Drop dead gorgeous and Eco-conscious? Yes, please!
When Marcus and I decided to get married we wanted to challenge ourselves by taking the ‘Eco’ thing a step further. Could we pull off a ‘waste-free’ wedding? We were sure as heck going to try! So, when it came to finding a dress that meant much more than buying recycled. I had to think about everything from fabric choice, where the dress would be made, how long it would have to travel to reach me, how many times could it be worn, to whether it would it be new, pre-owned, or vintage. What would create the least amount of waste? A dress made from hemp silk that would need to be shipped halfway around the world? Or a dress made of organic cotton that was picked up locally and could be worn again and again? These were the things I took into consideration when I began the hunt for my dress.
I have to admit when I started my search I did not expect to find so many to-die for gowns. I was sooo wrong. There are loads of beautiful, and affordable dresses that are also ethical.
Some of my favorites….
Sanyukta Shrestha
Her dresses are made in England using wild hemp, wild nettle, bamboo, organic and fair trade cotton, hemp silk, soya, straw, organic silk, and recycled fabrics.
Her dresses are handcrafted using sustainable fabrics in the United States, and 5% of profits are donated to environmental causes.
Her dresses are made in Canada using organic hemp/silk, remnant fabrics, and vegetable dyed silks.
Olivia Luca
She does things a little differently. One just goes to her website and chooses the bodice, skirt and embellishments that suits them best. There are loads of Eco-conscious fabrics to pick from like, organic bamboo/cotton, organic printed cotton and linen, Hempcel* and hemp/silk charmeuse, and Fair-trade handwoven silks. Once the elements are all chosen, Olivia constructs your perfect Eco-beautiful dress!
Up next: To letterpress or not?
-Melani Rae
* 100% SBP® (Sustainable Biodegradable Product). 55% Hemp, 45% Tencel.
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Our Winter 2011 Mini Mag!
So much has been going on behind the scenes that we thought it warranted a little update to our Winter 2011 Issue! Those Cotton Bride gowns are just about to be given away and you can see almost all of the new gowns from the Fireflies collection in this Mini Mag issue!
We have some great eco-cotton picks and an update on the Chevy Cruze Giveaway!
Learn about how to use cotton for your wedding and so much more! Click on the cover above!
(Nope the mini mag is not available for print -sorry folks!)
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“Are You A Cotton Bride?” Contest
Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine and Blog presents the “Are You A Cotton Bride?” Contest!
Want a Free Cotton Bridal Gown by Chris Kole of The Cotton Bride?
Click Here for the “Are You A Cotton Bride?” Contest Explanation, Rules and Regulations.
See what Chris Kole and The Cotton Bride are all about here:
Enter to Win one of these 3 dresses by writing us a note here! Let us know a little bit about your wedding plans and what are you doing to go green with your wedding!
We will pick the winner on February 15th, 2011!
Good Luck!
NOTE: Why is The Cotton Bride Eco-Friendly? Many high-end couture wedding gown designers that design their dresses in the United States and Europe ship their designs off-shore for production with appalling working conditions for cost savings (which is ironic as couture gowns are more expensive by nature) and most are not using cotton. The Cotton Bride produces every single one of their wedding gowns by hand (which is the definition of true couture). Chris Kole designs each dress from sketch to final fitting using fair-wage labor and fair-trade cotton fabrics (mostly from Italy and the US) right in New York City! Chris Kole is always looking for luxurious fabrics and will provide organic cotton fabrics when available.
While some cottons may be produced with pesticides, U.S. cotton growers use 50% less pesticides than they did 25 years ago, they use 45% less water than they did 15 years ago and all while growing 2/3 more cotton on 1/3 of the land. Why? The demand for cotton has never been larger as it is has literally become “The Fabric of Our Lives”!
UPDATE - WE CHOSE OUR WINNERS - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LEAVING ALL OF YOUR AMAZING COMMMENTS!!!
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Spring 2011 Issue
