One of the cornerstones of living an environmental life is the “reuse” part of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Wedding dresses are a huge one-time-use item, and often a big part of the wedding budget. Consider a preowned wedding dress to keep expenses down (and who doesn’t want that these days?) and to reduce the impact on silk production, transportation costs (financial and environmental) and disposal. Yeah, I know most wedding dresses don’t end up in landfills, but it keeps the stuff in the attic to a minimum.
This recent New York Times article discusses the financial advantages of preowned wedding dresses:
Even previously owned high-end couture gowns from designers like Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, and Amsale sell for 25 to 50 percent or more off the original retail price, giving brides a realistic alternative to finding “something affordable without sacrificing quality,” said Nina Willdorf, the author of “Wedding Chic: The Savvy Bride’s Guide to Getting More While Spending Less” (Perigee Trade). “Smart shopping to find value for less is really chic right now,” Ms. Willdorf said. “It’s not like buying a used sweater that’s been worn for years. A wedding dress has been worn once and only for a matter of hours.”
The eco rewards are just as good - the lower consumption of materials and resources is great for the environment.
5 places to find your preowned wedding dress online:
- PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com
- BravoBride.com
- EncoreBridal.com
- SellYourWeddingDress.com
- WoreItOnce.com
Don’t forget about eBay or your local secondhand or thrift shops. There are some excellent bargains to be had out there.
Curious? Check out this $6000 Vera Wang dress, asking $2000 (SellYourWeddingDress.com)
Looking for designers using eco-friendly materials? Read “6 Eco-friendly Wedding Dress Designers You *Really* Need to See“.
Here are 6 designers turning organic and fair-trade fabrics like organic silk, cotton and hemp into stunning wedding gowns.
Check out Michael Lackman’s excellent article about silk production: Raw and Organic Silk: Facts behind the Fibers at LotusOrganics.com.
Gwendolyn Gleason
Rene Geneva
Chrissy Wai-Ching
Morgan Boszilkov
Deborah Lindquist
Olivia Luca
Some wedding dresses in some of the collections may not be made organic or eco-friendly fabrics, so ask before you buy to make sure you are getting what you want.
In the past, I’ve talked to brides who decided not to go with an organic wedding dress because, in their words, the designs were boring or frumpy.
They haven’t seen these dresses.
(Photo from Wai-Ching via the BluePlanetWedding.com photo pool on Flickr. All rights reserved by Chrissy Wai Ching)
If you’re looking for an organic/low impact wedding dress, you owe it to yourself to check out these eco-friendly wedding dresses by Chrissy Wai-Ching.
I’m not 100% positive every piece in the collection has been made from organic materials; check with the studio if you’re interested in a particular dress.
Being male, I’m not a real expert on wedding dress fashion, but as the bearer of a ‘Y’ chromosome, all I can say is “yowza”.
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Got photos from your eco-friendly wedding? Share them with the community on the BluePlanetWedding.com Flickr Group.
A bride’s wedding gown is usually the #1 thing on her mind in the days after the engagement. There are thousands of options when choosing a dress, but are you even thinking about the most important option?
Organic silk
The manufacture of silk is a resource- and labor-intensive process, and since most silk production takes place in developing countries, the production and manufacturing conditions can be questionable. Michael Lackman at LotusOrganics.com has written an excellent article about silk production: Raw and Organic Silk: Facts behind the Fibers.
(Image courtesy of Rene Geneva Design)
Here are some galleries and makers of organic and ethical wedding gowns:
Conscious Clothing (USA)
Rene Geneva Design (USA)
Threadhead Creations (USA)
Rawganique (Canada)
You can always have a wedding dress custom-made. Depending on the designer and seamstress, this can be a cost-effective alternative to an off-the-rack dress, and you can ask to have it made from environmentally-friendly fabrics.
