look. It's nice because it's something that's been recycled," said Randi Lamb, owner of Randoons.

Melissa Kolbusz uses entirely recycled material when she creates earrings, necklaces, and bracelets for her Chicago-based jewelry business, [wired]. Who knew that rubber, alternator wire and transistors discarded by local industries could make such hip, attractive jewelry? Ms. Kolbusz sells her jewelry at local street fares and stores.

Shoppers in nearby Michigan can also find eco-friendly items at Catherine Doll in Sawyer. Ms. Doll, who owns her eponymous store, has created a line of t-shirts, skirts, dresses and Capri pants made from recycled t-shirts that she finds in thrift stores. Ms. Doll designs the clothes, and then contracts with local women in Michigan and Chicago who sew her designs. Even her packaging is eco-friendly--she reuses bakery boxes from an organic store next to hers to ship her products.

"We try to do as much recycled as much as we can. We have women's shirts made out of menswear. For fall, we are doing recycled sweaters, made from sweaters and then over dyed, explained Ms. Doll. She also carries a line of tote bags made from Cambodian rice bags, and another line made from Spanish vinyl billboards.

Customers love her recycled clothes. "I've gotten a really amazing response," she said. Which is a good thing, because esthetics are not the only motivating force behind her designs. Ms. Doll really wants to make the world a better place. "If everybody does their bit, we'll have a better place," she explained. "This is my contribution," she added.