Southcone Veronica bed/Del Forte Cassia jeans

Southcone Veronica bed
What it is: Four-post bed made of certified wood

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Who makes it: Southcone, headquartered in Gardenia, Calif.

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Where it’s made: Lima, Peru

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More info at: www.southcone.com

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Price: $4,485 (queen)

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One day on a camping trip in Colorado, Southcone CEO Gerry Cooklin says a big tree told him he was in a unique position to help preserve the world’s forests.

Cooklin had already built Southcone into Peru’s largest furniture exporter. After the talking tree episode, Cooklin started to research harvesting practices and woods less threatened than mahogany, a fine furniture staple. Fifty percent of the company’s purchased wood and 17 percent of its finished furniture is now Forest Stewardship Council-certified.

Southcone launched PaTS (Partnerships and Technology for Sustainability) to train and finance Peru’s indigenous Yanesha people to make furniture. The company also organized the Sustainable Furniture Council to convince mainstream furniture makers to use better materials.

“Organic food and fashion is taking off,” said Einar Elsner, Southcone vice president. “In the next few years, it will be furniture.”

Del Forte Cassia jeans
What it is: Fashion denim jeans with organic cotton

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Who makes it: Del Forte Denim, headquartered in San Francisco

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Where it’s made: Los Angeles

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More info at: www.delforte.com

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Price: About $190

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When it comes to organic denim jeans for women, the question of the day is simply, “Spandex, or spandex-free?”

In pursuit of curve-hugging comfort, designer Tierra Del Forte’s denim has 1 percent of the stretchy synthetic fiber created by DuPont in 1959. Del Forte’s new line of jeans, shorts, jackets and a skirt is also being touted in the blogosphere as the best-fitting organic denim around.