Velvet Leaf clothing uses beautiful silks, has edgy designs and a line of highly fashionable dresses. Looking at the clothes doesn’t lend the eye to the fact that they are all 100 percent organic. Becky 24, and Laura Carter 22, respectively, are the eco-friendly creators behind Velvet Leaf clothing. This high-end organic brand with fashion forward designs opened the doors of its first Velvet Leaf boutique between H and 11th streets in Sacramento.

Early on they got the necessary press that they believe contributed to their success, Teen Vogue magazine did an article on them and that slowly got them more press.They recently did a fashion show in Los Angeles called Gen Art where the hottest up and coming labels get sponsored to be a part of the show and was hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Many celebrities attended and it took place during Los Angeles fashion week. Even with a taste of fashion stardom the girls still value the importance of making clothes for love the most.

These Placerville natives learned early in life about eating organic vegetables from their vegetarian father and learned to care for earth in general from their family. It influenced them to live in a green manner and ultimately, the idea of creating sustainable clothes. Laura Carter went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles for a quarter and then realized that the things they were teaching could be self taught for a cheaper price. The sisters already had sewing experience and often bought sewing books from thrift stores.

In 2005 they started Velvet Leaf and had their first collection for spring/summer of 2006. At first they sent their designs to be manufactured in India. They actually visited the factory where the clothing would be produced to make sure that it was fair labor and that the factory itself was as sustainable as possible.

Recently they decided to bring back the production to the U.S. "It’s tough when you want to be a sustainable company, because when you look at the full word ‘sustainability,’ it also has a lot to do with being local. We were getting the highest certified organic material but we were overseas and that was not helping our economy," said Becky Carter.

While they were still living in Los Angeles, they toured great factories in the country and realized that it was very expensive. After moving to Sacramento they decided to try and manufacture their own clothes. They settled into their current location, bought sewing machines and hired sewers and have since made all of their clothes.

When they decided on their location they thought about Placerville at first, but liked that Sacramento has a unique group of young people that their designs could appeal to. Velvet Leaf is the first all organic clothing boutique in the city.

Both sisters enjoy the sincere vibe Sacramento offers. "We’re just small town girls and when you’re in a big city like Los Angeles it is hard to find genuine people and there [are] real people here in Sacramento. Ultimately, this is where we want to be," Becky Carter said.

Their latest spring summer collection is new and different for them and includes high ended hand woven silks from Cambodia. The theme was geometric revolution. They took basic shapes and forms and added primary colors. The sisters describe it as a bit of an 80's and modern vibe with a vintage twist.

Soon they would like to expand Velvet leaf to include lingerie and bedding and make it a lifestyle store. They would also eventually like to become more affordable: as the materials are growing in popularity, the price of fabric is gradually dropping.

To view their collection visit shopvelvetleaf.com