Summer Rayne Oakes

We all want to be good stewards of our bodies, but most of us don't have the time or money for crazy extensive product overhauls and all-organic lifestyles. So what can you do to be responsible and healthy, even with limited time and resources? Eco-model and environmental activist Summer Rayne Oakes shared a few tips with us. To find out her advice, just keep reading.

It can be hard balancing out our fashion needs with an eco-conscious attitude, but green fashion expert, Summer Rayne Oakes, is here to help. Her book, dubbed, Style, Naturally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion and Beauty ($10), not only explains the basics of eco-fashion — from fair trade to sustainability — she also highlights some slick fashions from like-minded cohorts such as Stella McCartney, Levi's, and Edun. Who ever said organic clothes had to look like a potato sack? Not I.

This is not a shocking bedroom discovery; the creature was ordered as a pet! Cornell graduate Summer Rayne Oakes majored in Environmental Science and Entomology — study of bugs — and spreads the world about earth-friendly living as an eco-model (and author) working exclusively with environmentally conscious companies. That's what I call putting her money where her mouth is, as she's also raised more than 200 exotic insects right in her home, from Blue Death Feigning Beetles to Assassin bugs. Scary stuff.

The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach seen here gets its name for a particular trademark sound — it exhales air through breathing holes, a unique trait among insects. Your imagination will have to work for that, as there are no sound effects with this post, but check out more pictures when you read more

Payless ShoeSource announced today plans to launch the first-ever affordable green footwear line due in stores early next year and that it has signed an agreement with Summer Rayne Oakes to serve as the green footwear brand's Eco Consultant. Oakes is the Discovery Network's Planet Green fashion and beauty expert and author of Style, Naturally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion & Beauty.

The greening of fashion across the board has led to significant increases in interest and sales in the category and Payless throwing their hat into the ring is sure to have as big an impact as Wal-Mart's decision to begin selling organic cotton tee-shirts when it became the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world virtually overnight.

We appreciate that they did not go the Te Casan route and latch onto a celebrity but instead signed with a genuinely respected member of both the green and fashion communities.

According to the press release: The new brand is a key part of Payless' mission and strategy to democratize fashion, design and new ideas in footwear and accessories and to position Payless as a "House of Brands" retailer, offering well-recognized, fresh new brands -- all at a great price. The new line is unique not only as the first-ever affordable green footwear, but also because it will stress fashion first, while being eco-smart.

While no images of the collection are yet available we certainly hope it will manage to be both stylish and eco-friendly.