Look Good, Do Good: Clothing With a Conscience

LOS ANGELES -- In this challenging economy, indulging your fashion desires can feel a bit, well, indulgent. So why not be truly fashion conscious and buy brands that support charitable causes?

Thanks to companies that build giving back into their business plans, you can dress top to toe in trendy duds that help those in need -- from victims of violence in Africa to victims of breast cancer at home.

We're not talking "Save the Whales" T-shirts. These are hip styles that celebrities work into their everyday wardrobes. (Does J-Lo know that those jeans benefit breast cancer?)

Some famous folks are so moved by the causes that they become spokespeople. Courteney Cox and pals Jennifer Aniston and Sheryl Crow recently lent their star power to promote OmniPeace, a clothing company that donates 25 percent of its profits to charities working to end poverty and violence in Africa.

"We can bring awareness and we can open people's eyes to things that maybe they wouldn't actually know about," Cox says. "That's our job as celebrities I think. We have to do that and we have to use whatever notoriety we have to push things forward and make things better."

And look good doing it.

Here's how to build an outfit entirely from clothing with a conscience:

Jeans
PRVCY (pronounced privacy) makes designer denim and dedicates 10 to 25 percent of its profits to funding breast cancer research and providing free mammograms to women nationwide. Jeans for men and women come in various cuts and washes, all featuring the brand's "lifeline" embroidery on the pockets, which represents founder Carolyn Jones' transition from corporate executive to compassionate entrepreneur.

Jones started her company in 2003, just after her mom died from breast cancer, and made it her mission to support work toward a cure. PRVCY has since donated "several hundred thousand dollars" to breast cancer-related programs.

"We do it as part of our mission," Jones says. "We're out there making a fashion statement, but it's more than that for our company."